It wasn’t long before we wanted a closer look, so we loaded up the zodiac and headed out. Everyone scrambled for their gear and photographed the wolf from the deck of the boat. This afternoon our captain spotted a sea wolf walking along the shoreline. We’ve spent a lot of time cruising around in the zodiac just outside the sanctuary. We’re finally at the Khutzeymateen, but our permit doesn’t allow us to enter until tomorrow. He faced us, raised one paw and grumbled. After what looked like an attempt to look casual (I’m not headed your way), he finally crawled on a rock near our boat. In one moment, one of the cubs broke away from the mother and came toward us. You could hear loud crunching as they chewed – I don’t know how they keep from hurting their mouths. They were feeding on mussels attached to exposed rocks, scraping the mussels off with their teeth. The most exciting find of the day was a mother bear with two cubs. After eating several of these, he returned to the shoreline to continue eating grass. He’d find one small clam and delicately open it to reveal the smallest morsel of food. We found a male Grizzly that was digging for clams at low tide. Along the way, we’ve spent time looking for bears in the Kwinamass Valley and have been lucky. The weather hasn’t improved much and we’re still on our way to the Khutzeymateen. Maybe we’re crazy, but we’re also excited by the possibilities. German and I are on another adventure, enduring many forms of discomfort with the hope of returning with unique photos and videos.
For those of you not familiar with boating, you feel every bump and roll in the bow. I think they’re focused on the horizon and hoping they don’t get sea sick, but no one will admit it! My “room” for the next 9 days is more like a shelf than a room and is located in the bow of the boat. The men are crowded above deck under the canopy. At this particular moment, it’s cold, we’re crashing through waves, and it’s sleeting outside.
There are 9 of us on board, 7 men and 2 women. I feel age and mystery when in these waters. I love the natural setting of British Columbia: dark waters rimmed by huge moss covered trees, set against looming snow-capped granite peaks. The sanctuary includes 109,500 acres of rugged peaks, old growth temperate rainforest, and a large estuary. We’re headed about 40 km northeast to a place called the Khutzeymateen, Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary. Yesterday, we left the port at Prince Rupert, an island along the coast of British Columbia. The hard part is keeping the computer on my lap! It should have the opposite affect when sitting on a sailboat that’s rocking and rolling, but it seems to be working.
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