Around the Coast Mountains

Welcome to the blog for my expedition of discovery around BC’s Coast Mountains. I’m taking this trip to satisfy a dream I’ve had most of my life to immerse myself in the nature of my home, the northwest coast of North America. I also want to make a nature documentary about this region.

The Coast Mountains region supports a wide diversity of ecosystems and landscapes because of its varied geography and the meeting of a moist maritime climate from the west with a polar continental climate from the east. All along the length of our left hand border, the coastal areas are divided from the interior by a continuous and almost impenetrable mountain range. Few roads cross it. Only ten rivers manage to cut through it. What binds it all together is the forests, the wildlife and the waterways.

The 10 BC rivers that flow through the Coast Range

What makes these ten rivers special is that they begin in relatively “flat” terrain in the interior, to the east of the mountains. As they flow westwards through the mountains, the terrain gets more dramatic and many of these rivers receive glaciers in their lower courses, rather than in their headwaters, which is the opposite of most rivers. This is due to the large snow catchment zones (and heavy precipitation) in the high elevations above which funnel ice down to the valley bottoms before it has a chance to melt.

With a burgeoning population and increased demand for natural resources, the ecological integrity of this region is also under continued threat. We do have many great protected areas here to enjoy and take care of, for which we have the hard work of previous conservationists to thank, but this system is incomplete. British Columbia and Canada do not have a comprehensive set of protected areas sufficient to maintain dynamic ecosystems with healthy and diverse populations of apex mammals. There still remains much pristine unprotected and threatened wilderness, and it is as important now as it has ever been that what is at stake be brought forward to the people of Canada and the World.

The first part of my trip in 2010 was a kayak journey up the Inside Passage from Richmond, BC to Prince Rupert, BC. Places I was particularly looking forward to visiting are:

Long Lake and Smith Inlet behind Cape Caution (nice grizzly habitat),
Hakai Recreation Area with its myriad inlets and islets meeting the open ocean,
Princess Royal Island and Helmcken Lake (white kermode bears and healthy wolf populations),
Quaal and Ecstall Rivers (two separate rivers which almost meet up, making for a spectacular river journey through the mountains west of Kitimat),
the mouth of the Stikine River, and nearby Shakes Lake with its tidewater glacier.

Unfortunately I only made it halfway in 2010, which was still quite a trip though! In 2011 and 2012 I could only get a few weeks off from work, so I did short sections and made it to Bella Bella by then end of the 2012 season. Eventually I’ll get to Prince Rupert and start the bike ride back down the other side. On this part of the trip I will ride the backroads and wilderness trails along the eastern side of the mountains through the Chilcotin to discover the forests, lakes, rivers, history, and people living sustainably in this region.

The year after that, I plan to do the Alaska leg, with a kayak journey up the coast from Prince Rupert to Skagway and a bike ride back down the other side along the Cassiar Highway. I also plan to make a descent of the Taku River from Atlin. The Taku is one of the last remaining unprotected wild rivers in BC. It is a large river that empties into the Pacific near Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Amazingly, this valley remains unroaded. This probably has a lot to do with the large tidewater glacier at its mouth which would cut off road access. It supports large runs of salmon and is important for local fisheries and wildlife.

Around the Coast Mountains

Around the Coast Mountains

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