WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Young eagle looking for prey at low tide.

A fishing charter came in with a big group.
Told us predator whales probably like the ocras in the previous post
chased these guys in to the shallows.

Massive waterfalls everywhere we went.
 We like Khutze Inlet so well we spent another couple of days in the crabbing.

This eagle gave us a nice show.

Bill was all grins! His pot collected 13. He kept four gave some to another boat near by.
Those were some happy sailors !

Tooling around in Dink on a nice day is hard to resist! John is pulling a pot and wearing his life jacket!

This starfish revealed it's self as the tide went out.

Veiws leaving Khutze Inlet! Amazing! Started boating with Sea Badger this time heading south.
But before we did that we split off and went to Hartley Bay and Kitimat.

Hartley Bay-

Hartley Bay near the south end of the Douglas Channel is a First Nation Native Village for the Gitga’at people. A very friendly town that is unique in so many ways. The community is a dry village and no “Intoxicant’s are allowed, but you can have a beer on your boat, just keep it low keyed. The town has built boardwalk type paths throughout the community and travel is limited to walking, and ATV’s. In fact, the emergency response vehicle is a purpose built ATV much like a Razor but with dual rear wheels. A nice hike towards the Lake, and you pass Fish Hatchery and smoke house.  

The docks are available on a first come basis so you want to try and get in early, and because the docks are free and power is available they tend to fill up quickly. We liked this spot and spent a few days each time we went there. It’s a very well protected Hide out, and many people that cruise to Alaska, stop here before making the trek up the “Trench”, Grenville Channel. Rufus runs the gas dock and loves to pull your leg, so expect him to

A popular fishing hotspot, I asked one of the locals (George) to take me out fishing. He showed me how they do it up North and we landed several nice Salmon. Maybe next year I can get him to take me Halibut fishing.

John's prized King Salmon!

George is a hard working and enterprising young man who knows how to fish!
They really hard a great time and I was told he made John work for it!

The Fatties... two King, one Coho

This is the cleaning station, everything is done here on the dock, with the fish box (ice chest) and hose. 

John was all packed and ready for his fishing trip, as if it was his first day of school. 

George's Fishing Boat, Pairadice in the distance. 

John was prepared to be getting wet. These guys waste no time getting to where the fish are.
George worked all day and met John at 4:30. They returned promptly at 10pm with their catch.

It's typical for the families to come down to see each others catch.
The salmon is highly revered by the Gitga'at Nation.

The head is off now for the filets.

Very nice Salmon

We worked together until midnight bagging, tagging and freezing.

The previous day we walked through town, learning about the Giga'at Culture and taking pics. Population 200.

The fuel is at the top of the ramp. The pump is dropped down to you.

Community Church and it's Totem

Very cool Polaris Fire Truck.

Fish Hatchery and walking trail along the river to the lake.

Arial of the town.

This is just one of the smoke houses.

New portion of the hatchery houses huge round circulating tubs.

The doors painted with their iconic salmon. 

Some sections still need work.

First set of falls

John enjoyed the walk with me reading up on local species.

Second set of falls.

Four sister curious about the stranger in town. The photo is at their church which is scheduled to be torn down. They explained that they are saddened by that and the new church won't be the same.

zig zag left to right: Brookyn, Dakota, Natasha and Kassandra

The next morning we were leaving Hartley Bay, with plans to visit Butedale and and possibly the spirit bear that resides there. First thing in the morning Friday, June 24th we greeted by several Humpback Whales just outside the breakwater. The town's people called them in. for 










this post is incomplete... there is more to come. We watched a Spirit Bear for hours, Humpback Whales, etc... Stay tuned... and thank you for following us!

Kitimat-

A full days travel from Hartley Bay is the town of Kitimat. The town was originally built during the mid 1900’s to manufacture Aluminum and still does today. The politics are on everyone’s mind nowadays, with the possibility of LNG pipeline and crude oil ports, the population which is currently around 7,500 could double or even triple in a few short years.

The Marina is not the best and we were placed on the outside dock exposed to the bay. Very little breakwater has been installed; so all the docks are subject to the weather.

We hooked up with a Trawler Forum member, Murray, who was extremely gracious. Provided us with the local history and even took us into town for dinner and the local hotspots!

Butedale-

Butedale is an old cannery that closed down many years ago. At its peak operation it employed over 500 people but now has fallen to vandalism and squatters. A few years back, the land, remaining buildings and bay were purchased and plans to rebuild into a resort style marina are in the process. The dock is available to tie up to not only visit, but to tour the area. Cory the caretaker has been on the site for the last few years and greeted us at the dock and gave us a tour.

Lucky for us, a rumor of a Spirit Bear that frequently visits the dock area came true and we got to witness the bear for a few hours. This bear has been in the area for several years and supposedly gave birth to two cubs a few years back. Spirit Bears are rare and have only been seen in just a few places along the BC Coast, so we felt privileged to witness  one up close.