I set off, with my new eyes, for the mountains of Canada to take photos of Grizzly Bears.
I get in my hire car to take it back to the shop. It will not start! I manage to contact the owner of the rental business, another Kiyuna san. He comes over to get the car and we get a taxi to take me to the airport. Very stressful as I now have about 30 seconds to catch the flight. I make it but only just. My heart is going pitter patter pitter pat.
I get to Narita and try to check in for my flight to Vancouver.”No-one called Calder on this flight sir – So sorry!” We look at the ticket again; my flight was on the previous day. I have screwed up. JAL are fantastic and organise to exchange the ticket so I can fly tonight. There is $100 something fee, I press pay. I then get a message from Wells Fargo, my US bank, that in the interest of security I will have to fill in the code that they will send to my US phone number. I only have my Japanese phone and cannot access my US number. I can not pay the $100, I can not get the exchange ticket. There is only 15 minutes to boarding. I buy a new horrendously expensive new ticket. Costly trip.
Charter flight from Vancouver to some lost airstrip in the hills. Truck to the lodge.
Everyone at the lodge is friendly but I sense a certain reticence when I ask questions about bears. Anyway we go straight out onto the river to search for grizzlies. There aren’t any. It slowly comes out that this is the worst year in living memory for seeing them. It is also very, very cold. I have not brought suitable clothing as it is difficult to imagine how cold really cold is in the 35 degree heat of Okinawa. I freeze on the first trip. My legs, encased in thin nylon trousers, stop working completely and I have to be craned out of the boat.
I am rescued by Josh, head guide, who lends me a pair of very butch overalls and by Andy who lends me long johns and gloves.
No bears yet but there is lots of other stuff to see.
The lodge is fantastic. We get 3 big cowboy meals each day with free drink!
Each day we leave at 7:30 and look for bears. Back for lunch at 12:00 followed by nap until we re -embark at 3:30.
On the Tuesday we get to see a bear very close to.
On the penultimate day we go for an excursion on Lake Chilko. Beautiful scenery! We visit ancient cabin in the forest and a First Nations’ camp. Lunch on a beautiful beach covered in bear tracks.
We set off home, 30 kms away. Suddenly both engines stop! Josh the head guide is not happy. We are out of gas. How can that be?! We drift onto a lee shore and Josh, la longue carabine like, lopes off into the forest to a First Nations camp 8 kms away. Time passes, it gets dark, we light a fire. Stranded on a lost lake in lost British Columbia. We hear shouting, it is Josh stumbling along the beach with a big jerry can of gas. He is a very tough guy. We make it home in the dark. A good adventure. Home for big steaks, Canadian whisky and red wine.
A week with no phone, no internet, lashings of fresh air, incredible food and drink. Very good. Stupidly I tripped getting out of the boat on the second day. I bashed my face and ribs. The face healed up quickly but I was cursed with painful ribs for the rest of the trip
I feel very sorry for the staff at the lodge. There are very few bears; we see two. I believe them when they say there are usually bears all over the place. They are ashamed that the week did not turn out like the brochure. I blame the bad moon that rose over Okinawa before I left.
I do not mind the paucity of grizzlies as there is so much else to see. I had a great time.
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 
Hi Neil,
That was a great story but, pray/prey tell, why are they so many dead salmon??
Paula
Hi Paula,
The poor salmon swim up the rivers, spawn and then die. Cruel fate!
There are thousands of them.
What a saga ! Still, good to see you always managing to look on the bright side. Life of Neil, never a dull moment.
Yay Mike!