River Day

For those that want an adventure that goes a little more off the beaten path… to Trapper Rick’s!

Our optional extra day is truly extra-ordinary, please take a look below.

Dolphin Taking a Dive

whitside dolphin tail

Pacific white sided dolphins, as mentioned in the positing of April 17th, are frequently seen in our viewing area. They are observed as often on the grizzly bear tour and the day with Trapper Rick as they are while whale watching. This is an unusual photo as it is the after the leap and was kept to compare it to tomorrow’s post.

 

 

Trapper Rick’s Trap Demonstration

Trapper Rick's Trap

If you choose to spend the extra day at Grizzly Bear Lodge it is spent with Trapper Rick. We cross Knight Inlet and pass through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River which is located on the BC mainland. We travel by road to Rick’s cabin that is located overlooking a feeding area used by the grizzly bears after the salmon arrive.  The day includes short hikes, spin fishing for salmon for those who are interested, great photos of the incredible scenery and a picnic lunch. Rick is very passionate about the grizzlies and other wildlife in his river valley and this passion is evident in his willingness to share with his guests. On this day he was demonstrating the humane traps he used in his years of trapping.

 

 

River Scavengers

Bald eagle

The bald eagle is a majestic bird and it is exciting to watch them dive and pick food out of the water.  But like all wildlife a free meal is a free meal and an eagle makes no excuses for being a scavenger. If an eagle can grab a leftover salmon carcass and get a free meal they are the first in line before the seagulls, crows and ravens. This bald eagle was overhead eating a salmon while we moved up the river in search of more grizzly bears.

 

Black Bear Grazing

Black Bear on shore

The common expression heard around Grizzly Bear Lodge is “Black bear are where you find them.”  That is to say that from the time the boat leaves the dock in the morning until it returns your guide in constantly looking for black bears. The first evening at the lodge is an hour and half tour to familiarize you with the boat and your guide and to look for black bear. And on all tours for whales, grizzly bears or to Trapper Rick’s black bears are on the agenda. Black bears come to the shore for a change of diet from berries and to get some protein. This bear has found the ideal location as the logs are covered with muscles and barnacles, which are devoured shell and all.

 

Pacific Whitesided Dolphins

Pacific whitsides

Not a bad photo for a one-handed shot with a small camera while running the boat and staying with the dolphins. The dolphins seem to love to come and play with the boat and nine miles an hour is the speed that works. The dolphins are found in the inlets as well as while whale watching in the Johnstone Strait area. This means that there are opportunities to see dolphins while travelling up Knight Inlet to view the grizzly bears as well as on the extra day trip to visit Trapper Rick.

 

A day with Trapper Rick

Hike to Trappers

The extra day in camp is spent with Trapper Rick. We cross Knight Inlet through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River, which is located on the BC mainland. We travel by road to the river near Rick’s cabin, cross the river by boat and a short hike to the cabin. The above photo shows part of the trail and no the guest is not walking on his own Rick is in front and I am bringing up the rear. Guests are always in the middle with a guide at either end. The photo below shows the view from the front of Rick’s cabin over looking the lower river and the pools were we will spend time waiting for and on most days watching grizzlies come to feed on the salmon. While on the Kakweikan River there is an opportunity to spin fish for salmon, to hike but most guest prefer to enjoy Rick’s company and listen to his many stories of trapping in the area.

Trapper Rick's scenery

 

 

 

Departure from Grizzly Bear Lodge

Guests good morning

It must be close to 7:30 am as the guests are on the dock and ready to leave for a day of wildlife viewing. In the morning guests are called for breakfast at 6:30 for the 7:30 departure. The red / orange float suits are your government approved life jackets and as one of my guest said like wearing a duvet, in this case a warm waterproof duvet. On the dock is the picnic lunch for the boat. These lunches are always popular with the guests and our cooks philosophy is “that if the basket comes back almost empty she did not pack enough” it does not matter if the guest ate twice their body weight in food. Note that it is a maxim of four guests per boat and often less.

 

Bald Eagles 2 of 2

Bald eagles

Unlike the bald eagle in yesterday’s post these eagles are working for their food. It is hard to get a photo that does justice to the sight we saw in July on a whale watching safari in the Johnstone Strait area. A large herring ball had formed and the bald eagles came from the surrounding shore and started feeding. At one time there were more than twenty-five eagles in the air. The adult would dive down and pick up herring with the juvenile eagle right behind. We soon realized we were watching a training session for the young eagles.  We could not move close to the herring ball or it would disperse and it is hard to get good photo of flying birds from a distance so we took as few quick photos and enjoyed the sight.

 

Bald Eagles 1 of 2

Bald eagle bathing

The spring grizzly bear tours from the lodge are in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River estuary and the tidal portion of the river. In late summer after August 24th we use the viewing stands, which are a ten-minute drive up the river valley. If time permits and the tide is right, in the fall, we may also take a boat ride up the river. On this day a bald eagle was enjoying the sun on the riverbank. While not so much the sun as the remains of salmon that a grizzly bear had left on the bank. The carcass of the salmon is visible in the grass beneath the eagle’s tale. Many of the eagles that would normally be along the shores throughout out coastal BC move into the rivers once the salmon arrive. It becomes a free buffet that is hard to resist.

 

 

 

Trapper at work

ricks talking

The extra day at Grizzly Bear Lodge is normally spent on the Kakweikan River with Trapper Rick. This is a “wild river” in that it is hard to access and only our lodge visits Rick while the scenery getting to the river and at the river is “magnificent” (quote from a guest). The day involves short hikes; salmon fishing on the river if interested, and time with Rick looking for grizzly bears. This day the guests were below the falls at Rick’s cabin watching a grizzly on the opposite side of the river. The grizzly bears come to this area to fish at the entrance to the salmon ladder that was built by the Department of Fishers about twenty-five years ago. It is a unique experience viewing grizzlies from the opposite shore of a river and not being in a viewing platform.  Rick known the bears in this valley and has a great deal of respect for them and safety over pictures is his rule.