Sunday ; Hagensborg
Today was cloudy with intermittent rain during the day, steady rain in the evening. Well ... DUH ... we're in a rainforest !
This morning we refilled our fresh water tank and dumped our waste holding tanks before departing Gnome's Home RV Park for a day of exploring around Hagensborg. First stop was the weekly Bella Coola Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds on Hwy. 20 halfway between Hagensborg and Bella Coola. Another Bella Coola area disappointment. More of a flea market than a farmer's market. And not even a very good flea market, at that. We stopped at a farm gate with a self service produce table at the roadside and bought some tomatoes.
Hagensborg is a Norwegian community, having been settled by a group of about 100 Norwegians about 110 years ago. They settled here because the nearby fjord coastline reminded them of "home". So Hagensborg is still very much a Norwegian community. The locals even have a Norwegian accent still. Bella Coola is a Native community.
We stopped at the Norwegian homestead that is now the local Visitor Centre, next door to Gnome's Home RV Park. It was closed, but their Wi-Fi was still operating, so we parked in their parking lot and I worked online for a couple of hours, trying to make ferry arrangements, and posting my weekly journal entry and photos to my blog. Outside, Joanne patiently befriended a stray cat. Named her Lola. Fed her a buck and a half worth of Sully's "gourmet" canned Fancy Feast < rolling my eyes >.
We had lunch. We drove to Shop Easy and bought some groceries. Well ... and I bought some fishing flies. Including a honkin' huge thingy for catching salmon. We drove to Snootli Creek Regional Park to hike into the Great Bear Rainforest and view old growth cedar trees. And see if we could find the "culturally modified" old growth cedar trees. We weren't even sure what that was ! A very long time ago, the local Nuxalk Indians removed sections of wood from live cedar trees to use in the construction of sacred and ceremonial objects. We weren't even sure what we were looking for, but we knew it when we saw it ! Giant, old growth cedar trees with large chunks cut out. Looked like doorways cut into the trees. And the trees survived and flourished. And still do !
As we entered the hiking trail to see the old growth cedar trees in the Great Bear Rainforest there was a handwritten sign warning of the presence of a Grizzly sow and two cubs. And not very far along the trail was ... "evidence". We backtracked and took another trail !
After viewing the cedar trees we drove to adjacent Walker Island Park, the local sports field / playground / picnic ground. We had left Bo in the truck when we hiked to the old growth cedar trees because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so we thought some Bo-gility in the playground would make it up to him. For the first time in ten years of eagerly sliding down children's slides in playgrounds, today he got hurt on a slide. Poor Bo ... I'm so sorry. I carried him up to the top of an old fashioned spiral slide, and without hesitation he jumped onto the slide. Which was wet from rain. So he slid down very fast. And halfway down the spiral the momentum threw him against the edge of the slide ... and over ! THUMP ! He cartwheeled over the edge of the slide and fell to the ground below, landing on his side and knocking the wind out of himself. < sigh > No serious harm done ... we hope ... but he probably has some bruising and perhaps sore ribs.
We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park. Joanne did laundry. I worked on photos on the computer.
Monday ; Tweedsmuir Provincial Park
Cloudy, cool, intermittent rain. That seems to be the norm here. Today was a day of seeing and doing fascinating things in a fascinating place.
This morning we dumped and refilled, then left Gnome's Home RV Park. We drove next door to the Norwegian Heritage House / Visitor Centre to use Wi-Fi to check e-mail. I wanted to check if I got a response to my ferry reservation request. I did, although it was not as favourable as I had hoped. B.C. Ferries has confirmed a reservation for us from Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday, but the connecting ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island on Saturday is fully booked. We're on a waitlist.
From Bella Coola to Bella Bella on Thursday is a "small" ferry that services Bella Coola and a few other small, remote villages along the "Inside Passage". We wanted to spend two days ( not more ) at the tiny Native village of Bella Bella before connecting to the "large" ferry that sails the Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. One of that ferry's stopping points is Bella Bella, so we can connect there. However ... Bella Bella is a very tiny, remote Native village. We could not find much information on Bella Bella, so obviously it's not a prime tourist destination ! We certainly don't want to be stuck there for longer than the two days we had planned.
