Princess Royal Island, British Columbia, Canada
This morning the mountaintops rose high up into the clouds as we cruised north along the east side of Princess Royal Island towards the abandoned settlement of Butedale. As we entered the bay, a stunning waterfall tumbled down from the lake above. Butedale was once the site of a bustling salmon cannery, one of the largest on the north coast with a peak population of 500. Now, it is home only to its caretaker, Lou, his dog Bert, and cat, Kitty. The ruins of the old buildings and piers made for interesting exploring and photography.
While old photos from the days of the cannery show a large amount of the property that had been cleared, the forest has now reclaimed most of the land. Lou graciously showed us around, especially proud of the water driven power plant he has made from the remains of the original plant. Our intrepid hikers made the steep trek up to Butedale Lake (elevation approx. 300 ft) along a mossy and occasionally muddy trail. Just before the lake, they passed through an open muskeg bog dotted with pink flowering bog laurel. Arriving at the near end of the lake, the hikers were treated to a long view down the lake and a flotilla of massive old logs, bleached white from years of weathering, stepping outwards from the shore.
Those who didn’t take the hike explored a bit around the old cannery area, and then headed off for a Zodiac tour. The very first group of cruisers saw two black-tailed deer on the beach. The rocky shore was peppered with purple sea stars. For some, the highlight of the Zodiac tour was pulling in close to the face of the waterfall where we were dwarfed by its power and lightly saturated by its mists.
We returned to the Sea Bird for lunch, and afterwards, every seat in the lounge was filled with people enjoying our special dessert, ice cream sundaes! Yummy!
For much of the afternoon, we continued our passage through the Great Bear Rainforest, an area encompassing 8 million acres of costal temperate rainforest in Northern British Columbia. Many eyes from the Sea Bird diligently scanned the shorelines looking for wildlife. This is an important area with a diverse ecosystem, providing habitat for salmon, wolves, eagles, wolverine, and brown, black and Kermode bears. Princess Royal Island is perhaps most famous for the Kermode, or Spirit bear. Biologically, this bear is no different from a black bear, except for its recessive genes that determine its unique white to creamy coloration. While its parents and siblings are typically black, about 1 in 10 bears born on this island result in this light coloration.
Later in the afternoon, Linda Burback gave us an informative and often amusing program on “Signs of Life,” giving us a whole new perspective on tracks and other tell-tale signs from nature.
And so, on a beautiful late May evening, we continue our journey northwards.
This morning the mountaintops rose high up into the clouds as we cruised north along the east side of Princess Royal Island towards the abandoned settlement of Butedale. As we entered the bay, a stunning waterfall tumbled down from the lake above. Butedale was once the site of a bustling salmon cannery, one of the largest on the north coast with a peak population of 500. Now, it is home only to its caretaker, Lou, his dog Bert, and cat, Kitty. The ruins of the old buildings and piers made for interesting exploring and photography.
While old photos from the days of the cannery show a large amount of the property that had been cleared, the forest has now reclaimed most of the land. Lou graciously showed us around, especially proud of the water driven power plant he has made from the remains of the original plant. Our intrepid hikers made the steep trek up to Butedale Lake (elevation approx. 300 ft) along a mossy and occasionally muddy trail. Just before the lake, they passed through an open muskeg bog dotted with pink flowering bog laurel. Arriving at the near end of the lake, the hikers were treated to a long view down the lake and a flotilla of massive old logs, bleached white from years of weathering, stepping outwards from the shore.
Those who didn’t take the hike explored a bit around the old cannery area, and then headed off for a Zodiac tour. The very first group of cruisers saw two black-tailed deer on the beach. The rocky shore was peppered with purple sea stars. For some, the highlight of the Zodiac tour was pulling in close to the face of the waterfall where we were dwarfed by its power and lightly saturated by its mists.
We returned to the Sea Bird for lunch, and afterwards, every seat in the lounge was filled with people enjoying our special dessert, ice cream sundaes! Yummy!
For much of the afternoon, we continued our passage through the Great Bear Rainforest, an area encompassing 8 million acres of costal temperate rainforest in Northern British Columbia. Many eyes from the Sea Bird diligently scanned the shorelines looking for wildlife. This is an important area with a diverse ecosystem, providing habitat for salmon, wolves, eagles, wolverine, and brown, black and Kermode bears. Princess Royal Island is perhaps most famous for the Kermode, or Spirit bear. Biologically, this bear is no different from a black bear, except for its recessive genes that determine its unique white to creamy coloration. While its parents and siblings are typically black, about 1 in 10 bears born on this island result in this light coloration.
Later in the afternoon, Linda Burback gave us an informative and often amusing program on “Signs of Life,” giving us a whole new perspective on tracks and other tell-tale signs from nature.
And so, on a beautiful late May evening, we continue our journey northwards.
