Occupy Agreement

I have been wondering about all these Occupy Activists lately, thinking that they are a bunch of dope smoking, crack eating pot heads, which some of them probably are, but there are some with very real concerns.

I went down to the post office today to mail a book off, 1 book. I have always sent these same books in a package, supplied by the post office, for $11.00. These packages were designed to fill up and mail, no matter what the weight. Today they wouldn't let me mail even 1 book in that package, I had to buy the next bigger one, for an extra $3.00. This larger package is what I used to send 6 books in for $14.00. Maybe I am one of the people who took advantage of the post office's former generosity, but it was their own policy. Price of shipping is going to go up folks, so my book sales will no doubt suffer.

Another big corporation example of public gouging is the price of gasoline at the pumps. $1.29/l at the pumps here in Campbell River. Now the price of oil has been down several dollars below the summer high, but the price per litre keeps climbing! What is going on? What is their new excuse? What a bunch of shysters we have to contend with and we have no choice but to pay, pay, pay! I hope there is a big raise coming soon!

It won't be long and I will have no choice but to join the pot heads in their tents on the grounds of the Legislature grounds. At least the government will pay for my room and board if I refuse to move.

2011 Season of Grizzly Bear Viewing

The 2011 season was one of our busiest with lots of bears, a decent salmon run and lots of great guests. As always there are some we never want to see leave because we do have a lot in common and need more time to get to know each other. I always watch the guests as they climb out of the plane and wonder who they are, what are they like, why are they here, what is their story and most of all who are we not going to want to see leave? Some of the most difficult looking first impressions often turn out to be favorite guests as they become more comfortable with us. I always have to remind myself that our common bond to begin with is wilderness and wildlife, especially grizzly bears. From there we can begin. I am not long on words so tend to let the wilderness explain itself, with some explanations from my perspective. I do introduce our new guests to the cove and inlet with some history and background of the logging, cannery and the lodge itself. With a bit of luck we can often show our new guests a bear within an hour or so of landing and getting on the water. My payment is the joy that many of them express when they see their first grizzly bear. For many guests, this is one more tick off their personal bucket list. Many people have travelled the world to experience wildlife and the grizzly bear is considered one of the top of the world wildlife trophies to see in the natural world. I am very lucky to work in a place where we have excellent assurance of seeing one everyday.

There are some very good reasons why the bears are here and why our guests can be assured of seeing one. Guests spend hours of their time planning their trip and spend al lot of money in hopes of a close encounter with a grizzly bear.

The big motivation for bears to hang around the cove are the food resources. In the spring, sedge provides immediate nutrients and helps to maintain their body weight over the summer. As the tide ebbs daily, the bears move down the exposed beach to roll rocks over and slurp up intertidal life such as gunnels, insects, arthropods, shore crabs as well as mussells and barnacles.

Berries grow in the forest beginning in late June with Salmon berries and progressing through summer and fall with many others such as huckleberries, currants, elderberries and ending up with salal and Pacific crab apples.

Mating season begins in late May and through June so the bears know that there is a good chance of finding a mate here. It is always the most exciting season with many encounters with large males interacting with the females as well as the possibility of bear fights for dominance and the right to be with a favorite mate. This season we watched our favorite young bear get chased away from his mom so she could go off with Clyde. Peanut was a hesitant bachelor but caught on by salmon time. Next year we may get to see Bella chase her cubs off to begin the baby cycle over again. Hopefully Lenore will come home with a pair of cubs to see too.

Around this time of the season, the females bring their new born cubs down to the beach to forage as well. There are always plenty of oohs and aahs when guests see the little cubs. We run "name the cubs" contests at the lodge, (no cheesy names please) and it is always interesting to see the names that our international guests come up with.

Salmon season begins at the end of July and early August. Now is when the bears begin to pack on the weight they need to make it through another winter. The river mouth and the tree stand are favorite hangouts for the bears looking for the first salmon returns. As salmon become more numerous the bears move up river toward the spawning channel where they will become more concentrated.

Many other reasons help keep bears in the Glendale area. A small but safe no hunting zone keeps trophy hunters away from our bears. We continue to strive towards a hunting ban of coastal grizzly bears, but our government is very attached to the dollars these hunts bring in.

