Pawing Bears



Departing Lagoon Cove

We stayed one night at Lagoon Cove and then headed out the following morning, stopping near Littleton Point located on a peninsula of mainland British Columbia; we wanted to check out this site which was on our list of pictograph locations.  

Pictograph at Littleton Point

This particular pictograph looked rather comical, like a cartoon character.  Could this have been intentional, or just in our own imagination?  

Range Markers, Chatham Channel 

After this brief stop, we continued southeast through Chatham Channel at the tail end of slack water, noting the range markers on shore used for navigation through the channel.  

Lots for Sale, Chatham Channel

We also noted a dock along this pretty waterway with a large sign advertising “lots for sale,” perhaps someone’s pipe dream for a waterfront community or resort, or simply the need to sell some property.  We then turned southward and stopped at Hull Island where we spotted a mother bear and her cubs along the mainland B.C. shoreline.  

Mother and Cubs Turning Rocks

We moved in for a closer look and observed the bears turning over rocks, pawing through their seafood dinner.  

Heading For The Forest

Mother bear seemed apprehensive about the big white object sitting out on the water so she began making her way back towards the forest with her cubs trailing behind.   Black Bears are omnivores and their diets vary depending on the season.  They are the Continent’s smallest and most widely distributed bear species and live primarily in dense forested areas.  

Mama Black Bear

The American Black Bear is highly dexterous and has great physical strength.  Even bear cubs have been known to turn over flat-shaped rocks weighing 310 to 325 pounds by flipping them over with a single foreleg. 

Havannah Channel

From Hull Island we made our way southwest down Havannah Channel, exiting into Johnstone Strait then turned east headed for Port Neville, our anchorage for the night.  

Port Neville

Port Neville is an 8-mile long inlet off Johnstone Strait providing good anchorage and a place to duck in should bad weather kick up on the Strait.  A government dock is located a short distance inside the Inlet next to the old Hansen Homestead along with an historic country store; the post office portion of the store closed in 2010.  The store has served as a small museum over recent years.  

Neville Inlet

Beautiful Scenery, Neville Inlet

We continued past the government dock and anchored in scenic Neville Inlet with a couple other boats who had arrived ahead of us.  It was a blustery evening with winds kicking up to 25-28 knots but died down during the night becoming relatively calm once again at daybreak.