While some people might like nature programs on television, Powell River resident Ken Stephen prefers the real thing. For the past two years, Stephen has returned to a campsite a short drive outside the small BC coastal town of Bella Coola. At the Fisheries Pool campground, located alongside Atnarko River, it is not the fish that are biting—it is the bears. Stephen and his girlfriend Jayne Fogarty arrived at the Fisheries Pool three years ago as a stop on their tour of the BC North Coast. “When we arrived, there were bear warning signs everywhere,” recalls Stephen, who is fascinated by bears. They asked around and found out that they had discovered one of the best places for snapping shots of grizzly bears, that even photographers from National Geographic come up to the campground for photo shoots of the bears. They learned the best time to see the grizzlies was while the pink and coho salmon were running in September and October. Intrigued, Stephen returned by himself last year around the middle of September. Fogarty had to work and couldn’t take the time off. “I pulled into the parking lot and saw a guy with a huge zoom lens,” said Stephen. “I asked him if there were any bears and he said yeah there’s a mother and cubs in the river right now.” Over four days Stephen stayed to take pictures and just watch. When he left he had over 1,500 pictures and stories to bring home. He saw 29 different grizzlies. “I kept telling [Fogarty] about them all year,” he said. “So this year she took a week off work to come.” The pair travelled up to the campground in Stephen’s 1985 Volkswagen Westfalia camper van, nicknamed Smokie. They took their time, taking two days to drive from Powell River to Bella Coola via Pemberton, Lillooet, Williams Lake and cattle country and then plunged down the Freedom Road, a single lane dirt road, into the Bella Coola valley. As soon as the couple arrived Fogarty saw her first grizzly. “I was expecting it to run away like the black bears do,” she said. She was amazed at how the bears just ignored the people. “We watched this one for 45 minutes just slowly fishing down the river,” she added. The couple was standing about 50 feet away from the bears and could hear the ripping sound as the grizzlies pulled the heads off the fish. Stephen noticed that Fogarty was shaking and he told her that they could go if she was too nervous, but she responded that she was shaking out of excitement. “It’s not like watching television,” said Stephen. “You can hear them and smell them. It’s a really amazing experience.” Stephen said that when he tells his stories about his experiences there, quite often people think it is suicidal, but he said that he did not feel scared being so close. The area’s conservation officer makes regular visits to ensure everyone is staying safe, he added. Stephen said it is an experience that is accessible to most people. “You don’t have to hike anywhere, you just get out of your car when you get there and the bears are right there,” he added. The couple is planning another trip back next year. “It’s something that everyone should do at least once in their life,” he said.