The forest and healthy river provide great food, safety, mating, hibernation and diversity of life habitat that the bears need for a fruitful, healthy life.

We continue to weigh the costs and benefits to the bears of being too habitualized to bear watchers. We strive to maintain safe observation distances, keep time schedules, and to stay on regular paths so none of the bears are shocked or surprised when we meet. We do not carry food or dump garbage that the bears may pick up and begin to associate us as a food source. We travel in groups, make a bit of noise and carry pepper spray as a deterrent if ever approached too closely by a menacing bear. We have never had to resort to that.

This season my guests and I have had many experiences with bears that we will all remember for years to come. From the comments in the guest book, we continue to be one of the highlights of most of our guests holidays. On Trip Advisor, Knight Inlet Lodge was voted #5 in the world as a destination. This is a designation voted on by our guests and one that we are all very proud of. It shows how hard we work for our guests and how successful we continue to be at giving our worldwide travellers a quality grizzly experience.

Franks Day Off

Here is a link to a post that one of our guests wrote about one of my tours. It is his perspective of a great day on the water at Knight Inlet Lodge.
Hope you enjoy.



http://www.knightinletlodge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Whales-Franks-day-off3.pdf

Its Really all About the Salmon

Once again this year, we are watching and wondering about the salmon returns to the Glendale River in Knight Inlet. According to the DFO weekly counts, the return is far below what the 2010 out migration of 20 million salmon fry should produce. Last count I heard was about 80 thousand adult pinks have returned to spawn. Early estimates hoped for up to a million returning pinks, even half that would be possible in good ocean conditions. That count may go up, but normally by this time of year all the fish are lying in the deep river pools. At the same time we are listening to reports from the Cohen Commission on the sockeye collapse of 2009 and wonder if anything will actually come out of spending millions of dollars on another exercise in futility. One company pointing blame fingers at the other, the environmentalists pointing at industry and the government pleading innocence, confusion, lack of funding, low staff numbers and muzzling of key scientists. One scientist disagrees with others, doctors of this and doctors of that who cannot or do not want to cooperate with each other for fear of tumbling their own house of cards in the gamble to appear to correct the apparent demise of wild salmon.

In the meantime, the time honoured struggle by the salmon to propagate their species continues in innumerable rivers along the west coast of North America. Everyday the salmon face more obstacles than we can count, both man made and natural. It is these challenges that make me pause to wonder at their unselfish determination. Everyday I stand along side the river observing salmon waiting patiently in the deep pools for their body's hormones to complete the metamorphosis from powerful, sleek, silver ocean fish to the dark, ragged and torn specimen, determined to spawn in the river of their birth. The females grow dark green with pink highlights as their eggs ripen once they hit the fresh river water. The males also grow dark green with yellow and pink highlights; their backs grow into a large hump and their jaws become more hooked with large canine teeth. These transformations happen relatively quickly, over about 6 weeks. I watched the first salmon female digging her redd the other day until she was chased off temporarily by an eagle looking for a fishy meal.

Some of our guests wonder why these fish turn so ugly as they prepare to spawn. I often equate our own pregnant female with the spawning salmon. I have never found them to be beautiful either. I do admire the dedication and the beauty that the salmon have for their mates, even though they are "ugly!" Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I continue to understand and appreciate the beauty of the natural world.

I watch as the salmon finally leave the security of the deep, tannin stained pools, in a rush through the shallows to get to their final spawning site. Sometimes they go as a mob, rushing, splashing, scurrying through shallow riffles, hoping to confuse a waiting, predatory bear or eagle. It seems that there may be safety in numbers as the odds of getting "me" lessen, may motivate this rush, like a beach head attack on D-day. Occasionally they sneak up, one at a time, hoping nobody will notice their strategic advance.

Of course, every once in a while the bear wins. As cheerleaders, watching this age old contest, we often have mixed feelings about which team to cheer for. We know how crucial it is for the bear to get the maximum calories that it needs to have a fat cushion for the coming 5 months of fasting hibernation. On years when there is a large enough salmon return, it is not so difficult to cheer for the bears. During the bear feast, when they need 50 thousand or more calories per day, we know that it requires a lot of fish to satisfy this hyperphagia. ( I figure about 2000 calories per fish).

