Great Bear Chalet – Saturday

Today was overcast and threatening rain so we decided to do a river drift. I had thought this would amount to us being plunked into the river in some kind of dingy to languish as we drifted for a few hours, to then be picked up by our host. Kind of like the Penticton Channel Float, a fun-filled summer sun activity. In actual fact, we were in a kind of 6-seater zodiac that our guide paddled from a seat up on the back, more reminiscent of my life-endangering white water rafting trip back in the 80’s.

In order to set the whole thing up (to “complete the circle”), we drove to the end-point and dropped of a bicycle that Host Jeff locked up in the bushes (presumably to hide it). We then drove to the launch point, where we left the truck parked for the day. At the end of our trip, Host Jeff biked back for the truck, picked us and the boat up, then went back for the bike (the bike is transported in the boat, not on the trailer). I guess you figure things out when you run a vacation lodge on your own.

The river was moving faster than I expected, but there were lots of little eddies that Host Jeff backed us into so that we could fish or just sit and enjoy the scenery. Apparently the big attraction for these drifts is the September season when Grizzlies are on the river catching salmon, and we are too early for that. The downside is that Grizzly season also comes with dozens of other drifters clogging the river. We were super fortunate to encounter only one other boat, also out fishing, who we managed to stay in front of for most of the day. Highlights of our 5-hour long drift:

• Jeff did catch one little rainbow trout that he released back into the wild. I also caught a very small trout, maybe 4 inches long, and fortunately he jumped off the hook just as I got him close to the boat so I didn’t have to take him out of the water/touch him.
• A couple of (likely) mated-pair eagles flew low overhead and then sat in the trees watching us fish.
• We saw a young grizzly walking up the opposite side of the river. Host Jeff quickly anchored the boat so we could sit and watch it walk past and give us a few unnerving stares. He wandered farther up the river and then swam across to our side well upriver of us. Considering I had been counting on seeing zero grizzlies, this trip has been turning out pretty amazing.

Host Jeff entertained us with more stories about conservationism and the people who suck at it. He has quite a reputation in these parts, it seems. When he introduces himself to new people (he is friendly, and does this all the time), the most common response is “Oh, I know who you are.”