THE beginning..

We left Williams Lake loaded for BEAR... literally..it was late in the evening when we started the trip west...the truck loaded with supplies and towing a borrowed 26 foot Princecraft cuddy cabin aluminum boat.Over the next several hours we encountered mule deer in phenominal numbers ..well over 300 before it even got dark, as well as the ocassional moose...fortunatly non in our path..
Just before the 1/2 way Ranch from out of the ditch came an imature grizzly bear, a true silvertip with a long luxurious flowing coat with no signs of rubbing.... he raced ahead mere meters from our front bumper every detail illuminated in the 4 Pia driving lights...What a magnificant creature...he dissapeared over the bank and through a hole he made on his way THROUGH the ranchers fence...

We stopped at the summit and filled one 150 liter cooler with some of the snow left ..in places 5 feet deep still..and proceeded slowly down the famous Bella Coola hill in 4x4 and low range taking some 1 hour and 25 minutes to reach the valley floor below.

As we pulled into the government boat launch the PIECE OF SH*T FROD just QUIT...Tim and I looked at each other and just couldnt believe it...so I crawled back into the boat and went to sleep, while Tim curled up in the truck and "Crashed"
A couple hours later we awoke to deal with the boat being 30 FEET from the ocean and NO WAY to start the truck...BUT we had brought a spare battery and some BOOSTER cables so we tried "Jumping the truck" IT STARTED !!!!! But only If we kept the battery cables connected..so Tim carried the spare battery while I backed the boat down the ramp..and we launched...loaded up the boat..started the GPS which I had preloaded with navigation points for the trip..and we began our oddessy....

For the next 31 miles we were constantly accompanied by scores of White sided Pacific dolphin frollicking in our bow wave and in our wake and off to both sides.. pleasant to see but however as we were to learn they have been disasterous on the local fish stocks...

It was exceptionally cold and the wind STILL had a bitter bite to it....but slowly and surely we rounded the corner into Kwatna bay and found a place to anchor our Cabin , set up camp, unpack and inflate the rubber raft. We went for a short walk and was amazed at the amount of food already present for the bears to dine on..skunk cabbage, fiddleheads ,grasses..all in abundance everywhere, however we also noticed the FRESH SNOW not all that far up the mountain sides and the deep deep deep snow just meters above the fresh snows dusting the trees perched prcariously on the steep cliffs above us.
We then broke out the brand new crab trap I had bought and proceded to assemble it and add marker buoy and rope and then we baited it with a salmon fillet I had also brought and we dropped the trap in 120 feet of water on the north side of the bay.
We then went for a walk and noted no evidence of bears...no poop..no half eaten plants no footpints nothing hmmmmmmm.
That nite I got quizzed by Tim on where all the bears were....I half heartedly told him we JUST got here we need to find them ( ADDING under my breath.."if they are out..it seems we may just be too early" )

The next morning we awoke and had a most exellent breakfast bacon eggs and tea..and off to check the crab trap.. there were 4 crabs and all were males and all were over the 165 siaze limit for Dungeness crabs so we boiled em up...and scarffed em down...YUMMMMMM Later we found out Tim had forgot the milk and the bread....and while we were out crabbing the ravens got the remaining eggs...GRRRRRR
We did some halibut fishing too many damn seals and porpoises..nadda...

That afternoon we walked up a trail to a lookout I knew that provided a vantage point for observing a "hidden " feeding area...after a while Tim excitedly announced he had spotted a GRIZZLY ...I found the animal in my binos and judged him to be a 7 1/2 foot typical trophy coastal brown bear..AKA grizzly..black nose and chocolate brown....while Tim looked him over I spotted a second bear further away..this one was maginificant..weel over 8 feet and having a light blond/brown snout he was heavy and had no rubbs , the first bear had a rub mark on his right rear flank.

So off the vantage point and away we went..only the second day and our FIRST stalk on a trophy GRIZZLY.Up the valley and over the slippery oozing mud left from the receding water as the tide left...

Slowly and carefully we closed the 500 plus yards ..untill... we hit the Kwatna river and it was too deep and too fast to cross...we were still 250 yards to the shooter.. close but no cigar..so after a bit of "oooohing and awwwwing " over the size color and such we slowly made our way back over the tidal flat to the trail..and off for the boat and sleep...ever cautious in the fastly fading light not to surprise any other bears that may be coming out to feed.

That nite Tim had many questions and comments on his first two bears...

I told Tim the "tomorrow you will get your Grizzly...I HAVE A PLAN.."

I recalled BCBUCKS comments in a EMAIL that "after all I HAD been a grizzly guide..we should do really well..talk about your pressure.....