Bella Coola, BC Trip August 26-28, 2017

Five of the students who came on the Jasper and Banff trip the previous June expressed interest in

another trip to see wildlife. I suggested the Bella Coola area in late Summer and Fall for Grizzly Bears

feeding on salmon. September is the best time to see bears in the area but we were restricted by the

school year starting soon. All of the students who came were heading off to their universities within a

few days and I had to start work the day after returning. We knew that we were a bit early in the season

and would need more time to thoroughly explore the area but went with the time we had. In the end, it

was well worth it. The Bella Coola valley is a very isolated area in the middle of the west coast of BC.

Day 1: We left Kamloops at 7 am sharp from the Coast Hotel where the group was staying. We put the

pedal down and did the 735 kms / 9 hours to Bella Coola pretty much straight through other than

stopping at the Save on Foods in Williams Lake for some drinks. This drive took us directly through the

middle of the three largest fires that have burned or are still burning in BC this summer. To those of you

living in the area tired of smokey air, we found the sources! Several times we were within a kilometer of

open flames and we passed a large fire camp that housed many fire fighters and a large camp for

soldiers who were called in to help out. We also observed two helicopters filling up large containers on

ropes near our road and heading off in the direction of open fires on a mountain side. We were thankful

that the only road to Bella Coola had reopened a mere two days before we had to leave. I had secured a

travel permit to be able to drive through the road closure but it was much nicer to simply pass through

on an open road. Burnt and burning pictures below. We did see some buildings destroyed as well.

To get from the interior of BC down to the Bella Coola Valley, vehicles must descend what is

affectionately known as “the hill”. Bella Coola residents took matters into their own hands with

bulldozers in the 1950s to complete a road to connect themselves to the rest of the mainland over land.

“The hill” takes the better part of 20 minutes to complete and is not for the faint of heart. It is certainly

not the kind of road that my mother would go up or down for pleasure. Much of it is single lane which

makes one ponder about what would happen if two large trucks met in the middle of it. I’m not sure of

the vertical drop involved but it is extreme and probably well past the legal limit for a provincial road.

Part of “The Hill”

Once in the Bella Coola Valley we put our minds to finding wildlife, having only seen 3 Mule Deer,

several Red Squirrel, and a Snowshoe Hare on the entire drive in! Mammals proved tough as stops at

the boat launch for the bear tour operators and fisheries pool came up empty. We proceeded slowly

towards Bella Coola checking for Mountain Goat and anything else that would move. Seeing nothing,

we checked into our hotel (Bella Coola Cumbrian Inn) and went to a nearby diner for supper. After

supper, we drove the hour back to the prime Grizzly Bear viewing areas and back without seeing

anything of note. At fisheries pool, we met other bear watchers and one of them had a fishing pole.

After watching them catch a few they asked if one of our group wanted to give it a try. We had four

Pink Salmon reeled in within 30 minutes or so while waiting for bears which never showed.

Some of the conversation among the bear watchers gathered at the fisheries pool centered on the

possibility that the fires could be throwing off the Grizzlies schedules and we wondered if this was the

case. After an hour drive, back to our hotel with still no bears, we went to sleep wondering what the

next day would yield.

Day 2: We were out the door at 6:30 (daylight) and headed east towards the bear viewing areas

determined to have a better day with bears. As we pulled into the boat launch area near fisheries pool,

we saw an adult bear swimming across the river. We soon realized this was a female as she stood up on

the opposite shore and called not 1, not 2, but 3 cubs across the river to join her. I had never seen a

bear with 3 cubs before but, after speaking with some locals, it is not that extraordinary here. We then

checked in at fisheries pool but no bears had been or were being seen there. Satisfied with this sighting

we headed back to Bella Coola for some breakfast at the Bella Coola Valley Restaurant. A mother Ruffed

Grouse with 4 young entertained us briefly along the road on the way back and a Stellar’s Jay added

some colour.

Ruffed Grouse Stellar’s Jay

I had been put into contact with a local First Nations man named Andrew by the owner of the Cumbrian

Inn during a phone call the week before this trip. Andrew had several activities for us to choose from for

a small fee during this day. The students and I decided on three activities that all involved the local Bella

Coola First Nations people: visiting a local master carver, hiking to some petroglyphs, and observing how

salmon is traditionally processed and smoked. These activities turned out to be well worth the fee and

an excellent connection with the culture of the original inhabitants of Bella Coola. Unlike many other

locations in BC, First Nations people still make up the majority of residents in this community.

The master carver was carving some cedar doors that are going to be placed on a building at the

fisheries pool bear watching site.