While I worked on Wi-Fi Joanne went outside to visit with her stray / feral cat friend, named Lola yesterday, renamed Lila today < rolling eyes >. Lila's sociability would suggest that she is more likely a stray "dumped" cat than a true feral. She was eager to "lead" Joanne to see her "bed" of leaves in the forest, and her "home", the little bridge over the little creek. Joanne rewarded her with another can of Sully's food. I sure hope when I die Joanne doesn't turn into some kind of weird, old cat lady. HA HA HA ! Says the guy who never met a stray dog he didn't rescue. HA HA HA HA HA !
We drove east out of Hagensborg heading about 50 km. / 30 miles back to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. On the way we stopped to view a beautiful, large piece of Native art on the side of the road. It was a "Memorial Pole", erected by the family of a 68 year old man who died a few years ago, drowned while fishing there. A few miles later, there was another piece of art on the side of the road. A fairly recently carved cedar totem pole. Beautiful work ! Nothing to identify who carved it, or why it was there.
We stopped to have lunch at a roadside picnic area at the western edge of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. The location was a fascinating piece of history. It was where Alexander Mackenzie began the final day of his journey, on July 22, 1793. By the end of that day, he had reached Bella Coola, and had completed his search for an overland trans-continental trading route to the Pacific Ocean. It was the first recorded crossing of continental North America, and ( for my American friends ) many years before Lewis and Clark did the same.
The picnic site was at the confluence of Burnt Bridge Creek and the Bella Coola River. There was a short hike uphill to the lookout where Mackenzie viewed down the Bella Coola River. The final day of his journey ... that day ... was by canoe down the Bella Coola River from that point to Bella Coola. The last time his expedition had used canoes was coming up the Fraser River, near what is now the city of Williams Lake, so ... Hwy. 20 from Williams Lake to Bella Colla follows approximately the same route as the famed Mackenzie Trail.
We have been leaving Bo in the truck quite a bit because of the risk of encountering Grizzlies, so he was very eager when we offered him a "hikey". There was a path through the forest that we thought would lead to the nearby Bella Coola River. Well, it did, but ... it also led to another path that intrigued us. At the beginning of the second path was a sign with Native art, and instructions to leave the area by 4 PM, and do not take any photographs, in accordance with Nuxalk "law". HUH ? ? ? We hiked down the path and found ... the gravesite of a Nuxalk chief who died four years ... and one day ... ago. There was evidence that a memorial service had been conducted there recently, probably yesterday. His grave was circled by rocks. Herbs had been planted on top. There was an unfinished / work in progress cedar totem at his head. Various sacred icons adorned his grave, including a solitary eagle feather. His final resting place in the Great Bear Rainforest was surrounded by thick moss and lichen covered ground, and large cedar and spruce and fir trees, near the Bella Coola River. What a wonderful, serene place. I felt honoured and privileged to be able to visit his grave, and pay my respects.
After hiking and lunch, I napped briefly with Sully. He was very happy to cuddle under the covers for an afternoon nap. After I napped we continued east to the Belarko Bear Viewing Station, open today for the first day of its thirty day annual season. We parked, and walked to the bear viewing station, a large wooden deck, surrounded by an electrical fence to keep tourists safe from the Grizzlies < rolling my eyes >, overlooking the Atnarko River. There were about a half dozen tourists from Germany already there. There seems to be a considerable number of tourists from Germany in this area. After waiting around for about half an hour or so, around the corner of the river came ... < blink blink > ... a Grizzly Sow and her triplet cubs. WOW ... three cubs ! That's pretty rare. Over a period of half an hour or so the four of them wandered along the opposite shoreline of the river from as far as we could see downstream to as far as we could see upstream. Mama Bear was searching the river for fish. The cubs just goofed around behind her. They were surprisingly small for this late in the year. They were quite a bit upstream ... not as close as I would have liked ... when I finally got to cross off another bucket list item. Mama Bear leaped into the river, splashed around for a few seconds, and came out with a huge salmon, which she carried back to the shore for the family to eat.
WOW ! < blink blink >
I was really glad that Joanne was able to view these four Grizzlies. I was worried, after seeing a Grizzly the other day, that she was not going to get the opportunity to view a Grizzly.
