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Tag Archives: Knight Inlet Lodge

Knight Inlet Grizzly Bears

April 6, 2017 Lodge Guide

Your grizzly bear tour provides for many opportunities for great photos. In the fall the salmon are in BC’s coastal rivers and this is a smorgasbord for the bears. Some grizzly bears spend time looking for fish to eat while others just eat. Some ot these brown bears fish the deep water to pick up dead fish while others prefer fish live. Both of these are deep water bears. After a day viewing bears return to the lodge and maybe a “hot tub”. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 4-11

completed.

Another day at Grizzly Bear Lodge 8 of 20

November 1, 2016 Lodge Guide

The photo time stamp says 6:16 am. And that means somebody was up before we were making coffee in the kitchen. In July the guides are up at 6:30 to make coffee and set the perishables on the table and then call the guests at 7:00 for an 8:00 departure. But depending on the “jet lag” some guests are up before the guides but we have yet to convince them to make the coffee.

What is in between? 3 of 3

December 28, 2015 Lodge Guide

The Coast Mountains in the background make for a memorable flight to the Lodge from Campbell River. For many guests it is their first flight in a small plane. For some it is a “white knuckle” flight while others could do it every day. Keep a camera handy, as you will be flying for about forty-five minutes over nothing but a beautiful landscape that will give you some idea of the vastness of “Beautiful British Columbia”.

Good Morning 2 of 2

November 22, 2015 Lodge Guide

After the photos comes breakfast. Breakfast consists of: likely the most important thing – coffee and boilded water for tea – then home made muffins and bread, cereals both cold and hot (in a package), fruit (fresh and in bowels to be added to cereal), yogurt, juices and then more coffee. The each boat has a great picnic lunch but guests often take a muffin or fruit for a morning snack.

Good Morning 1 of 2

November 21, 2015 Lodge Guide

In the morning we always have a sunrise from the front deck it is just that most mornings the low-lying marine clouds make it hard to see. This cloud cover is gone before noon providing good light for photos. This photo was a quick snap from my camera as coffee was just being served and guests were on the deck needing room from their own “photo ops”.

Late Afternoon at the Lodge

October 14, 2015 Lodge Guide

Most of the day trips from the Lodge return by 4:30, which leaves a couple of hours of down time before dinner. Guests congregate on the front deck, walk the beach, hike the trails behind the lodge or read in the sunshine. The other and for most the more important activity is to check their days photos. It is also the time guests exchange e-mails so they can trade pictures if they are not able to do that on their laptops.

Grizzly Bear Lodge

September 8, 2015 Lodge Guide

Almost a complete photo. It shows the dock and boats used on the three different day trips. One up Knight Inlet to the grizzly bears, a second to Johnstone Straits to the marine wildlife, and the third to Trapper Rick’s if you choose to stay the extra day. Next the main lodge which normally accommodates six guests has a large deck where guests spend their time off the water sharing pictures. The next building is owners, Angus and Krystle’s cabin. Missing just past this is the water front cabin, which accommodates two more guests bringing the lodge total to eight. So if you want to avoid the crush of a lodge with thirty plus guests you are reading the right blog.

View from the Lodge

July 4, 2015 Lodge Guide

Grizzly Bear Lodge is located on Minstrel Island not far from the mouth of Knight Inlet. There is no other permanent human residence on the island but we do share with blacktail deer, one or two black bears, on occasion a grizzly will visit for a day or two and once we saw a wolf. The sunrise from the front deck does happen every day but many days it is obscured by a cloud cover. Knight Inlet is one of the longest on the BC Coast at 125 kilometers (80 miles) in length and because of its size has a microclimate that often becomes overcast in the evening. The good news is that normally by eleven o’clock the sun appears. As nice as it is to have the sun it does make it harder for good pictures when you are getting the reflection off the water.

Guest ready for the tour to start

June 15, 2015 Lodge Guide

Morning tours leave the dock by 8:00 in the spring and 7:30 in the fall. Guests are called by 7:00 or 6:30 and come down for breakfast, however many are up earlier once they smell the fresh coffee. While you have breakfast your guide is checking the boat and making sure the pop / beer cooler and picnic lunch is on board. The floater suit tied around this guest’s waist need to be in the boat, as they required by law, but it is not necessary to be worn. Most quests do wear the suits because mornings on the water can be cool and damp. By eleven o’clock the overcast is gone and out comes the sunscreen.

Arrival snack

June 11, 2015 Lodge Guide

Guest normally arrive from Campbell River by seaplane around 3:30. Luggage is carried to the lodge, rooms are assigned and a snack set out on the main lodge deck. The snack is a variety of cheeses, crackers, antipasto, tea or coffee and of course the main item either fresh dungeness crabs or prawns. And I think the table also shows a can of pop and a beer. While you are eating and Angus has a captive audience he will go over the operation of the camp and outline the day’s itinerary. Before you eat again at 6:30 there is time for a black bear tour of the local area where you become familiar with the boats and guides and of course look for black bears, bald eagles, seals, and occasionally seeing grizzlies.

Bald Eagles

Bald Eagles are frequently sighted in our area. At times they can be seen in large numbers. This is usually where food supplies are high. For example this could be in areas with high concentrations of baitfish or along the rivers in the fall when the salmon are spawning. They are not migratory, but do move around with the food supply. As mentioned earlier when the salmon are spawning we often see many along the rivers, while there will be fewer along the coastline. With little need for camouflage their white head and tail feathers can be spotted easily. The female is slightly larger and her white head extends down a bit farther onto the body, but it is subtle. It takes these birds 4.5 – 5 years to acquire this unique plumage. As juveniles they are a brown colour. With exceptional eyesight and the ability to view 270 degrees they are understandably often seen in high perches and in trees near points and passageways.