The Great Bear Rainforest

I spent 3 days with Jefferson Bray and his beautiful dog Bindi at the Great Bear Chalet in Hagensborg just outside Bella Coola in the hope of seeing some Grizzly bears. Staying with Jeff is  a very personalised experience, like staying with a friend. He waits on you hand and foot and designs  your daily activities based on your preferences for hiking, river drifting, visiting various platforms and lookouts or camping out in the forest for a few nights. Last option not for me, I like my creature comforts at the end of the day, especially when the mountains surrounding me are snow capped.

On the way from the airport to the Chalet we stopped briefly at the government run official viewing platform where I saw my first bear. He was quite a distance away swimming across the river and while I didn't get a closer look I felt it was a good sign for the rest of the trip. 

    Atnarko river 

After lunch a party of 4 Swiss folk arrived to join us on a hike in beautiful surroundings - quiet and peaceful punctuated by the soothing flow of the Atnarko River which we often followed and always ended up at, looking for fishing bears. Jeff was clear about expectations and safety precautions and always the welfare of and respect for the bears was central to his approach. Bindi came with us and I was amazed at her control and silence despite being alert to and interested in every sound and movement. I briefly imagined the chaos that would ensue if Dexter had been present.

After a number of locations were explored we finally came across a bear fishing in a back eddy and were thrilled to watch as s/he fished until maybe catching a whiff of us and heading off into the forest on the opposite bank. While I hadn't got a chance of a decent photo of either bear on my first day I nonetheless retired satisfied and excited at having such lucky sightings. 

    Good part of the forest for sleeping if you're a bear

We started the following day early with a drift down the river, joined by visiting family of some friends of Jeff's. Not too long into the trip we were lucky enough to encounter Bent Ear, who also goes by the names Mac and Barry. Jeff thinks this one is shaping up to be the next dominant bear in the area, and he certainly is impressive to see.

Jeff stopped the raft and climbed out to hold it still so as not to approach Bent Ear and intimidate or challenge him. We were maybe somewhere between 30 and 50m away. At some point he caught a whiff and sight of us and he stopped fishing to have a look and feel us out. He and we were both on the same side of the river in the shallows, him heading upstream and we downstream. We held our breath waiting to see what he would do, with Jeff at the ready to concede the space and steer us across the river if he continued on this course. He watched us for a while then decided to take the opposite bank and continued slowly up the river, monitoring for fish and passing us about 12m away on his chosen course. I can't describe the feeling of being that close to such a powerful wild creature who you know is dangerous but, apart from monitoring you for threatening behaviour, just goes about his business paying you no mind if you don't encroach on his space, except with the much overused word awesome.

We continued down  the river and just at a point where the other woman in the boat and Jeff were discussing whether it was possible and sensible to stop on the bank for a wee I spotted this fine form, seemingly having the time of her life fishing. We all agreed best not to stop for a wee!

She was headed down river so for a while we followed behind slowly at a good distance so there was no sense of us stalking or pressuring her. She looked like she was thoroughly enjoying the fishing experience and it was a pleasure to watch her. Then she stopped in a section of the river and went off to fish in a back eddy, resurfacing after a bit and, like Bent Ear, catching sight and smell of us and coming closer to check us out. She was quite curious and once again, those of us who don't do this every day held our breath while she decided what she would do. Jeff spoke quietly and gently to her and she turned around and went back to her fishing. We stayed and watched her, enjoying her antics for about another 20 minutes then finished our float down the river to the boat launch.

    Stunning scenery at every turn 

We finished my second day with a gentle hike enjoying the continued sense of decompression and perspective after my dramas in Vancouver. Up for my last venture into the wilderness the next morning and we started at a camping ground that's in the middle of a 'bear highway' so closed at this time of year to avoid conflict. We didn't see bears but saw much evidence of their presence with fresh paw prints, a day bed, many fish carcasses and scat.

    A salmon dying after spawning

    A bear day bed

After a couple of brief stops at areas good for sightings I was granted one last moment of awe by Bent Ear from the fish counting platform just before heading to the airport.

    Snorkelling 

Jeff and Bindi saw me off at the airport to commence my border crossing attempt. I left with mixed feelings about this place. It has such beautiful wilderness and people like Jeff who are passionately protective and help people have peaceful and positive awe inspiring experiences in relatively close proximity to bears with minimal impact on them. It also has people who seem to think they shouldn't have to accommodate the bears and shouldn't be inconvenienced by having to take precautions to protect their crops or livestock (like electric fences). This results in unnecessary encounters and conflicts which often end in the death of a bear which could have been avoided. Worst of all while I was there bear hunting season started and not far from where we were was a designated area for this awful activity. I have trouble reconciling it and hope they ban bear hunting soon. In the meantime I hope Bent Ear and the beauty above along with all the other bears stay safe from such wanton killing.

    With Jeff and Bindi

    Flying out of Bella Coola