Click on any picture to load a larger image, and then use your browser "back" button to return here.
May 4, 2009
Once the days warm sufficiently, the lake ice softens enough so that a good wind will clear it out of the lake. This year, the ice went out of Lakelse Lake on April 13 - about three weeks ago. The glassy smooth water is still ice cold as it will take some time for the sun to warm it up. Most of the north is having a late spring this year so there was absolutely no green on any of the trees when this picture was taken a few days ago (they're just starting to turn green this weekend). There's still a lot of snow on the mountain tops that still has to melt and flow through the streams, lakes, and rivers on its journey to the ocean. If the sun produces too many warm days, the mountain snow will melt very quickly, resulting in flooded lakes and rivers, so most hope for a warm but gradual spring. The water in Lakelse Lake often comes up a few feet in the spring, sometimes flooding some low-lying houses and cabins.
This page was last updated May 25, 2009
May 11, 2009
The beautiful Khutzeymateen Inlet, located a couple of hours by boat up the coast from Prince Rupert, is home to many grizzly bears living in their natural habitat as they have for many thousands of years. This remote coastal estuary was the first area in Canada to be set aside specifically to protect grizzly bears and their habitat. This grizzly has wandered near the water to feed on the spring plants after a long, hard winter. Although signs of a late spring are evident in this inlet with patches of snow still visible low on the mountain sides, the spring growth is much welcomed by the valley inhabitants. Access to the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary is very strictly controlled, both by natural means (you can only get here by air or boat) and through the use of access permits from BC Parks. Visitors are required to check in at a floating Guardian Station and must follow very strict regulations designed to protect this unique area.
May 18, 2009
Springtime brings the snow melt. At this time of year, there's still lots of snow in the valleys, at least in the Cassiar Mountains where Holloway Bar is located. It's a late spring this year, but sometime in the next few weeks another Northern mining season will get started. One of the first tasks on the huge list of things to be done to support the mining venture is bringing the power system online. Electricity is generated by a turbine that is spun by the force of the mountain water as it rushes past on its downhill journey. Scott's head box and water line system is the key to the the process - it gathers spring and meltwater from the very top of the mining property and brings it to camp. It's often early to mid-June before the snows have melted enough up high to allow Scott to dig out the upper waterworks and connect everything up. Once the water is flowing, the batteries start to charge again and the lights can once again be turned on.
May 25, 2009
Many Northern businesses run seasonal operations and the off-season is often used to overhaul and repair equipment. This set of floats for a deHavilland Beaver had been just overhauled in a lower-mainland shop over the winter, but while not very heavy (two men could easily pick up each pontoon and lift it onto the top of the truck), they are quite large and bulky so are hard and expensive to ship. A rack was built on the top of the company pickup for the journey south to pick up this load one year in early May and haul them back to the North. Once they were securely tied on the top rack at the overhaul shop, the journey home started. This trip was mostly uneventful, but a lot of drivers' heads turned as they spotted this rather unusual load coming towards them on the highway. Once the floats arrived, they were installed on the Beaver in anticipation of the ice soon going out of the lakes to signal the start of the busy summer flying season.