On years when there are few salmon our loyalties are challenged, understanding how important it is to the long term health of the environment that each salmon makes it to spawn, before getting eaten.

In the meantime, all we can do as interested spectators is to raise awareness and understanding of the plight of the salmon and bears. As the salmon are a "keystone" species and the bears are "top of the food chain" species, both of their secure, strong numbers will ensure that the whole environment around them will also be healthy. Irregardless of what Justice Cohen decides next year, the healthy wilderness still comes down to the courage, the determination and the wisdom of each animal to survive and continue the struggle to propagate their own species.

www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com

One WOW Day

As I begin each day I wonder; "what is going to happen today? Is this going to be a Wow day? Can I make it into a Wow day for my guests?"

A Wow day that just occurred last week began as I prepared for a marine tour from Knight Inlet Lodge. I packed the lunch and drinks then my personal gear such as my "oh crap, we're sinking bag" rubber boots, sunglasses and camera bag. I made sure my 7 guests had all the stuff they needed to make their day comfortable and that we all had a final pee.

I had in hand a picture of a native pictograph that I wanted to try to find and thought that Billy Proctor would be able to help me.

The day was bright and clear with no wind. The inlet water was a mirror, reflecting high clouds, snow capped mountains and forests. The first highlight was the sighting of a monstrous eagle nest, perched high above the forest canopy in the dead top of a cedar tree. It must have been used for decades, rather than years. We wondered how many trips it took for the eagles to build this mansion on the hill?

After about an hour we arrived at Lagoon Cove, a marina with a permanent population of 4. Boats and yachts plying the waters of the inside passage often stop here for fuel, safe anchorage and news. It is a scenic setting in the sheltered waters of East Cracroft Island where you can set out your crab and prawn traps for a taste of delicious west coast sea food. Pat gave our guests a lesson on the life cycle of prawns and dungeness crabs. Off we headed after a pee and chocolate bar refill, down Clio channel, pausing for a chat at the Bennett Point fish farm.

I accidentally found the pictograph that I was searching for on the point of land just outside the abandoned native village of Karlekwees. Interesting what you can see when you pause for a look once in a while instead of rushing, willy nilly, here and there. After passing through Wilson Pass into Baronette passage we paused tor tea at Cracroft Point. We were monitoring the radio, listening to professional whale watching companies for any news of elusive orcas. They are big animals, but the ocean is bigger. There were no orca reports but there were humpbacks in Blackfish Sound. The waters of Johnstone Strait were flat, there were commercial fishing boats moving about and plenty of sea birds to watch. We paused for a few seals hauled out on some partially exposed rocks, then a postcard photo of a trawler coming toward us. We spent a few minutes marvelling at a seiner as it was bringing in it's net full of salmon, only 1 scoop, so not too productive. We had lunch with a pair of humpback whales who were feeding nearby, making sure that Rose got her cup of tea.

We observed at least 8 different whales in the vicinity so after lunch was packed away I began following a pair, any pair would do. All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, a humpback breached, right beside the boat. I saw the splash and heard the exclamations of surprise from my guests and stopped the boat to let the whales move off a bit. In the next minute and 35 seconds, according to Frank's video, we saw them breech 7 times. Unbelievable power and strength, mighty splashes accompanied by great grunts and whistles from the whales too. Other boats began to crowd around us as we watched, in awe of Mother Nature's power. What was happening here? Are they mating or just enjoying life? We looked at one another in wonder, filled with emotions, bubbling over with enthusiasm and excitement. After a few more minutes, we all knew that nothing more could be better than this so we headed for Billy Proctor's Museum, near Echo Bay.

Rose wanted to buy a book. She has become enamoured by Billy and his story. We enjoyed Billy's philosophical and humorous stories as he toured us through his junk and his newly built hand loggers or trappers shack. His shack was made from one cedar log, hand split and sawn with about 20 pounds of nails."It ain't much, but it's a damn sight better than sleeping under an overturned rowboat or leaky tarp on the beach!" he exclaims, knowing from personal experience, all three shelters. He described to me where there are 3 more sets of pictographs to be found along our route home.

