Telegraph Creek Road

Telegraph Creek Road from bridge crossing the Stikine River.  Note the road rises above the river on the right.

One of the side trips we have been wanting to take has been Telegraph Creek Road.  The write-up in Milepost suggested an adventure.  The last time we were here, however, a major bridge was being rebuilt.  Pilot cars were only allowing folks in and out twice a day.  With Morgan arriving in ten days, we didn't feel we could take the chance of being stuck behind the construction.

This year, however, we had it on our bucket list.  Telegraph Creek Road takes off west of Dease Junction.  Once a First Nation's trade route, it is considered a dangerous road... narrow, winding, and hairpin turns with as much as  20% grades and sheer cliffs on one... or both sides.  The road rises from the valley floor to the top of the canyon and back again.  It is considered the Grand Canyon of British Columbia.  It was a thrilling ride, to say the least!

The town of Telegraph Creek, about 70 miles down Telegraph Creek Road, gained modern-day historical significance in the 1860s when gold was discovered on the Stikine River.  Telegraph Creek once functioned as the northern outpost for the Yukon Telegraph line.  Completed in 1901, the line connected the Yukon with southern Canada.

Today approximately 300 folks still call Telegraph Creek home.  David and I strolled the main street along the Stikine River, reading placards.  I heard a familiar piping call and looked up to discover an eagle in a nearby tree, right over the river.

Across the street was an old, wood-framed church.

Historic Anglican Church Telegraph Creek, BC

We continued our trek another 11 miles to Glenora with promised camping.  However, we found only rugged fish camps.  Our Milepost is a 2008 vintage, so we often find things out of date (our most recent one was stolen last year).  The temperature had also soared to 98 degrees... much too warm for sleeping.  So we decided to turn back in search of cooler climes.

Again we drove the high passes, hairpin turns, and steep grades.  We wove our way up and down narrow dirt roads with sheer drops down to the river below.  We crossed the rim with nothing but a 2,000-foot drop on either side.

Stikine Canyon on Telegraph Creek Road

We reached Dease Junction at nearly 5:30 that evening.  Thankfully, temperatures had dropped to the low seventies on this side of the mountain.  By morning, the temps were in the mid-40s.  Once again, God had smiled upon us.