Overlander Falls

On my trips to the west coast I have always sped past this point, just over the Alberta -BC border in Mt Robson Park, so I left a bit more time on this trip to stop here, this is looking down he gorge below the falls, a more interesting shot than the standard post card view of the falls themselves I thought (but I do have one if anyone wants to buy it!)

Mt Robson in the clouds

Last time I was here it was -25 C, not sure what's better

Brown Black Bear

Stopped on the roadside about an hour west of McBride to photograph this cinnamon coloured black bear, for a moment it was very obliging so I could get the shot (I stayed in my car) but it soon took off.

Ancient Forest View in Spring

The three times I have made this particular drive west, I have never had a successful stop on here, about 1/2 way between McBride and Prince George. The first time I sped on past just noticing the sign, the second time the parking area was closed because of construction, and this time there was just too much snow for me bother with trying to get into the forest itself. So I took a call from work, took a shot from the parking lot looking north out over the highway, and carried on.

Black Bear Cub

This second year cub (I think) was with it's mother on the roadside about 1/2 hour from Prince George. Mum was too close for me to get a good shot with my telephoto lens so I let it go and concentrated on the young one for a few minutes, this is a crop,

Ocean Light II in Prince Rupert Harbour

A second long day of driving brought me to our (the group I was joining with pro photographer John Marriot) jumping off point, but there was a bit of drama to unfold.

Still evening in Prince Rupert

Large ore? coal? carriers moor in Prince Rupert Harbour, had a walk down after dinner to see what I could get, this was it.

The grand tow

Our transport to the Khutzeymateen had some trouble with the fuel pump that could only be fixed near term by sending it out to Prince George, an 8 hour drive away. This was Friday afternoon and the pump would be back in Prince Rupert at best Sunday night for a Monday morning installation. Being stuck in harbour would have eliminated a good chunk of our trip so Jen, the Owner, made the courageous decision to have the Ocean Light II towed out to the Khutzeymateen in order to minimize the delays, so here we are on a 5 hour tow up the NW coast of BC. It was commented on what an unusual sight this was with a vessel being towed out of harbour, its is almost always the other way around!

First Morning

Now safely docked at the Ranger station we were up and ready to go at 6.30 am for a pre-breakfast shoot.

Clamming Grizzly

Our first grizzly bear was digging for clams, he gave us a curious look as we floated up in the zodiac

Raven attack

Not really but these ravens certainly were ready to opportunistically pounce on any remains the bear happened to leave

The stare

For this one you have to wonder what the bear was thinking, maybe the raven too!

Beau at first sight

A bit on further up the inlet we ran into this beast of a bear who was nicknamed by the leader of the group as "Beau" as in "Beau Jangles" but with a "d" - don't think too hard about it.

Reflections

It's hard not to be impressed by the beauty of the Khutzeymateen inlet scenery reflected in the still waters

Upper Inlet

The beauty of the Khutzeymateen Inlet is stunning.

Barrows Goldeneyes

Although we were there for the bears there were lots of birds and waterfowl around to photograph during the "slow" times

Invitation or Provocation ?

These siblings put on quite a show for us "play fighting" which is what sub-adult bears do to hone the skills needed to survive when they eventually break out on their own. So keeping one eye out for any rampant male in the vicinity the young grizzlies engage in the ritual of passage into adulthood.

The clinch

The game is on as these sub-adults engage in "play fighting", honing their skills for adulthood.

The nose clamp

Check out the slice out of the shoulder of the bear on the right

Rest break

After several minutes of high energy exertions the young bears break off for a snack on the sedge-grasses

Lanky

A third juvenile bear comes onto the scene looking like he is growing too tall too fast, just like a 12 year old teenager in our world!

Walking the log

Classic bear behaviour

Blending in

"Lanky" carefully walks though a pile of dead wood on the shore of the Khutzeymateen inlet

Male Grizzly

Cruising around the Khutzeymateen estuary in the zodiac we ran into this big guy who looked not too pleased to see us, he got the nickname "SB" for reasons that will come later