Late in the afternoon we drove to Fisheries Pool Campground where we were planning to spend the night. When we arrived there was a small group of Native families having a picnic. A small group of Native boys, perhaps ten to twelve years of age, were romping in the Atnarko River. Around the bend came a Grizzly viewing drift boat from nearby Tweedsmuir Lodge, filled with German tourists. HA HA HA ! It was very amusing to see young Native boys in swimming trunks romping in the river ( on a day much too cold to be doing so, in our opinion ) with a boatload of German tourists drifting by, all of them dressed as if it were the middle of winter, wearing down pilled parkas, mittens, and toques ( wool watch caps for my American friends ). The Native boys and the German tourists all looked at one another, each group obviously thinking "why are you dressed like THAT ?". HA HA HA HA HA !
After the boatload of German tourists unloaded and were taken back to Tweedsmuir Lodge, and the Native families finished their picnic and left, we walked down to the river's edge and I fished for about fifteen minutes. I now had a honkin' huge Coho Salmon fly ... I think it's called a "streamer". BUT ... not what the salmon wanted tonight ! Oh, well ... < shrug >. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. This afternoon at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station I met a man from Calgary who is a fly fisherman, and his fished for salmon in this area a few years ago. We made tentative plans to meet tomorrow afternoon at the airport for some fly fishing for salmon in the Bella Coola River.
Tuesday ; Bella Coola area
WHAT A DAY ! ! ! ! !
Mostly sunny, warm, a bit windy at times. This morning we left Fisheries Pool Campground in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and headed west on Hwy. 20 back towards Hagensborg and Bella Coola.
As we were driving, a Bald Eagle suddenly swooped across our windshield, diving towards the Bella Coola River running beside the highway. I slammed on the brakes and did a U-turn as quickly as I could. By the time I had turned around and stopped, the Bald Eagle was standing on the shoreline of a small creek flowing into the Bella Coola River, on top of a large salmon gripped in its talons. < blink blink >. Beside it was a juvenile Bald Eagle voraciously devouring another salmon. Mama Eagle and offspring ? I took some photos, although they were a bit too far away for my camera.
Eagle catching salmon ; cross that off the bucket list !
We drove into Hagensborg and stopped at the Norwegian Heritage house again. While Joanne prepared lunch I refilled our freshwater tank and connected to Wi-Fi to check e-mail. Our Bella Bella to Port Hardy ferry on Saturday status is still "waitlist". Wish us luck ! After lunch Joanne went outside to locate her stray / feral cat friend Lila. Lila wasn't there today. Nice weather, she was probably out hunting.
I phoned the nearby Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery and arranged a tour for tomorrow afternoon. It's a Federal Government Fisheries & Oceans Department salmon hatchery.
We drove to Bella Coola Airport and parked on the east side. The people from Calgary that we met yesterday at the Belarko Bear Viewing Station gave us instructions / directions to find where they would be fly fishing for salmon today on the Bella Coola River on the north side of Bella Coola Airport. Sure enough, as they had advised us, there was a trail into the forest on the east side of the airport. It led north behind the airport's single runway, following Nooklikonnic Creek to where it flows into the Bella Coola River. When we reached the Bella Coola River there were our new friends. They were just finishing a day of fishing, having been there for about five hours already. Perry had caught and released three Pink Salmon which are currently closed to fishing in this region.
We chatted briefly, then Perry and his wife left. Since we could see Pink Salmon were spawning in the shallow Nooklikonnic Creek, I decided to try my hand at catching a salmon using my fly road and reel, with the honkin' huge salmon fly lure I bought a couple of days ago. I waded into the creek and began fly fishing, slightly distracted because all around my legs and feet the salmon were spawning. HA HA HA ... what an odd experience. I could cast and use the current to direct my fly in front of, over, and behind spawning Pink Salmon. They were too busy to be interested in what I was offering.
Suddenly, after about fifteen minutes of slightly distracted fishing ... BAM ! WOW .. a hit ! WOW ... it's hooked ! I'VE CAUGHT A SALMON ! ! ! ! ! I wondered if my five pound line intended for Rainbow Trout would survive a salmon's fight. I played and fought the fish as carefully as I could, trying not to worry too much about losing it because ... if it was a Pink Salmon I would have to release it anyway. Although I really wanted the satisfaction of catching and landing my first salmon caught. AND ... on a fly, at that !
As I fought the fish I slowly worked my way back onto shore, and after a few minutes managed to get the fish pulled up on shore. I didn't have a net with me. HOLY SHIT ! IT'S A CHINOOK ! ! ! ! ! I CAN KEEP IT ! ! !
I'VE CAUGHT MY FIRST SALMON ! ON A FLY ! IT'S A CHINOOK AND I CAN KEEP IT. WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ... WOO-HOO ! ! ! ! !