The petroglyphs were carved in stone many years ago by First Nations people. There is some discussion

about what the symbols mean but all consider the area to be sacred in a spiritual way. The 10 minute

hike brought us through the beautiful temperate rain forest the valley is also known for.

Bella Coola Petroglyphs

It was very interesting to see how the salmon was processed and prepared for the smoker. This visit

included a bag of smoked salmon that we were invited to try to show the finished product. I think I ate

the entire time we were there! For anyone who is a smoked salmon fan, this was a definite highlight!

After a brief stop back at our hotel, we travelled the 1 km to the ocean inlet that Bella Coola sits on the

end of. Our goal was to see two things: Clayton Falls and Harbour Seals. Clayton Creek that falls over

Clayton Falls was full of Pink Salmon with a few Chum and Rainbow Trout scattered about. The water

flows cold and clear and from the viewing platform every now and then a clear swell reveals salmon

stacked in the pools. After enjoying this area, we went across the gravel road and out on the flat area

where the Creek meets the ocean. More than 10 Harbour Seals were hanging out preying on the

salmon that enter the creek here. We were hoping to see them out on rocks resting but we settled for

small white and grey heads bobbing about on the surface at close range.

Scoping out seals near the Bella Coola harbour

The owner of our hotel was nice enough to let us borrow two salmon fishing rods to do more fishing

before bear watching in the evening. With a few supplies from the fishing section of a local grocery

store we set out for the fishing spot on the Bella Coola River beside the airport. The students went from

people who didn’t know how to cast to those who could reel in salmon in short order. The learning

curve is steep when nearly every cast produces fish. We hooked a lot more than we landed but did end

up with 13 on the shore. We posed with some of them briefly before releasing them back into the river

to complete their life cycle. Bella Coola is an amazing location in that we could be on a fantastic fishing

site all by ourselves. The amount of salmon in the river there at this time of year is mind boggling.

Releasing a male pink salmon

Female Pink Salmon without a hump, male with a hump on its back

We overstayed our time fishing and decided to visit the same grocery store for dinner instead of heading

back to Bella Coola for dinner. Our bear watching plans for the evening were east of us and it didn’t

make sense to back track west 20 minutes or so. Fortunately, the grocery store has some “fresh” fried

chicken and pre-made sandwiches that we grabbed and ate while travelling east. Just before the

fisheries pool there is an opening where a long stretch of the Bella Coola River can be viewed from the

highway. Both people sitting on the passenger side of the vehicle yelled out and we pulled around to

see a large Grizzly grab a fish and head into the forest to eat it. It was quite distant but we were able to

get some digiscoped images recorded. This turned out to be our only bear of the evening but the

students were quite focused on fishing again at the fisheries pool for most for the evening, landing 5

more Pink Salmon. After all the activities of the day, we drove the hour back to our hotel and crashed

into bed.

Day 3: The 5pm deadline to return our vehicle in Kamloops loomed large as we left the hotel at 6 am

sharp. It was a struggle to know how much to look for wildlife and how much to just head home to be

sure and make the 5pm goal. We drove the hour to fisheries pool and spent 5 minutes looking for bears

there which turned out to be the wrong plan because it meant missing a large male grizzly by 5 minutes

at the boat launch 5 minutes later…oops. Back on the main road we headed up the hill. Midway up we

stopped briefly to see a Sooty Grouse on the side of the road. A little further up we met a Mountain

Goat which trotted in front of us briefly before heading off the road. Near the top we rounded a corner

and greeted a Black Bear which crossed the road in front of us. Timing is everything with wildlife and

most animals are seen with a few hours of dawn and dusk.

A common way to see bears in Bella Coola “The Hill” on the way up with wildlife fire smoke

Crossing the Fraser River near William’s Lake on the way back

9+ hours later I dropped off the students at a hotel

in Kamloops and had the vehicle (Ford Transit Van)

back at the rental place by 4:45 :)

What I learned:

Shawn – How to release salmon safely so they

don’t die.

Felix – That wildfires can be disastrous for animals.

Anna – How to fish.

Will – The First Nations Raven story.

Carter – How to fish.

Naomi – About First Nation beliefs.

Favourite moments:

Shawn – seeing rivers full of salmon.

Felix – When the master carver showed us his work.

Anna – Seeing the mother bear stand up to protect

her cubs from us.

Will – Trying a traditional First Nation way to find

direction

Carter – Fishing by the airport

Naomi – the First Nation activities: smoking salmon,

petroglyphs, and the master carver.