Queen Charlotte Islands

The trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands had 3 parts - the journey to and from the islands, the time spent on the islands and the time spent in Hyder, Alaska.

The FLIGHT to Fairbanks from Anchorage was amazing. The pilot took special care to show us the highest mountain in North America by slowly flying around the mountain.

The journey from Fairbanks to the islands and back was about 4000 (6400 km). We drove down the ALASKA HIGHWAY in Alaska  and the Yukon and the headed due south down the CASSAIR HIGHWAY to reach Prince Rupert. From Prince Rupert we caught the ferry to the Islands (an 8 hour trip).

At the QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS we stayed on the northern island (Graham Island) for 8 days studying the birds. The birds of the islands (and the other fauna and flora) are very interesting because the islands were not subject to glaciation during the last ice age. Therefore many species and sub-species are endemic to the island and are of great interest to scientists. During our time on the island we camped mainly on disused logging roads and basically did our best to keep out of the active logging areas.

On the way to and from the islands we stopped in at HYDER, the most southerly town in Alaska reachable by road. On the way down we spent a morning and on the way back we spent a night.
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