Wildlife Spotting in British Columbia
Condé Nast Traveler US|April 2023
In northern Canada's Desolation Sound, Crai Bower discovers, salmon is everything
By Crai Bower
Wildlife Spotting in British Columbia

When the Spirit Bear Appeared, I'd been tracking a black bear through the woods, so my heart was already racing. Cream-colored, with a russet wash on her nape and a prominent scar etched deeply above her snout, she began a languorous stroll along a fallen, moss-shrouded hemlock not far from where our small group was gathered. She stepped into the creek and grabbed a salmon, audibly crunching its bones, taking sustenance from what I'd soon come to understand is the basic unit of energy in this uniquely North American ecosystem. I had dreamed for decades of seeing a spirit bear-also known as a Kermode bear, a subspecies of black bear whose white fur is the result of a double-recessive gene in the wild. I thought of what Marven Robinson, a Raven Clan member of the Gitga'at First Nation and owner of Gitga'at Spirit Tours, had told us. "Remember how you felt when you first saw a black bear, and remember how you feel when you see a white bear. Black bears intimidate, but white bears provide company."

I was traveling with 11 fellow guests on Maple Leaf Adventures' eight-day Great Bear Rainforest expedition, which explores the straits, bays, and coves of British Columbia's Inside Passage. We were being ferried aboard the six-cabin MV Swell, a converted 88-foot wood tugboat built in 1912. The Gitga'at First Nation has occupied this land for millennia, and each year Maple Leaf Adventures agrees to certain protocols in order to explore Gitga'at and other unceded tribal territory here in search of whales, grizzlies, and other wildlife.

This story is from the April 2023 edition of Condé Nast Traveler US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2023 edition of Condé Nast Traveler US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER USView All
Animal Kingdom
Condé Nast Traveler US

Animal Kingdom

A massive effort in Saudi Arabia to restore its endemic flora and fauna is underway. Now, the country is looking to tourism to help support it

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Building Change
Condé Nast Traveler US

Building Change

On a pristine stretch of Mexico's southwestern coast, anew developmentis grounded in community and creativity

time-read
2 mins  |
January - February 2024
karma chameleon
Condé Nast Traveler US

karma chameleon

A generation after Berlin's reinvention as the after-hours king of Western Europe, the German capital enters a new chapter as a softer-edged city that has settled more fully into its own skin

time-read
9 mins  |
March 2024
SWELL TIMES
Condé Nast Traveler US

SWELL TIMES

Palm-tree-lined beaches? Check. Excellent reef breaks? Check. A cool-kid scene complete with surf stays, yoga retreats, and oceanfront cafés? Check, check, check. Sri Lanka's south coast has all the ingredients to become the next great lifestyle destination

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2024
OUT IN THE OPEN
Condé Nast Traveler US

OUT IN THE OPEN

A trip through Canada's remote Northwest Territories showcases the region's starkly beautiful landscapes and the Indigenous communities whose stories and ways of life have become newly accessible to travelers

time-read
9 mins  |
March 2024
los angeles plays itself
Condé Nast Traveler US

los angeles plays itself

No place delights in retelling its own tale quite like the City of Angels. Now, a wave of chefs, hoteliers, and entrepreneurs is remixing the classics to usher in a new Golden Age

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
It's for everyone - Men are discovering the value of self-care too
Condé Nast Traveler US

It's for everyone - Men are discovering the value of self-care too

IT IS A SUNNY winter morning, and I can see snowcapped peaks in the distance. The fragrance of pine fills the air. Birds chatter in the trees above.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
It's for healing - Thailand's storied retreats offer an emotional reset
Condé Nast Traveler US

It's for healing - Thailand's storied retreats offer an emotional reset

SUNSHINE WOULD HAVE been too much after three years that felt like one long dark tunnel. I arrive, exhausted, on Koh Samui during a monsoon, the wet jungle swaying with the energy of renewal. That night, a lullaby of raindrops helps me drift off to sleep. The far-off storm flashing on the horizon expels my subliminal rage. I awaken, refreshed, to birdsong.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2024
It's learning to lead - Visiting Greece to succeed at work in New York
Condé Nast Traveler US

It's learning to lead - Visiting Greece to succeed at work in New York

ON A BRIGHT November afternoon at Euphoria Retreat on the Peloponnese peninsula, I find myself curled in the fetal position, my body supported by the cool wood floor.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
It's a way to push yourself - A plunge into the ocean at the end of the earth
Condé Nast Traveler US

It's a way to push yourself - A plunge into the ocean at the end of the earth

I'M WEARING A BARBIE-PINK bathing suit, but there are no palm trees in sight. The snow has just stopped falling and I can see broken chunks of iceberg inching toward the ship I'm on. The ambient temperature is 29 Fahrenheit.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 2024