I decided that running away from the rain was the best option. Prince Rupert was going to be just a day stop, then I’d be heading up the Cassiar to get out of the rain. Read on to see what I found trying to stay dry.
The road at Work Channel had been improved to put it above the high tide line.
I was torn about which way to go next. I wanted to try for another ocean boondocking spot, but Prince Rupert wasn’t looking great on that front. I also wanted to go at least partway up the Cassiar Highway, as that was my original goal in heading out this direction. The weather on the coast wasn’t looking great for the next few days with more rain and unstable weather. To the northeast up the Cassiar, the weather was looking better. I made up my mind and decided to split the difference. I was going to head the rest of the way to Prince Rupert, as I was only a half hour away once I got back to the highway. I’d do a resupply there, have a bit of an explore around town, then head back up the Cassiar. It would be a long day, as I’d have four hours of driving from Prince Rupert to my first destination on the Cassiar: Jigsaw Lake Recreation site. I was looking forward to checking out this site as a local I met at Kitseguecla had recommended it.
Grey day Prince Rupert
Coming back up the forestry road, I was actually a bit more nervous about encountering boats coming in, but my late-morning leave actually reduced the chances of encountering someone coming in – fishing people like to get an early start. I did encounter one logging truck once I got back to the active logging part of the road, but it was lucky for me that he was right at a pull out anyways when he saw me, so he pulled over giving plenty of room for me to pass. I hit highway 16 happy to be done with that bit of road and proceeded into Prince Rupert, checking out a couple of spots you might be able to boondock on along the way.
While there were spots you could park, I’d say keep it to overnight only. I encountered a new deterrent to boondocking on the way. I see these low clearance barriers setup on some of the roads leading off the highway, like about 10 feet, just enough to keep me and anyone taller out of the area. There were no bridges or such to go under further down the road – these were specifically to deter taller RVs from coming down the road. That of course put me on alert that boondocking for extended periods is likely to get you noticed around here, so I’d stay at least a half hour out of Prince Rupert down a logging road if you want to do more than an overnight around here.
As I drove into Prince Rupert, I remembered one local’s assessment of the town: “it’s kind of a shit hole”. While the grey day wasn’t doing the town any favours, it wasn’t world class scenery either. The town is built on a hill, reminding me a bit of San Francisco, but without most of the charm. I traveled into the central part of town exiting left at the traffic circle and park in the local Safeway lot, intending to resupply and explore around from there. As the parking was busy, I checked with the clerk if it was OK to leave my rig there for a bit and go explore. They at least are still pretty casual about parking, just don’t try overnighting there.
Wheelhouse Brewing Company
I already had a lunch spot picked out. My advance browsing had found the Wheelhouse Brewing Company, which had a smoked salmon pizza on the menu. That stuck in my head, so I sought out this place as soon as I was done with my resupply. I had to walk down the hill a couple of blocks and cross the train tracks, heading into what looked like a reclaimed industrial area. The area had been spruced up a bit, looking not too bad. But the rain was starting to fall, so I headed into Wheelhouse Brewing.
Upstairs Wheelhouse
The place was pretty busy despite being past the lunch hour. I suspect there were still a few people in there from the cruise boat that was parked to the north of us. The bartender acts as the greeter here, letting me know that downstairs was fill, but I’d find a spot upstairs. But I had to order and pay for my beer and food downstairs first, which I find annoying. The tip definitely goes down when I’m pre-paying for stuff. Upstairs made up for that annoyance a bit though – there was a nice view of the ocean, even if it was a grey drizzly day. The brown beer was meh, but got better with the smoked salmon pizza, which was excellent other than the choice of adding arugula as a topping. Sorry, but I don’t like fresh greens on my pizza.
