With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1468031
in the conservancy where the lodge is located there are a few spots where a brief landfall is doable. That means there are waterfalls to explore, ancient cedars to commune with and a whole lot of trails that seem to have been blazed by our ursine friends... all underscoring that sometimes the process is every bit as important as the result. The next morning I find myself adopting an it-doesn't-matter-if-we- see-bears-it's-about-experiencing- wilderness outlook when one of the Swiss folk asks: "Can grizzlies swim?" All eyes dart hard left to a slow-moving form paddling across the channel that, from a distance, could be the head of a jacked seal. But as we drift closer it's unmistakably a 750-pound Ursus horribilis. Unlike Big Ears, this fella has zero worries about us—or Bear Necessities (clockwise from left) A family of grizzlies cruise along the tideline in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary; the local version of a Land Rover; the rustic charm of your floating accomodations smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Round trip: 12 kilometres Elevation gain: Minimal Location: Naikoon Provincial Park (Haida Gwaii) Running from Tlell to Tow Hill, the bucket-list-worthy East Beach Trail covers 89 kilometres on Graham Island. Sample the south end of this remote coastal route and pay a visit to the wreck of the Pesuta. From the trailhead at Tlell, set off north. The trail follows the left bank of the Tlell River to the sandy shore of Hecate Strait. Keep going until you reach the intriguing remains of the 264-foot log barge. The shipwreck is the result of a winter storm in 1928. Turn around here. Backpackers may continue north, crossing the Mayer River, to camp at the mouth of the Cape Ball River. Once back at the trailhead, consider visiting the Haida Heritage Centre at Kay Llnagaay, down the road, to learn about Haida culture. —Stephen Hui Iconic Hike: PESUTA SHIPWRECK about anything else, for that matter. He pulls himself up the beach and we can clearly hear his massive claws click-clacking over the rocks as he goes about his explorations and we excitedly snap away with our cameras. We silently follow him for another 30 minutes or so, and it's fascinating to watch him in his element—a little foraging, a bit more swimming and an occasional break to scratch himself. Finally, the bear decides to head inland and we silently putt back to the lodge. Everyone is wearing smiles befitting the interlude we've just had. The Swiss will stay on for a few days— they have a level of appreciation for the rarity of the occasion that I, until a few days ago, did not share. On my part, I'll return with a bona fide up-close-and-personal grizzly experience of my own. N O R T H ER N B C TO U R I S M/S H AY D J O H N S O N MAY/JUNE 2022 BCBUSINESS 73 BCBUSINESS.CA