Daniel catching salmon ; cross that one off the bucket list !
Daniel catching salmon ... on a fly ; cross that one off the bucket list !
< blink blink > WOW ! With my right hand I wrestled my camera out of my pocket and took a picture of the fish, holding it with my left hand. I walked back a few hundred feet to where the truck and camper were parked and asked Joanne to come help me clean the fish. Following instructions I've read elsewhere posted in this area I "stripped" the fish ( removing head and guts ) and threw the offal into the fast flowing creek. Within seconds Gulls were swooping down to feed on it. Disposing of fish heads and guts in garbage cans risks attracting Grizzlies. < shrug > Okay !
After getting the fish cleaned I asked Joanne if it would be okay for me to fish for about another fifteen minutes. She said ... "sure" ! I fished for about fifteen more minutes, and I was just about to pack it in when ... BAM ! HOLY SHIT ... ANOTHER ONE !
I wondered whether it would be another Chinook that I could keep or a Pink that I would have to release. This fish fought much harder and longer than the first. I was really worried that my light line would not tolerate it. Eventually I got it pulled up on shore. The whole time I was fighting the fish Joanne was snapping pictures with my camera.
HOLY MOLY ! ! ! ! ! IT'S A HUGE DOLLY VARDEN TROUT ! ! ! ! ! And it took my honkin' huge salmon fly ! WHAT A DAY ! I got the Dolly Varden "stripped" and we left, heading into Bella Coola to buy some groceries at the Co-op store, planning to fillet both fish later.
In Bella Coola we shopped at the Co-op but didn't buy anything. The Shop Easy at Hagensborg is a better grocery store. We went to Kopa's, a local sporting goods store that I wanted to visit. Didn't buy anything there either. We drove back towards Hagensborg, stopping on the Four Mile Reservation at a Native art gallery that we read about and wanted to visit. I bought a glass Christmas ornament, painted on the inside through a small hole on the top, with a Native image of a salmon. Every Christmas it will remind me of the first ( and probably only ) time I caught a salmon. I also refilled with diesel at the Native fuel station, where fuels were a LOT cheaper than in town.
When we had been at Gnome's Home RV Park previously, we had noticed "no fish cleaning" signage. So ...before returning there we drove to Walker Island Park where Bo got injured on a children's slide the other day. I sat at a picnic table and filleted the two fish, throwing the waste into a bear proof garbage can in the park. We returned to Gnome's Home RV Park and checked in. I barbecued Chinook Salmon for supper. It wasn't as good as we had expected. Certainly not in the same league as Sockeye, and not even as good as Pink. Perhaps that's why we have never seen Chinook for sale in grocery stores ?
Wednesday ; Bella Coola area
Sunny and warm, very nice.
This morning after refilling and dumping we left Gnome's Home RV park and headed west on Hwy. 20 towards Bella Coola, a distance of about 16 km. / 10 miles. On the way we stopped at Shop Easy in Hagensborg to buy some groceries. We drove through Bella Coola, out to the harbour where the ferry docks, and beyond that a few km. to the B.C. Hydro Power Generating Station. B.C. Hydro has developed a lovely picnic area on the ocean and a hiking trail to Clayton Falls, located a short distance behind their station. We hiked up to the falls taking Bo with us. He has been feeling left out of a lot of what we've been doing lately, because we've been leaving him behind due to the risk of encountering Grizzlies. After hiking back down from viewing the lovely falls Joanne prepared lunch and we ate at a picnic table looking out over Bentinck Arm, the fjord that Bella Coola is located on. Green-blue water surrounded by tall, forested mountains, sunny, warm day, small seals frolicking, a couple of small commercial fishing boats putt-putting back to Bella Coola ... very serene.
After lunch we drove back through Bella Coola and halfway back to Hagensborg to the Snootli Creek Fish Hatchery, a salmon hatchery operated by Canada's Federal Department of Fisheries & Oceans. I had arranged a tour there for 2 PM today. Our tour was conducted by a young scientist, born and raised locally, educated in Victoria, B.C. in a university degree program of fisheries and aquaculture. He was very knowledgeable, and very pleased to be able to pursue his chosen career right here at "home" where he was born and raised. He's a direct descendant of the Norwegians who settled in this area about 110 years ago. The work being done at the hatchery is amazing ! Very interesting tour !
