Bute Inlet Grizzlies

Summer 2008

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

A trip to BC's coast mountain watershed

by Alex Matthews

Our small group of paddlers stands on a gravel bar where the Algaard Creek joins the Orford River. We’re here to see grizzlies. Our Xwemalhkwu (Homalco) First Nation guide points far downstream to a big male making its way back up along the riverbank. He’s sure that the grizzly will take a path through the bush and emerge back out onto the beach across the river from us. We hurry into position and I rush to get my biggest lens fitted to my camera. Just as I swing the Nikon up to my eye, the bear bursts out of the forest. Seeing us, the big grizzly takes several rapid steps in our direction. His image fills my viewfinder and emergency bells explode in my head: this bear is way too close!

I snap a few wildly desperate shots and then drop the camera from my eye, ready to flee. Of course, the bear is a good distance away: it’s only the extreme magnification of the zoom that has fooled me. Our guide lightly touches my shoulder and gives me an amused grin. I feel foolish, but my heartbeat starts to slow down to a reasonable rate. I take more pictures as this awesome animal inspects us and then moves on. Finally, I draw what feels like my first breath in minutes—the encounter has literally left me breathless.

Last September my wife Rochelle and I went along on a guided kayak trip led by my pal Ralph Keller of Coast Mountain Expeditions. Ralph and his wife Lannie also own and operate Discovery Lodge on Quadra Island. Quadra is located between mainland BC and Vancouver Island with ferry service from the town of Campbell River on Vancouver Island.

We met up with six other guests at the beautiful Discovery Lodge, which was to be our point of departure. After a great night’s sleep and breakfast, we loaded our kayaks and headed out toward the mainland. Our paddling route took us through Whiterock Passage, to a lunch-spot on one of the Rendezvous Islands. From there it was a straight shot across Calm Channel to the BC mainland and our first campsite.

The following day we began to kayak up Bute Inlet, enjoying the amazing skyline of the magnificent Coast Mountain watershed, which includes some of British Columbia’s highest mountains. A warm sun beat down on us, even as the water beneath our hulls took on the distinctive icy teal color of glacial runoff.

Having camped out a second night, we paddled the last leg of our journey up Bute Inlet to the mouth of the Orford River and the Xwemalhkwu First Nation’s grizzly bear sanctuary. This is the ancient Papknach village site in the traditional territory of the Xwemalhkwu—a people who have shared their home with the grizzlies for millennia and consequently have a profound connection to the bears and their environment.

Every fall, grizzlies congregate at the Orford River for the salmon run, feeding on the fish that head up the river to spawn. The salmon run is incredibly important to the grizzlies because before they head back inland to hibernate for the winter, the bears need the big protein hit that only gorging on salmon can provide. Normally, grizzlies would never tolerate so many other bears in such close proximity, but the rich resource of the salmon-filled river is enough to force a truce, at least for a little while.

The Xwemalhkwu First Nation maintains a small hatchery on the Orford and offers guided bear watching tours. We stayed at their camp, which consists of basic logging-camp style accommodation. While it’s not luxurious, its simple utilitarian approach is reasonably comfortable, and more importantly provides the needed distance and security to protect both visitors and bears.

For both days that we stayed at the camp we had incredible views of grizzlies, and it was tremendous seeing the bears work the river. On shore, our Xwemalhkwu guide took us to several viewing locations, but we also used our kayaks to great effect, paddling up the mouth of the river for some spectacular views of bears.

Leaving the camp the following day we set out paddling back toward Quadra. Some hours later, as prearranged, Lannie met us in the lodge’s boat. Displaying the perfect timing of the true professional, she appeared just as the first drops of rain began to fall. In no time, our kayaks were loaded aboard and we were soon back at the lodge. Tucking into another beautiful meal, we swapped stories, relived events and marveled at the magnificent grizzlies that we felt so privileged to have seen.

For more information contact:

Coast Mountain Expeditions, www.coastmountainexpeditions.com