With Rose's books in hand, we bid our goodbyes and left on that search.

True to his description, we found 2 of them, right where he said they would be, "on the bluff just before the gravel beach about a mile and a half beyond that new log dump. Look behind you and up a bit." We did not have time for the others, so they will be for another trip.

By the time supper was served, my guests were the envy of all the guests at the lodge. This was their Wow day and they felt like stars, which is my job to make them feel!

It's Often the Little Things

More and more often I am finding that the little creatures are making many of my tours memorable. We tout our trips to see whales, grizzly bears and scenery, but often times these top of the food chain creatures have their own agenda which may not agree with ours. Tide levels, food availability, timing and weather can all conspire against our best efforts to show our guests the highlight predators we all hope to see and cross off our bucket lists. Last week I had two tours out to Johnston Strait to hopefully see Orcas and Humpback whales. The weather worked with us, albeit quite heavy waves coming up the inlet with the inflow winds in the afternoons for our rides home. The tides were favorable to see some black bears grazing on the beaches and Johnston Straight flat as glass and sunny. Finally we spotted the Orca fins, inside the Robson Bight Nature reserve so we sat on the invisible border, guided by the GPS, and watched distant fins and vapor blows as the small Orca pod slowly swam up strait about 200 to 300 meters away. These sightings can try the patience of Job, so after about an hour of that, a bobbing lunch on the boat and a washroom break badly needed we headed for Telegraph Cove. No encouraging news blared out over the radio so we decided to head towards Billy Proctor's museum. Just across the strait lies Stubbs Island and the Plumper Islands. which is the mouth of Knight Inlet, where we spotted a Humpback Whale. We followed it at a respectful distance for half an hour or so then off we were again. A large flock of gulls were busily diving on the water so I decided to investigate that. Hundreds of gulls, scores of Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres were diving into a Herring Ball, feeding and screaming frantically over this bounty. I parked the boat about 50 feet away and shut down the big engines so we could all take in this spectacle. Soon the Bald Eagles joined in, scattering the gulls. The eagles lined up like at a busy airport, one after the other, gliding in and picking herring out of the water. None of us had ever seen such a feeding frenzy, such spectacular flying abilities or such numbers of birds all working to pick up an easy meal. For 10 minutes we watched , as the birds combined with the beautiful flat water and spectacular scenery held us spell bound. Suddenly from the dark depths rose a dark Leviathan, like an island emerging from the deep, a humpback whale spouted amongst the frantic birds. Another quickly followed, then a third whale rose to take in a mouthful of herring and just as quickly sink back into the depths. None of us could believe what we had just witnessed. Over and over the whales emerged to blow and eat, scattering the protesting flocks to the safety of the skies above. Even a few Pacific White Sided Dolphins joined in to feed. For half an hour we sat there quietly, taking in one of Mother Natures great events, a sight I am sure will stay with us all for a long time. We headed home, knowing that the little creatures of the strait had provided us, once again, memories for a highlight reel on our holiday and job. I get paid to do this!

Dramatic Season of Babies

The spring has been particularly cool and that cold, wet weather has carried on into the first month of summer 2011. Even so, life goes on for us and the wildlife. Mating season is over for the bears and for us it was amazing to witness. We saw black bears mating and it was not so easy for either mate. The boar had a huge gash below his eye and another chunk out of his cheek, but he had the sow. They argued quite often as they wandered around for three or four days together. At the same time we watched one of our regular female grizzlies, first chase her son, "Peanut" away and take up with a male named "Pretty Boy." a few days later she was with "Bruno." After a few days with him there was a big bear fight between Bruno and and new male we called "Clyde." Talk about a furious scrap on the beach, but then we saw Lenore with Clyde. After about a week or so another male showed up and took over from where Clyde left off. Lenore was making sure she was well fertilized and the last I saw her, she was by herself, once again the solitary bear, as she is meant to be. For now, she will carry her fertilized eggs called "blastocysts", floating around her womb until she begins hibernation. At that time, her body will decide if she is carrying enough fat reserves to feed her and nurse her new cubs. If she is healthy enough the blastocysts will attach to the uterine wall and become a foetus.