After the tour I succumbed to the temptation to go fishing some more. We have quite enough fish in our freezer so I committed to "catch & release" today. We drove to the airport, parked behind the east fence, and walked a very short distance ( right behind the runway ) to Nooklikonnic Creek. Well ... my well-intentioned plan to "catch & release" turned into a humiliating exhibition of "catch & lose", with Joanne ( and my camera ) as an audience. In about an hour and a half of fishing I hooked four fish. Three were salmon, probably Pinks. One was a trout, probably a Dolly Varden. Two of the salmon I played / fought for over ten minutes each. And I lost each of the four fish just a few feet away from netting them < shaking head in despair >. I think my ineptitude was due to impatience < sigh >. But hooking and playing them was fun nevertheless. And I was going to release them anyway !
While I was fishing Joanne said she had to urinate and was going to walk back to the camper. Since we’re in the middle of nowhere I suggested she just drop her pants and squat right beside the river. She declined my suggestion. Good thing. About fifteen seconds after she walked away, Pacific Coastal's daily flight into Bella Coola came screaming over the bushes at an altitude of about 25 feet directly above us, close enough that we could smell the exhaust. Scared the dickens out of both of us. Good thing she wasn't squatting beside the river, pants down around her ankles. HA HA HA !
On the way back to Gnome's Home RV Park I had to stop at Shop Easy again. < sigh > To replace the honkin' huge salmon fly lure that I bought there a few days ago and lost in Nooklikonnic Creek today. After fishing yesterday and today, a total of six fish hooked and played, two landed, in the shallow river / creek, my fly fishing line is extremely abraded. I'll have to do some work on it ... soon.
Back at Gnome's Home for our final night, I lit a campfire and cooked yesterday's Dolly Varden ( and potatoes and onions ) on the campfire. The Dolly Varden was very good, better than Rainbow Trout I thought. I spent the evening working on the computer, mostly on the last few days' photos. Joanne is sad about leaving Lila. I understand. It's difficult to not be able to save one that has tugged at your heart strings.
Thursday ; Bella Coola to Bella Bella by ferry
Sunny and warm. I am starting this journal entry at 1:15 PM, aboard the M.V. Nimpkish, the smallest ferry operated by BC Ferries. We left Bella Coola at noon and will arrive at Bella Bella at 8:30 PM tonight. Our journey will take us through long fjords and then the "Inside Passage" along B.C.'s coast. Endless forest covered mountains. Green water. Gulls and seals. Dolphins and Humpback Whales !
Sometimes ... our affinity for "those who cannot speak for themselves" ... is difficult to articulate. Joanne shed a few tears this morning as we were leaving, so deep was her sadness at not being able to do more for, and having to leave behind, her stray cat friend Lila. And it pains me greatly to see the love of my life feel so sad.
We left Gnome's Home RV Park this morning for the last time, refilling and dumping before leaving. On the way to Bella Coola Ferry Terminal ( such as it is ! ) we stopped to have a propane tank refilled. Pretty expensive out here ! We drove through Bella Coola and out to the harbour, arriving about 10:30 AM for our 11 AM check in. WELL ! They require the ferry customers to arrive by 11AM, but the crew shows up between 11:15 and 11:45 AM ! The check in and loading process was very disorganized, but ... the ferry departed only five minutes late. There were only six vehicles on the ferry, and about a dozen people in total.
After we had a late lunch in the camper, the ferry passed through an area filled with dolphins. For at least half an hour small groups of two to four dolphins amused themselves by racing alongside the ferry, surfing in its wake. I took dozens of photos of them leaping out of the water beside the ferry, and in front of the ferry, and I'll be extremely lucky if any of the pictures actually captured the image. I'm amazed that the dolphins seem to have no problem matching the ferry's speed of eleven knots. I went to nap with Sully for about an hour, and after my nap, took Bo for a walk on the ferry's car deck. He was asking to go outside to relieve himself, but he refused to urinate anywhere on the ferry car deck, so ... I guess he'll just have to wait until we arrive in Bella Bella in a few more hours. While walking around the ferry's car deck with Bo I was watching Humpback Whales about a half a mile away blow tall clouds of mist up into the air out of their blow holes.