Pillsbury House, built by the railways
The weather had improved a bit by the time I was done, so I explored the plaza I had been looking over for a few minutes. There were a few other tourists around, but it was overall pretty quiet. I don’t know if the cruise boat had no people out at that point or if the weather was just keeping people away. I went back up the hill and decided I had just enough time for a quick visit to the Museum of Northern British Columbia. It costs $9, but it is a fair size. The lady at the till told me that it was quiet now, but had been busy earlier in the day when the cruise boat people had been around. The place was closing in an hour, but that was fine by me – I needed to be out by then to get my four hours of driving in and not arrive too late at my destination.
Museum entrance
My hour was about the right amount of time if you want to browse everything, but are not going to stop and read everything. The place is built to look like a traditional long house the natives would have built. These natives didn’t live in tents full time – they built solid wood houses of a substantial size. I do have some familiarity with the native cultures out here having done some reading about them, so I was looking for original native artifacts. I soon noticed that these were lacking in the museum – most of what they have is recreations done by the grandsons of the last generation to live on the land, in the 1980s or later. While it’s nice to see, it’s not original – I don’t trust it to be exactly like what grandpaw would have made.
Original mortuary bear
I commented on this lack of original art and artifacts to one of the staff. Interestly, they said I’d have better luck finding original works in European museums – it seems the plundering of treasures in the colonial era extended out to the Canadian west coast too. Perhaps while Prime Minister Carney is on his quest to develop ties anywhere but the USA, he could ask for a few of those artifacts to be returned to some local museums out here. In the meanwhile I admired the modern argillite art. There was even some for sale in the gift shop, but you could buy silver in equivalent weight for the money they are asking. I wish now I’d bought an argillite souvenir back when I first went to the Queen Charlotte Islands many years ago, it was still expensive but somewhat affordable back then.
Modern argillite
I was out of time, so I didn’t get to go down to the waterfront touristy area north of the museum where there was supposed to be a good fresh fish retailer. Next time, I hope! I had a lot of driving to do, so I got on with it. There was a pit stop in Kitwanga for the last “cheap” gas I’d be getting. Cheap is relative – $1.70 per liter is still better than the $2.79 I paid at my most northern stop up the Cassiar. I was at the beginning of the Cassiar highway here – the gas station is at a good strategic location for a Cassiar trip.
Bonus Lake
Fortunately for me, Jigsaw Lake was only another hour down the start of the Cassiar – I’d not be there too late. I did make one stop along the way at Bonus Lake Recreation site. It was right by the highway so I thought I’d take a look to see if it was any good. The lake turned out to be tiny, I’m not even sure there are any fish in it. While the site clearing was just big enough to have some sky for Starlink, the highway was really close – you’d be listening to vehicles going by.
Last light on Jigsaw Lake
I decided to continue on, Jigsaw was not that far away. I was fortunate again that the gravel road in was in excellent shape most of the 10.5km I had to drive. Only the last bit to the lake is grown in and a bit bumpy – with rain filled puddles. I had been hoping to have the lake to myself, but that was not to be. There were two other campers at the site with one taking up the best spot close to the lake in the sun. But the next best spot was still mostly in the sun and only slightly farther away from the small boat launch spot. The second camper had opted for the shady treed spot near the outhouse, which I get is more of a priority as he was tenting. At least the clearing was large enough that I could get a good Starlink signal here. The remaining two spots were also under the trees – you’d have to run a long cable to get your Starlink out in the clear enough there.
Hodge snoozing
While I had company, the weather at least was improved here – I was just far enough north to be out of the weather system that was keeping the Prince Rupert / Terrace area rainy. As the sun was out, I decided to be friendly as the campers were out watching me setup. I meet Reg with his German Shepard Hodge, and Richard who turned out to be the second camper under the trees. Richard was there for only one night so I didn’t get to know him that well.