The most important and always most dramatic for all of us is when the bears present us with their new cubs. Both black and grizzly bears have brought their shy new babies down to the shoreline to be introduced to the people who watch respectfully from boats nearby. The black bear brings her babies past the lodge regularly, scraping barnacles and mussels from the rocks and foraging for berries overhanging the slippery, rock weed covered rocks. They seem never tempted by the delicious odors of baking or barbecuing, emanating from the kitchen. As they are first exposed to humans, the bear cubs are very worried and we can often hear them muttering excitedly to their mom about the dangers coming closer from the water. Mother bear is, in turn, soothing their fears with quiet whispers as she carries on grazing on the sedge or turning rocks over for the succulent inter-tidal life hidden beneath. She must weigh her family safety with a calculated risk of trust she has built over the past seasons with the humans who live in her home range. So far they have done nothing to hurt or disturb her and she feels a certain comfort by their presence. She has also learned that the large male bears are not so sure about the people, so they tend to hang back in the safety of the deep, dark forest lining the shore. A couple days ago, one of those male grizzles decided to risk all and attacked the mother grizzly with two cubs. It only took a few seconds and the fury of a mother bear protecting her babies was demonstrated. She had him by the throat and flipped onto his back about as quickly as I can type this. The cubs hid quickly under a stump while their mother dealt with the threat to their young lives. There was a whole lot of chuffing and snuffing and posturing until dominance was established and the male bear headed for safer territory. I do not want to see the bears hurt, but I do admire how they deal with their problems. The situation is dealt with immediately, with no waffling or discussion. The problem is solved, one way or the other and life then goes on. There do not seem to be any grudges held, just memories and their hierarchy is established. Life goes on by comforting and reassuring her cubs, sedge grazing, nursing and a nap.

The bears are so very dramatic but no more important than all the other creatures living in the forest around us. I watched the other day as a river otter was startled by our sudden appearance and warned her new kits to hide in the forest above the rocky shoreline. They had trouble scrabbling over the slippery rocks and could not move fast enough to suit mother, so she bravely risked her own safety to grab each kit by the scruff of the neck and drag them, one by one, to the securety of the bush. This immediately brought my question to mind for my amazed guest: "which one of your kids would you have grbbed first, the closest one or the favored one?" When danger threatens us, how would we react, is there a favored one or does instinct just kick in to do the best we can at the time?

Around the eaves of the lodge and in the bird houses are scores of baby barn and tree swallows, all squabbling over the food the parents gather by swooping through the air after insects. Frantically, they fly, over the water, high in the air above the forest, from first light to can't see evening, they flutter hurriedly, noisily, trying to satisfy the always agaped bills facing them as they settle onto the rim of their nest.

Hummingbirds buzz, eagles scream the osprey cries, the loons yodel and the crows and ravens squawk from the distance. Everyone is trying to raise their families while protecting them from the maurading predators. Daily, we witness cooperating little birds gang up on larger, more dangerous predatory ones.

Up in the heights of the forest, I watched a couple weeks ago a Pacific-sloped flycatcher build her nest under an overhanging rock ledge. Last week I saw her incubating it. The same day I saw a roughed grouse with her little chicks, pecking grit along the roadside.

A couple days later I found the first glaucous winged gull baby that I have ever seen. "Ugly cute" is how I describe that thing. How can such a beginning result in such beauty. The baby gull doesn't wander far from the protective wing of it's devoted mom. Good thing for mothers and we now know where the saying comes from: "Something only a mother could love."

The flowers are blooming, turning to seeds and fruit already. The leaders of new growth on the conifer trees has already beagan to darken and the salmon berries are ripe. Huckleberries and elderberries are turning color, soon ready to feed the birds and bears of the forest.

There is also sadness on the water. I found several dolphins and one seal that had died, most I think were youngsters who did not survive birth. The seal still had it's umbilicle cord attached. Sharp eyed eagles had found these carcasses before I did and were taking advantage of this bounty to feed their youngsters. Life goes on!

How can anyone be bored when such miracles take place before our very eyes as we sit quietly in our boats or on our butts in the forest. Slow down and enjoy Mother Nature's miracles as they progress through the seasons.

http://www.seasonsofthegrizzly.com/