Because of the good weather the ferry was able to take a "shortcut" through a shallow "narrows" area, and we arrived in Bella Bella an hour early, at 7:30 PM. We drove off the ferry and a couple of miles to "town". What a scruffy little "rez" town. No commerce at all except for a tiny grocery store. No accommodations or restaurants or shops of any kind. There's a tiny "hospital" and an RCMP station. I'll bet that if a Mountie anywhere in Canada misbehaves, he or she gets posted to Bella Bella. We drove through town and out to the airport on the other side, then turned around and drove back through town and out to the ferry dock again. The ferry had departed and the terminal staff were just locking up and leaving. I asked for permission to boondock overnight beside the small ferry terminal building. They allowed that, asking that we leave by about 10 AM to get out of the way of passengers arriving for the noon ferry tomorrow.
We had a very late, small, simple supper. Joanne and the animals were in bed by 9:30 PM.
I have grossly underestimated the costs of this trip. Today's ferry trip cost $400 ; $75 for each of us, and $250 for the truck and camper. The ferry from Bella Bella to Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island will cost $600.
Friday ; Bella Bella and Shearwater
Sunny and very warm, a really lovely day.
When we took a quick drive through Bella Bella yesterday evening when we arrived I was convinced today was going to be a long and boring day. I could not have been more wrong !
This morning we left the ferry terminal about 10 AM, as planned. From the ferry terminal there was a small dirt trail leading into the bush. We had been told that it led a short distance to a good fishing spot where a small river empties into McLoughlin Bay. So ... down the dirt trail we went ! < blink blink > The small bay was filled with salmon jumping up into the air. There was a small pleasure boat in the bay, with four Native fishermen aboard, two men and two boys. They were close enough that we could speak to one another. I asked them what kind of lures they were using ( Buzz Bombs ), where could I buy them ( marine supply store in nearby Shearwater ), and what kind of fish were they catching ( Coho Salmon ). It was immediately apparent that they were having a lot of success. Very generously, they gave me a Buzz Bomb so that I could fish, AND ... they gave me a large Coho Salmon. WOW ! THANK YOU !
I don't have a filleting knife in the camper ! I used Joanne's serrated edge bread cutting knife to fillet this ten pound fish. On a rock at the water's edge ! It wasn't pretty ! Nevertheless, we packaged five meals worth of beautiful, red meat Coho Salmon fillets. Then ... I began fishing. Well, it wasn't very long before I snagged the bottom and was not able to free the lure. I had to break the line. DARN ! And so ended my morning of fishing.
We drove into town intending to visit both wharfs / harbours, the grocery store, and look for a water spigot where we could refill our freshwater tank. We parked at the grocery store and went inside to look around. Not much of a grocery store. Six bucks for a gallon of milk out here ! Outside the grocery store a friendly local pointed out to me that I had parked our truck beside a Blackberry bush. < blink blink > WOW ! While Joanne prepared lunch I picked wild Blackberries.
We walked down a short hill to the "new" harbour / dock to look around. While there we discovered that there was a SeaBus ( an old tugboat converted to a water taxi ) that went to Shearwater on an hourly basis all day. We decided to go to the "old" dock / harbour and look around, then return to catch the 3 PM SeaBus to Shearwater.
The SeaBus ride was about half an hour long. Shearwater was ... somewhat "artificial". It is a very expensive fishing resort village. The marina was filled with very expensive fishing boats, some private, some charter operators, and ... a couple of multi-million dollar yachts. I found the marine supply store and went in to buy some Buzz Bombs. I was surprised at how expensive they were, at about seven bucks apiece. I bought three.
There was not a Native in sight at Shearwater. All the store staff were white, and most with accents from Australia or New Zealand < shrug >. All the customers / patrons were white. We spoke briefly with an obnoxious and ignorant "ugly American" who was eager to tell us how terrible it must be for us Canadians to have a government funded ( "free" ) health care system and what a third world hell hole Mexico is, although he's never been there himself. My tolerance for his ignorance was pretty low, so I rudely walked away before too long. Joanne is much more polite than I am, so she lasted awhile longer. Well ... at least he pumped about $60,000 ( so he claimed ... he was eager to show me his $20,000 credit card receipt from the lodge ) into our economy over his six week visit to Canada, so ... thanks, pal. The taxes you paid will go a long way to funding our health care system. HA HA HA !
