A River Runs Through It

Bella Coola trip, Part IV: Layout

(Part I, Part II, Part III)

Long before we reached the Bella Coola valley, we could see the river. It mingled with the salt water of the ocean all the way down North Bentinck Arm and well into the Burke Channel, turning the current a milky pale green.

(See Google map.)

What turns it that colour is glacier melt. The Bella Coola River is a short one, as rivers go; less than 75 km from its start at Burnt Bridge to the tide flats in Bella Coola. But it is formed by the union of the Atnarko and the Tlachako rivers flowing down from the mountains, both glacier runoff. The glaciers, inching down the rock slopes, grind that rock into a fine powder. In the summer, when the glaciers are melting more quickly, the rivers and creeks of the valley run greenish white.

The tide flats, at high tide. Half river water, half salt.

One of the many creeks, Thorsen Creek, I think. Or Snootli.

The Bella Coola Valley is a favoured tourist destination. No Club Med, very little "entertainment", at least in the summertime; what it offers is scenery, fishing (some of the best in the world, they tell me), wildlife, hiking, historical and arqueological "points of interest" and even some mountain climbing.

The valley itself is about 75 km long, and only about a mile wide at the bottom; a crack in the Coastal Range between high mountains. Nusatsum* (7400 ft.), Mt. Saugstad, the Saloompt, Mt. Stupendous, Table Mountain, Mount Defiant and more; wherever you look, a high peak forms the backdrop.

At the eastern end, the road (there is only one) loses its pavement and crawls up to the plateau, some 2500 feet above, which is accomplished in a few short miles, some at an 18% grade. "The Hill" and the long, lonely drive back to civilization serve as a natural barrier. Most visitors fly or, now, take the ferry, as we did.

I had lived here (up-valley) for 8 years, long before I met Laurie; this was the first time we had made the trip together. There was much to show him.

First, just beyond the ferry landing, is the rock inscribed by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, arriving overland from the East coast in 1793. The end of his trail; from here he turned back because of the hostility of the Bella Bella natives, just down the Channel and perpetual rivals of the Bella Coolas. Hikers still follow his old trail up the valley and on to the volcanic Rainbows (8000 and more feet).

The Rock. Written by MacKenzie with bear grease and vermilion, later scratched in by surveyors.

My daughter's in-laws picked us up at the ferry and drove us to Hagensborg, half way up the valley. Here we would have a house to ourselves and the use of a car for the week. We would see everything!

Weather permitting, of course.Next post: Hagensborg church, Saloompt bridge, etc.
* My story: Nusatsum: A Parable.