The Great Bear Rainforest:

Heavy on the rain but light on bears!

A grizzly spotted on our river float!

I last signed off 1524m or 5000ft above sea level at the top of Heckman Pass and above the infamous stretch of highway down into the Bella Coola valley known as The Hill. This graded gravel road descends almost all the way back down to sea level in just over 19km. There are some grades of 15%, some sharp turns and a few single lane bridges but there are also pullouts in case you meet an oncoming vehicle. It's nerve wracking but its also beautiful!

(photo taken from a blog, I definitely didn’t stop to take pictures!)

In the 1950s valley residents decided they wanted road access and were frustrated when the government of the time refused to build the road any further than Anahim Lake claiming it was too steep to be done. The locals weren't having it. In slightly over a year they used two bulldozers (one going up and one going down) to carve a road out of the mountain and The Freedom Road was born. Apparently the government has been regrading it ever since!

Thankfully, our trip down was uneventful except for a slippery, muddy corner. The forest fire damage from the massive fires a few years ago was evident across the plateau but was particularly obvious in that tight descent into the valley. You can see some regrowth starting in the under layers of the burnt trees but it will be a long time before it has grown in thickly again. 😔

Once safely down on the valley floor we resumed our lookout for bears. The Belarko Viewing Platform was still open so we popped in there for a look. It's an area on a bend in the river with a good view up and down stream with some shelters, lots of beautiful and informative panels and an electric fence around the perimeter. It is jointly managed by the local Nuxalk Nation and BC Parks and was staffed by some really nice Nuxalk women the night we went. Unfortunately, there were no bears to be seen but the river was teeming with fish so we watched them jumping in pools and wriggling up the pebbled shallows before they kicked us out at closing time. The smell of dead fish was pretty strong but the hope of seeing a bear kept us there until the platform closed.

After the bear viewing station we carried on down the highway and found our lovely Airbnb in Hagensborg. Our host was Tanya, her daughter and her big fluffy cat and we felt very welcome.

The cabin was really comfortable, was near the Saloompt River and suited us well.

Our first full day in the valley we did a five hour river float/bear watching trip with Copper Sun Journeys and had a fantastic time. Just after the other boats got off the water we came across a grizzly fishing on a gravel bank! Ahhhhhh! ❤️😍😱🐻😱😍❤️

This gorgeous grizzly was obviously the main event but the scenery was also gorgeous!

(I have big feet so we know this bear was a big'un! 😆 Well, actually, she was probably pretty average/small tbh.😬)

We did a five hour tour which was a gorgeous way to see the river but was a bit long. The best chance for bears is in the Atnarko River before it joins the Bella Coola river and that takes about an 60 - 90 minutes but we saw “our” bear just past the main pull out so I recommend a bit longer for increased chances a some beautiful views of the valley. You can’t bring snacks on the trip though so its a long five hours with feet sloshing in cold water. I think three or four hours would still be lovely and more manageable. If you are thinking of a tour with Copper Sun you may want to consider a slightly shorter option. Whatever you pick, you will be in good hands on the river and learn about the Nuxhalk people, their pre and post-contact history, and their beautiful beliefs and cosmology. I highly recommend them.

The next day it was up early-ish for a day trip out to some nearby hotsprings, waterfalls and The Big Cedar. We went with Bella Coola Grizzly Tours and they were great! We were short the required number of people but they did some juggling and fit us on to a smaller boat. We were so grateful! Our Captain and guide was Daniel. He grew up in the valley and knew it and the waters well. Some weather blew up on our way back to dock but he managed it all very easily. I highly recommend them!

We left Bella Coola harbour and cruised along the estuary hoping for bears or MAYBE a wolf. Sadly, no luck on either count but we saw lots of seals and eagles enjoying the thousands of fish coming back up the river.

Hannah with Daniel’s very sweet dog Buck. He was also an excellent tour guide and took us right to the Big Cedar without difficulty!

Getting kisses!

He just got cuddles the whooole time!

The now-defunct cannery in the inlet. There is also a very small B&B out there and apparently it's popular for weddings.

The “beach view” hotspring with our boat in the distance.

It's a ridiculously gorgeous spot. The water comes out of the rocks higher up the hill but it's piped into these pools. Beachview pool is cooler and has more algae but wins the view competition.

There was also a more “forested” pool and we switched with this lovely British couple half way. (I hope they don't mind going in my blog!) It was her birthday and she was having such a great day.

This one is a bit hotter and has a gravel bottom which is a bit nicer but you lose the view. So, swings and roundabouts.

Then off to see a waterfall.

And pose w Buck and the waterfall!

We thought he wanted to come for a snuggle but he just wanted a bit of a sandwich someone had lost! Ack, break my heart Buck!

Then off to The Big Cedar! This tree is estimated to be 1500 years old!

The very nice German man who took our pictures didn't really understand the assignment. 🤦‍♀️ I would have thought Big Tree =s wide shot buuuut nevermind let's get a portrait. Also, please note the pepper spray. Safety first!

Luckily, Hannah understood the assignment!

It's abt a 1km trail up a gentle but continuous slope to get to the tree and that was the longest I have walked on a forested trail IN SANDALS for over a year b/c of my mangled Achilles tendons. I kept waiting for them to get pissed off but they didn't. I was sooooo happy to be back in the woods!

After that we got back on the boat, bundled up and headed back to Bella Coola with another fabulous day under our belts.

Day three in the valley was a guided petroglyph tour with Copper Sun. You can do the walk up to the rock carvings on your own but it was amazing to have someone explain them and share their significance. I highly recommend booking a tour with these guys to get the most out of the experience. It's about a two hour trip and an easy walk up from the river to the main carvings.

Along the way we stopped for a pic with this cool trees-on-a-rock situation. Love the rainforest!

Then we got to some carvings,

The one immediately below is Happy Boy. He is the first rain drop that falls in a big storm. He is happy because he knows how much fun is coming with thr thunder and the lightening!

Sadly, I forgot the stories with the other ones here. There were so many stories shared it was hard to retain them all.

They are thousands of years old. So cool!

Me on the way back down,

More happiness walking in the woods. ❤️

Such a fantastic trip.

And after a few more hours exploring, that was the end of Bella Coola and Hagensborg for us. We wished we had one more day but we had to be in a ferry line up at 5:30am the next day and the next one wasn't for a few days so we had to go. It's a beautiful place. I look forward to coming back!

❤️

G