After an hour we caught the SeaBus back to Bella Bella. Once there, as we drove back to the ferry dock I noticed another Blackberrry bush on the side of the road. I stopped and we picked more wild Blackberries. MMMMMM ! Back at the ferry dock we refilled with freshwater from a spigot on the side of the terminal building. We drove down the little dirt trail again, so that I could spend the evening fishing. When we arrived at the bay ... the tide was low. WOW ... I could walk across the river, then along the opposite shore to fish where the fish jumping action seemed to be most intense. I hooked one of my three Buzz Bombs onto my traditional / spinning outfit and cast it out there. After just a few minutes of casting ... BAM ! WOO-HOO ... a five pound Pink Salmon. I released it. A few minutes later ... BAM ! WOW ... a ten pound Pink Salmon. I released it. What fun ! But what I really wanted was a Coho Salmon. A Bald Eagle kept swooping down from a tree behind me, over my head, and out over the water. I think it was unhappy with me for intruding on its fishing space.
Joanne hollered loudly at me from across the bay. WHAT ? OH ... the tide is rising. HOLY SHIT ! ! ! The shallow river that I walked across was now looking pretty deep ! SHIT ! I walked back along the shoreline, and crossed the river while I was still able to do so, although it was quite a bit deeper by then.
I continued fishing on the side of the bay where we were parked. BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! A large fish ... a Coho, I'm certain ... was hooked, and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... and ran ... ! ! ! Soon, most of the line on my reel was gone. And I've got a hundred yards of line on the reel ! ! I was afraid that I was going to run out of line soon. And the fish wouldn't stop running. I estimated that I had a 25 pound Coho hooked ! I tightened the reel's drag slightly to slow down the run. SNAP ! The line broke ! < sigh > GEEEEEZZZZZ ... that was twenty pound line. So the fish had to have exceeded that ! Another Buzz Bomb gone, two to go !
I continued fishing until it was almost dark ( at 8:30 PM ). At one point, my Buzz Bomb dragged along the bottom, and fortunately did not snag. BUT ... when I finished the retrieve ... there was a baby starfish on my hook. HA HA HA ... how odd ! Just at dusk, as it was time to quit and go inside for supper, I snagged the bottom and lost another Buzz Bomb ! DARN ! Only one left for tomorrow.
Wasn't a boring day at all ! ! ! And ... after what I learned today ... I am very reluctantly willing to concede that the salmon I caught at Bella Coola likely was a Pink, not a Chinook.
Saturday ; Bella Bella to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island by ferry
Sunny and hot ! We're a bit surprised by that !
This morning we drove up the little dirt trail from "my fishing spot", where we spent the night, back to the ferry terminal and refilled with fresh water. The BC Ferries office was open, so I went inside to check if our "waitlist" status had changed. It had ! WOO-HOO ! We're confirmed on the 6 PM ferry to Port Hardy. Because we're "oversize", they asked me to check in at 3:30, a half a hour before "normal" check in time. No problem, see you at 3:30 PM.
We drove into town and went to the grocery store to buy toothpaste. The grocery store is two sections on two storeys. Don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! I couldn't find toothpaste downstairs so headed upstairs. As I climbed the stairs, the one employee from upstairs was coming down and said "upstairs is closed ... I'm going for lunch ... be back in about an hour". HEY ... don't ask ... it's Bella Bella ! As we drove away we noticed there was a small convenience store in town. We stopped there and I bought a tube of toothpaste. Five bucks ! BUT ... no taxes on the rez !
We drove back to "my fishing spot" and I told Joanne I was going to fish for about an hour, until it was time for lunch. I tied on my last Buzz Bomb and started to fish. After about an hour ... BAM ! ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ZING ... ! ! ! OH, NO ! Déjà vu !
I wanted this fish SOOOOO badly ! As it ran I very gently kept adjusting the drag tighter and tighter until the fish was barely able to pull line off my reel. And then I leaned back and waited. Every time it stopped running, I tried to reel it back in as much as I could, usually only succeeding to bring it back a few feet at a time. < sigh > Looked like this was going to be a LOOOOONG fight ! And I just kept hoping my fishing line would survive the ordeal.
Half an hour later ... Joanne stuck her head out the camper door and hollered at me to come in for lunch. I hollered back ... " BRING MY NET ! ! !" I had the fish almost to shore and knew that I would need help to land it. By the time she got my net and brought it down to the water's edge, I had the fish within about 15 feet of shore. I could already see the bright orange Buzz Bomb, and attached to it ... a large fish ! A few more minutes and I had it right at the shoreline, but was unable to pull it up onto shore without help. I instructed Joanne to try to slip the net over the fish and help pull it out of the water.
