Friday, October 30, 2009

Winter in Hartley Bay




Yup, moved up to Hartley Bay on the north coast to teach an Essential Skill for Work course to the young adults through the Northwest Community College in Prince Rupert. I moved up here on the 19th of October. Jen will be joining me mid November after her world championships in Portugal. I am stoked to be up here and I am excited to explore this area in the winter. High on the list of activities are ski tours to remote islands, backcountry trips to Terrace and lots of stand up paddleboarding. Here are some shots below with my adopted family Cam and Eva. We are in a stunning inlet thats rich with wildlife.....and dungeness Crabs.





Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Magical Great Bear Rainforest



September was another incredible month for me in the Great Bear Rainforest. I resigned from my position as the women's basketball coach at Quest University so this allowed me to get back to the place I love, Princess Royal Island.


August 30th-September 6th

My first trip of the month started on the Pacific Yellowfin with Captain Colin. Colin hired me to take some special guests from Aspen up to the area for an 8 day trip. It was a very successful trip which started in Bella Bella. We worked our way up the coast, anchoring in stunning inlets, walking salmon rivers in search of Grizzly Bears, watching humpback whales and relaxing in hotsprings. We also took the group to see the Spirit Bear and participated in a community feast in Hartley Bay which is where we ended our trip. I am looking forward to running more trips with Colin next summer in this area. Colin's boat, the Pacific Yellowfin, is most likely one of the top boats on the coast. It is 120 feet long and it is an old reconverted WW2 Minesweeper. It is mint. Colin is a great captain and super host and his crew is one of the best i have worked with. It was a real treat to guide on this boat. Amazing boat, amazing trip, amazing area.

September 7-17th

Immediately after the trip on the Yellowfin I hosted the 3rd ecology class from Quest University in Squamish for a 10 day immersion into the culture, ecology and wildlife of Hartley Bay and the Great Bear Rainforest. The 18 students were blown away by the experience in the community. Cam Hill was an incredible host as he had most of the students staying at his place and he and Eva along with the elders in the community provided a learning environment and cultural experience that had a deeply lasting effect on the students. Along with this incredible cultural experience the students also had a chance to walk salmon streams, view Spirit Bears and visit local whale researchers Herman and Janey. Another special treat was having Ian MacAllister of Pacific Wild come in an talk to the class about the environmental challenges facing this coast. Ian is an environmental legend and has done some incredible things on this coast over the last 20 years. I am already looking forward to the next years class. Quest University's mission statement of Integrated, Intimate and International could not have been better represented by the experience in Hartley Bay and the Great Bear Rainforest.

September 18-25th

My last guiding stint of the month took me back to King Pacific Lodge, a place I have worked at off and on for the past decade. It was good to be back taking guests into rivers loaded with salmon. We had at least 9 humpbacks feeding right off the docks at KPL and the Spirit Bear viewing was some of the best i have ever seen. Another treat was having my partner Jen with me on all of the adventures and activities over the week. She was "job shadowing" and was awesome, bringing her own passion and excitement to the area.


So that was my September. Another great one. Now i am back in Squamish getting fit and enjoying a little bit of down time.