One Way Out: the viewfrom the End of the Road
Stewart
by Steve O’Neill

If your life travels have not included time spent in Stewart, a little burg nestled in a narrow mountain valley at the head of the Portland Canal where the Pacific snakes in to meet the Stewart-Cassiar highway, you are in for an experience of natural extravagance.

Stewart prides itself on any number of significant and unique geographical virtues and historical coincidences. It actually does sit at sea level at the innermost reaches of a spectacular fjord, about 90 kilometres from the open Pacific Ocean.As well, Stewart boasts the most southerly
land access to mystical Alaska, being an intimate neighbour to the fabled, friendly "ghost town" of Hyder, Alaska. (Hyder actually does have anywhere from 60 to 100 year-round residents, but the "ghost town" appellation is far more enticing as a visitor magnet.)

The population of this collection of lifestyles - perched defiantly on the flats between sea, rainforest and on the Canadian side of an international border - has rallied from a high of perhaps 10,000 in 1910 to around 17 determined dwellers not long after. Currently, somewhere around 500 of us continue to create our lives here.

We enjoy a pace of life that owes its quality to the reality that Stewart and Hyder are truly at the end of the road. The very postal code, V0T1W0 is locally referred to as "very old town, one way out."

The town was founded in 1902 and recognised as a settlement in 1905. As was the wont in those far bygone days, it was named after the first postmaster, Robert Stewart, one of the first three founding fathers (who were also brothers by the way.) The three Stewart brothers had arrived in 1902 with visions of a prosperous town and unlimited wealth mined from the surrounding mountains. Through good and bad economic times, Stewart remained an unincorporated community until 1930 when it officially became a village.
The road to Terrace was built in 1973. It has been described as a muddy logging road that took hours to drive and required great skill in tire changing and repair. It has since been upgraded to an excellent and well-maintained highway. Previously, the other "one way out" was via the Alaska and BC Ferry systems down the Portland Canal.
The current one way out (or in) is a spectacular and awe-inspiring drive. The visitor, or the one-way-outer, must drive through the magnificent Bear Pass. (Sooner or later it becomes obvious to all that bears play a significant role in the geography, the mythology, and the obvious lack of imagination in naming everything.) As well as the Bear Pass, there is the Bear River, Bear Lake, the Bear Valley, and now the Bear Valley Community School. And not to be outdone, we are also a "bear safe" community as well as a minor producer of "bear bells" or "dinner bells" as the locals refer to them.

In the summer, this area can put on a show like few others. The 6,700-foot granite peaks of Mount Rainey can pierce the sky and stand like ancient sentinels protecting the valley. On other days, the fog can roll down the fjord and create a supernatural and mystical feel. In the winter, avalanches can roar down and cut road access to the "outside world," leaving us alone for a day or two. It can snow so much in one day that roads disappear, and the whole world softens and whispers. It’s then that we actually feel the isolation, and know the immensity and power of nature here.
To add to this always-changing landscape, the town (with the help of a large number of volunteers and HRDC funding) is engaged in building a boardwalk that pulls the explorer from the main street of downtown Stewart out onto our expansive and unique tide flats. When completed next spring, the boardwalk will stretch approximately a kilometre long, and will allow safe and ecologically sound access to an area
that is home to a number of small spawning streams, a myriad of birds, some incredible driftwood and unique plant life. The project also includes a solid and substantial covered gazebo-type structure that frames a magnificent view of the canal. This helps, in some small way, to capture some of the beauty without feeling overwhelmed by the immensity of the vista.

There is something about a boardwalk that speaks to the human soul. The project began in early September, and with less than 100 feet completed, people began to test it out. As it grew day by day, people continued to walk to the edge and gaze out at the magnificent mountains and the gentle, flowing tides of the fjord. Now the boardwalk is more than half completed, and the number of people and dogs and bikes grows daily. It’s funny. It’s not a major, infrastructure type of undertaking. It’s not a new road to anywhere, and it’s not going to result in an increase in taxes.

It is a people-sized, people-oriented project that, in its simplicity and its intent, invites one to wander, wonder and spend time talking, gazing and reflecting. It gives those of us who live here another view of our town, and being able to shift our perspective can be a good thing.
When you live at the end of the road, with only one way out, another view of the world is always a welcome addition.

(Steve O'Neill is director of counselling services in Stewart.)
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