Well ... talk about a tool inadequate for the job ! My net is designed for one to two pound Rainbow Trout. Not this thing ! She made a number of stabs at the fish which was now squirming at the water's edge. She finally got some of the net over some of the fish, and pulled, as I did on the line. WOO-HOO ! It's out of the water. AND ... as it came out of the water ... my line snapped ! ! ! I dropped my rod and reel and kind of kicked the fish a bit further up on shore !
HOLY SHIT ! ! ! WHAT A BIG SALMON ! ! ! Now I had to figure out what kind. My "B.C. Wild Salmon Identification Chart", which Joanne had brought along with the net ( good thinking, dear, thank you ) was not much help. It shows the five different types of salmon, and this thing didn't look like any of the pictures. Which, actually, pretty much look all the same ! This thing was ... beautiful ! Red and black blotches all along its green body. Huge, mean looking teeth.
Just then a three generation Native family showed up to fish. GREAT ! I asked them what kind of salmon it was. It's a Chum ! My very old, perhaps inaccurate fish weight scale in my tackle box said it weighed fifteen pounds ! Now ... what do I do with it ? ! ? It seemed much too large to fillet with Joanne's serrated bread knife. I decided to try carving it into salmon steaks. HMPH ... easier said than done, when my work table is a rock on the water's edge, and I'm using the serrated bread knife. Once again, it wasn't pretty ! And I needed a lot of help from Joanne. And I was being "supervised" by the young boy who was about six years of age that was there fishing with his family. He kept asking me questions about "why are you doing ( fill in the blank ) like THAT ? ! ?" Obviously, he thought I was some kind of white man moron. HA HA HA ... sorry, kid ... I've never dealt with something like this before !
I was sweating by the time I got the fish cleaned and chopped up into large steaks. We returned to the camper, and by trial and error, Joanne discovered that she could cut the large steaks into two smaller ones, and debone them at the same time. Well done, dear ! By the time I had finished cleaning and cutting it into steaks, then Joanne cut and deboned the steaks, an hour had passed. Lunch time was forgotten ! There were now eleven meals of Chum Salmon steak in our freezer ! It was time to clean up ... A LOT ... and head for the ferry dock for our 3:30 PM check in.
As we were preparing to leave, I noticed on the ground ... HEY ... an eagle feather ! It wasn't there a few minutes before ! Maybe it's a "sign" for me from "The Creator" ? ! ?
I was so tempted to pick it up, BUT ... I know it's illegal for a white man to be in possession of an eagle feather, sacred to our First Nations people. Overcoming temptation, I left the eagle feather lying there. The family's grandfather picked it up a few minutes later. He was very happy to have it. Said when he goes to Manitoba to visit his Native in-laws, he could sell it for a hundred bucks, because Manitoba Natives can't get eagle feathers locally. I learned from the old man that the fish that I hooked last night that broke my line likely wasn't a Coho, but probably a Chum. Cohos "dance" when hooked, jumping and twisting and turning. Chums just run and run and run in a straight line.
We drove the very short distance to the ferry dock and checked in. The "little" ferry from Bella Coola and Shearwater arrived about 4 PM and departed about 4:30 PM. The large ferry arrived about 15 minutes late, about 5:30 PM. I put our three hours of waiting time to good use, doing three small repairs on the camper. We loaded onto the ferry about 6:30, one of three "oversize" vehicles getting on, and the ferry departed almost an hour late at 7 PM. Most of the additional delay was caused by the ineptitude of yesterday's obnoxious, ignorant, "ugly American" in backing his motorhome down the ferry ramp and onto the ferry. The ferry crew didn't even allow him to try to do it with his boat attached. They used their own truck to back his boat trailer down onto the ferry.
Goodbye, Bella Bella, what an exciting adventure you were ! My first impression certainly was wrong. Never in a million years would I have expected that I would be fishing for salmon here, let alone catching fifteen pounders !
The ferry arrived about half an hour late at Port Hardy on the northern tip of Vancouver Island at midnight. By the time we were off the ferry it was about 12:30 AM. We drove just a mile or two from the ferry terminal and saw a large parking lot at Bear Cove Park, a marina. A few RV's that were off the ferry before us had already pulled in to spend the night, so we did the same.
DSK
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