Photographers are often asked what their trip goal or dream image is. I’m not that kind of photographer. I want to be out in the wild, let nature envelop me, and embrace what comes. This trip unexpectedly brought two of my favorite things together—bears in aspens! The deep turquoise water is accented by the luminous gold aspens. It’s a landscape that is fully captivating in its own right. And there are bears!
The Best Places Are Hardest to Get To
As is often the case with travel to remote places, plans are flexible. Plan A was to meet Barnabus at the Boundary Bay Airport in Vancouver, British Columbia. He would be piloting a white Pilatus private airplane with a tail number provided. Like Uber. But with an airplane. It turns out the pilot (and plane?) had to medivac someone to Toronto. Plan B was a small commercial propeller plane that was grounded due to high winds at Camp. Plan C had us Uber (an actual car Uber) a half hour to the South Terminal at Vancouver International Airport to catch a Central Mountain Air jet to Williams Lake, where a van would meet us. The 20-30 seat plane stopped in Quesnel, a town 80 miles north of Williams Lake, off-loaded about half of the passengers, picked up a few more, and headed back south to Williams Lake. We deplaned, the previous guests from Camp boarded, and the plane returned to Vancouver. A real airbus!
Once in Williams Lake, we stopped for dinner before our four-hour ride to Bear Camp. We arrived at nearly 10 pm under dark, star-filled skies. Our hosts offered us drinks from the open bar, ran through the morning routine, and escorted us to our tent on a platform over the river, which is just a blank black opening in the trees under the stars.
Bear Camp
It was as if we had been blindfolded for the trip. In the morning, I opened the tent flap to a stunning landscape. A fellow traveler described it best, without hyperbole: “I was in awe the moment I woke up this morning, and I’ve been in awe all day.”
Every morning at 7:30, our guide Robert left two hot cups of coffee outside our tent with a cheerful “Good Morning!” Breakfast is at 8:30, so we can be in the field by 9:30.
Bear Camp is in the Ts’ilos Provincial Park, the aboriginal lands of the Xeni Gwet’in (“honey goo-teen) people. The Camp wants to be a good steward of the environment and the bears. In agreement with the tribe, the self-imposed guidelines are to only be on the river from 9:30 am-12:30 pm and 2:30 pm – 6 pm to give the bears time to prepare for winter without human disturbance. They purposefully avoid dawn and dusk, leaving this prime time for the bears. Other operators on the river don’t necessarily adhere to these guidelines. Time spent with any individual bear is limited to twenty minutes, a rule/guideline I’ve heard on other trips. The difference here is they actually abide by it. Lastly, they don’t approach bears within fifty meters (approx 160 feet).
There are nine guests here, four guides, a world-class chef, and Michele, who does all the things. Eight wall tents on a platform above the river allow for up to 16 guests. The main lodge has a dining room with one long table, a sitting area, a coffee bar, and a kitchen. Four fully plumbed bathrooms with showers are in another building. It’s posh.
The Experience
Each day, we have the choice of hiking to a small lake, hiking to a summit, boating the lake, drift-boating, jet-boating down the river, or kayaking the river. When they got to “wet suit and helmet,” I quit thinking about kayaking.
A landslide in July temporarily dammed the Chilcotin River. This change in topography, water flow, and perpetually warmer temperatures affects the salmon run. A small percent of the “normal” run is here a month later than expected. That’s nature. A strong berry crop has also resulted in bears preferring to stay on the mountains to eat. As a result, river bears are further from Camp (still down river), leaving the jet boats as the only reliable way to see bears this week. With fewer fish, the bears tend to eat where they are. When fish are more plentiful, the bears’ population is higher, and competition drives behavior. Bears grab their fish and then run to the cover of the forest to eat. We wouldn’t be able to watch them eat, but neither would their rivals.
So, it was by jet boat that we watched bears fishing daily, bundled up against the wind. Each day, increasing schools of bright red fish came up the river. Trying to photograph through the water from a moving boat is a challenge, but that’s part of the fun!
A Unique Location
I’m stunned at the beauty of the golden aspens against the deep turquoise blue river. The colors are unreal. I think I take the same picture each day, desperate to hold onto this beauty and this feeling of awe.
A widening in the river creates a pool of slow-moving water, shallows, and captivating reflections. And, of course, there are bears.
In the aspens.
In the turquoise waters.
In the rapids. In the salmon. Every bear trip is unique. I never know how that will be until it happens. This trip is unique in its backdrop/habitat. Stay tuned for bear stories!
If you’re interested in purchasing or licensing any images you see here, please email me at SNewenham at exploringnaturephotos.com, and I’ll make it happen.
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