Twenty-twenty-six in the Pacific Northwest has been a summer of smoke. With fires raging in eastern Washington, all of Oregon, and much of southern British Columbia, all the places we usually enjoy exploring during the summer have suddenly become... unpleasant.
In fact, while we'd previously thought that a beginning-of-July timeframe for the Montana BDR was too early, it's now looking like the smartest move we could have made. And our escape to Bella Coola for a few days - while a little hazy from fire - turned out to be genius.
And so, itching to explore - while being able to see what we're exploring - we're pushing even further north. Into regions of British Columbia that I mapped with little expectation of ever paying a visit. Into Alaska.
It used to be that long drives were a winter ordeal. A way to trade the gray skies for the vastness of the desert. But now the tides have turned. Flights to Las Vegas have made winter trips easy and enjoyable. Now the long drives are taking place in the summer, in an attempt to trade the orange skies for blue.
Return to the Pantheons | North #1 - 2026 in the Pacific Northwest has been a summer of smoke. With fires raging in eastern Washington, all of Oregon, and much of southern British Columbia, all the places we usually enjoy exploring during the summer have suddenly become... unpleasant. In fact, while we'd previously thought that a beginning-of-July timeframe for the Montana BDR was too early, it's now looking like the smartest move we could have made. And our escape to Bella Coola for a few days - while a little hazy from fire - turned out to be genius. And so, itching to explore - while being able…
Telkwa Pass One | North #2 - We started from what was, essentially, the furthest north we'd ever been in British Columbia, and it still took us 10 more hours to reach the trailhead for Telkwa Pass. Having left our camp below Perkins Peak a bit before noon, it was dark as we positioned the Tacoma along the banks of the Telkwa River and at the terminus of a dead-end road. We were half a day behind schedule, and while that wouldn't normally be a problem, we'd been shooting for a reasonably small weather window when we'd planned our journey along what was rumored to be one…
In-and-Out of Alaska | North #3 - We were already halfway through our day, so we hoped to make quick work of the pavement between Terrace, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska. We would be in the 49th state for only a few minutes - our actual destination was back in maple leaf territory - but it'd be the first time either of us had ever been to the largest state in the Union, so we were both looking forward to the opportunity to visit. First though, we had to get there. And getting there on BC-113 turned out to be more eventful than we'd bargained for! Right…
Telkwa Pass Two | North #4 - On our way south from the Salmon Galcier, our spirits were high. There were two reasons for this: first, we were headed to Telkwa Pass, and unlike our first visit with fog and cloudy skies, it was a blue bird day. Second - and I assure you, just as importantly - we'd overridden Google Maps suggestion and found a 4-miles-longer route back to Terrace, BC that was paved; we wouldn't have to suffer through the swiss-cheese-road we'd endured on the way north! We arrived in Terrace at almost the exact minute we'd shown up 24 hours earlier, and pulled into…
Microwave Moonscape | North #5 - Our second visit - in as many days - to Telkwa Pass behind us, we raced down the valley that was shrouded in fog the last time we'd been through. Today, it was anything but, and soon we'd covered half the distance to the trailhead. It was time for a detour. We'd planned on running this trail on our way up the pass, but as we'd climbed out of the fog - and immediately into low clouds - we'd realized there was no point. Though we'd done no research on the availability of views from the top of this trail,…