There’s lots to see and do right here at the lodge. Some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities are right outside your window. The trip here on the float plane is a scenic one with lot’s of great photo opportunities.
On the better evenings we may find a grizzly with cubs. Over the past five years the numbers of the grizzlies in the area near Grizzly Bear Lodge (named for a reason) has increased dramatically. The grizzly population of Knight Inlet is on the increase and the young males and mothers with cubs are moving down the inlet closer to the lodge. The competition for food forces the bears into areas they previously avoided and this makes the evening viewing much more interesting.
On your first evening at Grizzly Bear Lodge once rooms have been assigned, you are settled in, had your snack of fresh seafood (prawns or crab), dip, crackers, cheese etc., and Angus has given his welcome talk that outlines you itinerary it is finally time for your first tour. The first tour is a short wildlife viewing trip of an hour plus depending on what we find. The goal is to locate black bears that use the beaches as their buffet. Some nights we are lucky and have a good show often with a mother and cub other evenings it is even better as tomorrow’s post shows….
It is mid September at Grizzly Bear Lodge as one of the local fishing lodges is being towed back to its protected winter base. Aside from the variety of marine wildlife (orca, humpback whales, seals, sealions, dolphins, porpoise, bald eagles, many different water birds, swimming black bears) this area also has “work” related activities: commercial fishing; tugs towing floats, barges, log booms; cruise ships; seaplanes arriving and departing etc. That is to say there is never a dull moment on a tour and many opportunities for interesting photos.
Interesting in that the only place the photo could have been taken was from the viewing stands we use on our grizzly bear tours. The slightly downward angle with the bushes in the back ground means Glen was about 3.5 meters (yards) in the air. Like the posting from the 15th there are always interesting subjects when one tires or wants a change from grizzlies and a heron is a change.
Not all guests are this lucky when spending time fishing off the dock at Grizzly Bear Lodge. This is a 30 k (app. 65 lb.) halibut that we were able to bring onto the dock after getting it free of the anchor chains holding the dock in place. Not sure how that happened but it did and with Angus’s help we got it up for a picture. With halibut this would mean about 45 lbs. of meat which also means several dinners at the lodge and many happy guests.
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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