Where Salmon Lead, Grizzlies Follow: An Autumn Adventure from Campbell River, BC

a grizzly bear walking on a log to cross a river

Photo Credit: Kristian Gillies

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As the boat rounds the southern tip of Quadra Island, a familiar sense of wonder washes over me. The crisp autumn air, mingled with the sharp, salty sea breeze, stings my nostrils as I breathe in deeply. Small pockets of water bubble around the boat, pushed to the surface by the powerful ocean currents working tirelessly
beneath. The Coast Mountain range emerges in the distance, seemingly erupting from the myriad of islands at their base.

As the seasons shift, my mind drifts from the long summer nights spent on the water alongside humpbacks and orcas to the streams that nourish this rich ecosystem and the salmon returning
home to their birthplace. Today, we will follow the salmon back to Bute Inlet, specifically to the Orford River. These salmon are a crucial food source for various animals within the coastal British Columbia ecosystem, and today, we aim to connect with one of its most magnificent inhabitants—the grizzly bear.

As we leave Quadra Island behind, our guide, Steve, slows the boat, a sure sign that something has been spotted. To our delight, two humpbacks are travelling about 300 meters off our starboard side, the unmistakable “whoosh” of their exhalation breaking the stillness of the morning.

two humpback whales blowing as they breathe

Fortunately for us, some whales linger later in the season than others—especially when food is still plentiful and the pressure to reproduce is low—affording us prime viewing opportunities with no other boats in sight.

Though the whales seem to be heading in the same direction as us, our thoughts are centred on bears. After enjoying a few beautiful sightings, Steve fires the engine back up, and we continue on our way.

As we venture deeper into Bute Inlet, the ocean conditions gradually improve. The glassy waters reflect the majestic mountain passage on either side of the boat. The steep walls of the Coast Mountain inlets are the result of ancient glaciers that carved these valleys during the last Ice Age. As the glaciers melted, ocean levels rose, filling these deep inlets while dense vegetation reclaimed the hillsides and valley bottoms.

a mountain covered in fall foliage and mystical clouds

Upon entering Orford Bay, the vibrant fall foliage of deciduous trees captures my attention. Their brilliant colors intertwine with the wispy tendrils of fog that cling to the mountainside. After a quick lunch at the dock, we are welcomed by our local guides, who provide a warm introduction. One of my favorite aspects of visiting the Coast Mountain inlets during bear season is the cultural richness shared by local First Nations guides, who impart their knowledge and highlight the deep interconnection between their people and the wildlife and ecosystem as a whole.

Before long, we pile into a small bus and head upstream in search of a bear. The first thing I notice is how swollen the streams are; heavy autumn rains have come down hard and fast this year, resulting in significantly more water than when I visited at this time last year. Salmon depend on the flow of water through the
streams to navigate back to their spawning grounds, typically staging at the mouths of rivers until the first substantial rains arrive. However, it’s a delicate balance—too much rain can disrupt various stages of the reproductive cycle of these fish.

a grizzly bear wandering along a river

The bus pulls over into a clearing by the river, where the scent of the salmon lifecycle fills the air. Gulls compete with the swiftly flowing water for dominance in the soundscape. A bear has been spotted making its way upstream, and our guides believe it will arrive at this bend in the river sooner or later. The connection
between the guides and the wildlife has been nurtured over thousands of years, and it’s incredible to witness this bond come to life as a bear rounds the corner of the river, just as predicted.

The bear is a healthy subadult male, having had a prosperous season of fishing. His belly sways as he walks towards us, and time seems to slow as I focus my camera and begin to shoot. The rest of the group falls silent, and I can sense a wave of humility wash over everyone as the large grizzly bear passes close by. It is truly a humbling experience to see such a majestic creature moving gracefully through its home in the temperate rainforest. These bears are so focused on salmon at this time of year that they scarcely pay us any attention. We can tell this bear has been feasting on salmon for weeks; its claws have grown long during the break from digging.

I've never taken a trip to the inlets without encountering a bear, but it’s always a gamble balancing the wait and the watch, as the animals are wild and there’s never a 100% guarantee of seeing them. I feel the tension ease as the bear continues upstream; the anxiety of potentially going without a sighting is palpable, and it’s
a relief for both us as guests and the guides to have such a beautiful encounter within the first thirty minutes.

Our next stop is my favorite, a viewing tower offering expansive views both upstream and downstream, thanks to a small clearing at the convergence of two tributaries. The lofty tower provides an unparalleled vantage point. While it’s the bears that draw me to this ecosystem, I cannot help but be captivated by the valley’s
beauty—its lush vegetation thriving on the influx of ocean nitrogen transported by the salmon as they migrate home.

a grizzly bear walking in the temperate rainforest

The surrounding splendor distracts me so thoroughly that I am unprepared when two bears emerge from the forest a few hundred meters upstream from the tower. I hastily position myself and begin to shoot, capturing both intimate close-ups with my zoom lens and broader compositions with my wide-angle. The bears, a mother and her cub, are striking. The mother’s lack of fat is noticeable after a long summer devoted to nurturing her young. In addition to providing the cub with the sustenance necessary to build a layer of fat for winter hibernation, she faces numerous challenges: feeding herself and fending off the ever-present threat of male grizzly bears, who will kill unattended cubs.

Two grizzly bears are walking along the shore of a river

With any luck, this mother will manage to gain the remaining weight from the dwindling salmon supply before the first snow begins to fall, signaling the onset of another long winter spent hibernating in her den.

As the bears move upstream and out of sight, we continue our search for more wildlife. After an hour of exploration, our bear sightings for the day total three—a success in my eyes.

A rainbow over the ocean in the discovery islands

As we make our way back down the inlet, a magnificent rainbow arcs overhead, resembling a vibrant gateway that we pass through, marking our departure from this rich coastal ecosystem. Each year, I eagerly anticipate the first rains of autumn, knowing that as the waters rise and the streams swell, the mighty salmon will journey home to complete their life cycle, once again invigorating the oceans, rivers, valleys, and mountains of coastal
British Columbia.

Words and photos by Kristian Gillies