We’ll crash!”
“He’s not that old. I doubt he’ll have a heart attack.”
“You never know.”
She turned to Brad.
“Brad,” she said, “how’s your heart?”
“My heart?” he asked.
“Yes, your heart.”
Brad put his hand over his chest.
“Still beating, as far as I can tell.”
It’s true, pilots along the western coast of British Columbia have a long and spectacular history of crashing. But, it’s not because they have heart attacks. Mostly, it’s due to weather. The storms in this area are frequent and can be fierce, making the conditions for air travel less than ideal. But today in Vancouver, there wasn’t a storm cloud in the sky.
“It’s a perfect day to fly, Mom,” I said and hopped aboard, leaving my dad to further convince her that it was safe. It took a few minutes, but my dad was finally able to coax her onto the plane.
Brad fired up the engine and put on his headset. After idling into the channel, he turned to us.
“Everyone buckled?” he asked.
We all gave the thumbs up.
“Good! Off we go!”
Brad pressed the throttle forward and we quickly gained momentum. The pontoons thumped hard atop the rough waters, rattling the plane like an earthquake. Then, suddenly, the earthquake was over. We were airborne.
It’s been smooth sailing ever since.
Time to put away the journal and enjoy the scenery …
Aerial view of the GBR
GANNON
MID-FLIGHT
Wow, what a view! Spread out a few thousand feet below us is the southern boundary of the Great Bear Rainforest—a huge mountainous wilderness carved up by channels and inlets and tributaries and spotted with hundreds of lakes and dozens of small, tree-covered islands. Further inland there are mountains so high trees can’t even grow and between many of these high jagged peaks, gray and white glaciers snake their way into the valleys.
It’s really kind of mind-blowing to think that hidden somewhere within this coastal wilderness, somewhere underneath the water and the trees, are some of the world’s most impressive creatures—humpback and orca whales, stellar sea lions, grizzlies, black bears, wolves, moose, bald eagles, and hundreds of other species. It’s even more amazing to think that somewhere in that forest down there is the mythical spirit bear!
WYATT
SEPTEMBER 18, 3:23 PM
FLOATPLANE, APPROACHING BELLA BELLA, B.C.
CLOUDY SKIES
Below us right now is a section of land that has almost no trees, just lots of stumps and fallen trunks. In such a lush forest, it looks like a terrible scar on the earth.
I guess this remote wilderness isn’t as “undisturbed” as I thought. I can see a crane on one side loading a massive truck with trees. It’s obviously a logging operation. Through my binoculars I can see the name “Halliman Timber” printed on the crane.
Witnessing this makes it pretty clear to me why some people devote their lives to saving the earth’s forests. I understand that timber is needed. We use it to build homes. We use it for fuel. It’s a valuable resource. I just have a hard time believing there isn’t a way to protect the world’s last old growth forests from clear-cutting, and still address the needs of humans.
An old growth forest being clear-cut
GANNON
BELLA BELLA
Brad got us to Bella Bella after about an hour-long flight and I have to compliment him on his landing. I mean, it was perfect, with the plane touching down in the inlet as smooth as a pelican gliding onto water. From there he steered us to an old, decaying dock near the village, and now we’re just waiting for a ride to the Pacific Yellowfin, which is anchored in a deep bay a few minutes away.
According to Brad, about 1,400 people live in Bella Bella, mostly descendants of the native tribe, Heiltsuk. Apartment buildings and small homes line the shore. Just about everyone has a satellite dish and almost all of the buildings are painted sky blue or white, probably to give some kind of color to a place that sits under gray skies for
“He’s not that old. I doubt he’ll have a heart attack.”
“You never know.”
She turned to Brad.
“Brad,” she said, “how’s your heart?”
“My heart?” he asked.
“Yes, your heart.”
Brad put his hand over his chest.
“Still beating, as far as I can tell.”
It’s true, pilots along the western coast of British Columbia have a long and spectacular history of crashing. But, it’s not because they have heart attacks. Mostly, it’s due to weather. The storms in this area are frequent and can be fierce, making the conditions for air travel less than ideal. But today in Vancouver, there wasn’t a storm cloud in the sky.
“It’s a perfect day to fly, Mom,” I said and hopped aboard, leaving my dad to further convince her that it was safe. It took a few minutes, but my dad was finally able to coax her onto the plane.
Brad fired up the engine and put on his headset. After idling into the channel, he turned to us.
“Everyone buckled?” he asked.
We all gave the thumbs up.
“Good! Off we go!”
Brad pressed the throttle forward and we quickly gained momentum. The pontoons thumped hard atop the rough waters, rattling the plane like an earthquake. Then, suddenly, the earthquake was over. We were airborne.
It’s been smooth sailing ever since.
Time to put away the journal and enjoy the scenery …
Aerial view of the GBR
GANNON
MID-FLIGHT
Wow, what a view! Spread out a few thousand feet below us is the southern boundary of the Great Bear Rainforest—a huge mountainous wilderness carved up by channels and inlets and tributaries and spotted with hundreds of lakes and dozens of small, tree-covered islands. Further inland there are mountains so high trees can’t even grow and between many of these high jagged peaks, gray and white glaciers snake their way into the valleys.
It’s really kind of mind-blowing to think that hidden somewhere within this coastal wilderness, somewhere underneath the water and the trees, are some of the world’s most impressive creatures—humpback and orca whales, stellar sea lions, grizzlies, black bears, wolves, moose, bald eagles, and hundreds of other species. It’s even more amazing to think that somewhere in that forest down there is the mythical spirit bear!
WYATT
SEPTEMBER 18, 3:23 PM
FLOATPLANE, APPROACHING BELLA BELLA, B.C.
CLOUDY SKIES
Below us right now is a section of land that has almost no trees, just lots of stumps and fallen trunks. In such a lush forest, it looks like a terrible scar on the earth.
I guess this remote wilderness isn’t as “undisturbed” as I thought. I can see a crane on one side loading a massive truck with trees. It’s obviously a logging operation. Through my binoculars I can see the name “Halliman Timber” printed on the crane.
Witnessing this makes it pretty clear to me why some people devote their lives to saving the earth’s forests. I understand that timber is needed. We use it to build homes. We use it for fuel. It’s a valuable resource. I just have a hard time believing there isn’t a way to protect the world’s last old growth forests from clear-cutting, and still address the needs of humans.
An old growth forest being clear-cut
GANNON
BELLA BELLA
Brad got us to Bella Bella after about an hour-long flight and I have to compliment him on his landing. I mean, it was perfect, with the plane touching down in the inlet as smooth as a pelican gliding onto water. From there he steered us to an old, decaying dock near the village, and now we’re just waiting for a ride to the Pacific Yellowfin, which is anchored in a deep bay a few minutes away.
According to Brad, about 1,400 people live in Bella Bella, mostly descendants of the native tribe, Heiltsuk. Apartment buildings and small homes line the shore. Just about everyone has a satellite dish and almost all of the buildings are painted sky blue or white, probably to give some kind of color to a place that sits under gray skies for
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