Morning and early morning at the lodge. First the “morning view” guests see when we call them for breakfast at 7:00 the second the view of a blue heron from the dock when the guides are getting the boats ready before we call the guests. Yes even as a guide I still look for the different photo after ten years (that is the average time the guides have been with the lodge). Clicking one a photo will enlarge for a better view.
“Maybe if I just lie here the fish will swim closer and LUNCH?” Could have been a hot day in late August and a good way to cool down. Do not see many fish in the water near this grizzly bear so the “cool down” is a good option. Bear watching is always interesting as their behaviour varies from day to day.
Spring in Knight Inlet does bring some large grizzly bears to the lodge’s tour area of the Glendale River estuary. The spring and early summer bears are eating the high protein sedge grass or turning over beach rocks in search for other forms of protein. This is a good-sized grizzly for the spring. Keeping a wary eye on the viewing boats. The tide is rising as told by the high water in the river behind the bear. Note the blue heron in the background always fishing.
Not the same fish and grizzly bear as in yesterday’s post. The leaf is missing from the back and the fish is turned around but a better view of a bear with a mouth full. Every day on the lodge grizzly tour is different, if it weren’t it would become boring for the guides and so far it hasn’t. Even the boat ride up and down Knight Inlet remains interesting always on the look out for black bear, orca, dolphins, eagles and whales.
On the lodge wildlife tours during the hot days of July and August we frequently see grizzly bears in the water. The water in the Glendale estuary are a mixture of salt and fresh water which the grizzly bears often drink. That is to say the bears do not end up with a heavy coating of salt when they leave the water. And it is better to have them in the water cooling off than moving into the shade away from our viewing.
This grizzly bear is about thirty feet (ten meters) away. It is not looking at us but is more interested in the activity in the river just beyond the seagulls and whether it is safe to go for lunch. I know it is lunch as our tour viewing time is between ten and noon. OK it could be a late breakfast. The road behind the bear runs between the viewing stands on this section of Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The viewing stands are used after August 25 until the end of the season.
The tours from the lodge travel up Knight Inlet by boat and then take a short van ride to the viewing stands on the Glendale River’s spawning channel. The entrance to the viewing stands is made from steel posts and heavy gage wire. The stands are about ten feet (three meters) off the ground. Occasionally the juvenile bears are curious and would like to visit which is not a great idea but good for pictures.
The rivers along the BC coast, in the area of Knight Inlet are subject to extreme water level changes, which may wash out a bridge. This was not the case with Rick’s river rather it was an engineer who had a section of a bridge removed. After the fact no other official agrees with the decision but it takes time to have an error corrected. Until then we use a boat. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 10-11
The morning grizzly bear viewing tour up Knight Inlet is always more memorable after an encounter with a Big grizzly. Guests like to compare the size of the bears they view on their day trips however a truly big grizzly bear will tend to keep other bears away until they have had a good feed. So maybe size is not a good thing. Is this one eating grass it is possible even though this picture was taken in September bears are still eating grass and berries along with salmon. Salmon along the BC coast and notably Knight Inlet arrive at the rivers in mid August and remain until late October.Bruce comments “Although prior to our visit we had read about the thousands of salmon that congregated up river at the end of “The Salmon Run”, the wall-to-wall density of the fish was an amazing sight.”Photos by Bruce & Carole Cripps 8-11
Just like that another season has come to an end. We are grateful for all the wonderful staff and the guests this season. It was an excellent season and we are already looking forward to next May.
One of the highlights of the season was all of the new cubs out. It was awesome to see so many new cubs of the year and that is great news for our bear populations moving forward. We had great spring viewing and this continued through summer. On our river trips we started to see salmon arriving in August and enjoyed some great shoulder season viewing. The fish at the viewing platforms were a little late showing up this year, but viewing during late September at the platforms was great and the estuary viewing remained strong throughout the season.
Out in the whale watching world it was another year that saw large numbers of resident Orca who remained in the area right into October. The Humpback viewing was also great with large numbers feeding in Blackfish Sound. It is so amazing to have these magnificent animals back in our waters in such numbers.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We rebuilt the front deck last spring, utilising cedar cut on site. We will continue with some siding, rooms improvements and hopefully a floating sauna ready for the start of our season.
2026 is already looking like a very busy season for us. We only have limited high season availability so please book early to ensure we have space for your group.
Looking forward to seeing you next year
Angus Reid
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