Jigsaw Lake view of islands
Reg was staying there for a few days, possibly meeting his son there. We ended up talking quite a bit – he was out fly fishing everyday on his kayak, catching lots of fish. Reg was a bit of a colorful character, shall we say. The law definitely seemed to be a thing to follow when he thought it mattered. For fishing, the extras he was taking for him and his dog didn’t really matter much. As soon as the the fish started jumping you could see the lake was packed with fish. But from looking at Reg’s haul that day, I could see the fish were smaller – you’d eat two or three of these easily at a sitting.
I was keen to get out there and do some fishing, but the weather was not quite cooperating. I was just north of the main weather system, which was sending wind our way, plus the occasional rain cloud. I found out the next day it had rained hard overnight. It seems the spot I’d picked to put my door in front of was bare due to standing water rather than frequent foot traffic. I made due with some planks to step out on – I didn’t want to move my rig as it was on the best level spot available.
Lakeside dining
The weather did clear, although there was wind to contend with most days. The fishing started out okay and got better as I found where the fish were. I didn’t catch anything big, but the fish were a good frypan size. These were all rainbows that fought hard for their size. I lost many when the fish jumped out of the water and shook the hook loose from my Panther Martin or Croc lure I was using. The bit wasn’t always on either, it was half finding the fish and half hoping they were in the mood to bite. In general it was better to fish close to the shore as the fish seemed to be hanging out there more. Overall, it was pretty good fishing that allowed me to take some fish with me when I left.
The tourists prepare to fly their drone
While the fishing was good, the camping definitely wasn’t in solitude. There were regular visitors coming in, some for the day, some to stay overnight. A group of orientals came in one day being quite notable. I’m not sure where they were from, but I do remember that one couple was local having lived here a few years. They were showing their visiting relatives the local sites. For an hour it was like being in Banff with the chatter, cameras, drones and general gawking you expect at a roadside tourist attraction. They were friendly enough, but a bit in your face. They were jokingly telling Reg he should go out and catch some fish for them, but not so jokingly hoping he might take them up on it. The tourist gaggle was certainly not expected that far off the highway. Normally they will not wander far off of the paved main highway. But it was an experience to chuckle over after they left.
Quebec couple setup
Reg eventually gave up on his son showing up to meet him and left to go camp at his ‘super secret’ spot down the road where I’d come from. I took the opportunity to move the RV out of the water puddle spot into his spot with more sun and a nicer view out the window. A couple from Quebec showed up, doing the cross country and up to Alaska trip. They were definitely doing it lightweight, with a tiny trailer to sleep in, but still carrying two kayaks on top of their car. They decided to stay an extra night when they found out the fishing was decent. They certainly were veterans at camping, having walked into the campsite first to make sure they could turn around their car and trailer rig. There are some rec sites that are really tight, especially if there is someone else already parked in the area you could use to turn around in.
The portage in wide angle. Jigsaw and kayak to the left, unnamed lake to the right.
Jigsaw Lake is very irregularly shaped, with several arms to explore down, and islands to paddle around. I managed to paddle all the way to the end of the lake where the river exited one day, fishing my way down there. On another day, I went about 2/3rds of the way down the lake and found the portage to another unnamed smaller lake adjacent to Jigsaw. While the distance to portage was less than 50 feet with a 3 foot climb up to the next lake, the bushes were barely cleared out enough to drag the kayak over the top and into the other lake. It turned out there were fish in there, but I lost my one fish I’d caught already as I forgot I was dragging it in the water and it came off the chain when I portaged up to the other lake. The unnamed lake did have fish in it, but I only managed to catch one small one, seeing others of similar size jumping near my kayak. At least I managed to replace my lost fish with another decent pan sized fish when I returned to Jigsaw Lake.
An unfolded Kayak rolls up easier if you warm it in the sun first
My week at Jigsaw was quite good overall, only a bit more crowded than I expected. I had scouted out my next stops north, first to Stewart, then onto some lakes that looked to have some good potential fishing. I was going to take maximum advantage of the many lakes and relatively few people to camp near water as much as possible! Join me next time as I tour a little coastal town and experience some hit and miss camping going north on the Cassiar Highway.
