Thanks! Proenneke is a favorite of mine too. (Hopefully the same guy?) I have the book Alone in the Wilderness, (plus the movies; parts one and two. (2003, and 2011)), a book with several years of his daily journals, ("More Readings from One Man's Wilderness"), as well as two more movies about Richard. (Alaska, Silence and Solitude (2004), and The Frozen North (2006)) All great viewing!

As for my neighbors... Nearest neighbors are the tiny Native communities of Harley Bay, (pop ~140), about 25 miles by boat, and Klemtu, a larger Native community of about 400, approximately 35 miles away by boat. The closest real town is Kitimat, about 70 miles by boat. (I'm mostly inaccessible during the winter, unless someone is crazy, or has a boat that can handle very, very, VERY rough water!) lol! So, I get my big Winter's delivery in mid October, and that has to last me until mid to late February, when the weather begins to improve enough to make a trip out here just a little bit less than suicidal.

When I had a badly infected burned hand to take care of last December, a 47 foot Coast Guard cutter, the CCGS Cape Farewell had to make a run out here from a Native community called Bella Bella, about 85 miles from Butedale. IMPRESSIVE boat! Can do 25 knots in seas up to 3 foot breaking swells. She's pretty much just engines and fuel tanks, with a bridge and med-bay.



I think she must have been riding an incoming tide, with a good wind from the stern, because she was here to pick me up in well less than 3 hours after I called the CG.

The black, (or white) bears I'm really not worried about at all. The bears on this island, (Princess Royal) have never, ever been hunted, (protected by the Natives for millennia) so have absolutely no natural fear, or aggressive instinct towards humans. Videographers can, (and do) work with them from feet away, and sometimes the bears get so comfy with them that they do unimaginable things. (Like let their cubs play with the humans!!) Here's an amazing video I suggest you watch, if you'd like to learn more about how insanely gentle these bears are towards people.


I do however worry about the wolves. Bud's chased a different female away from Butedale, every February. Well, he tried to chase the one off last Feb, but she was in heat, and obviously lonely, and no matter what I did, (including firing a shotgun off over her head from about 6 feet away) she wouldn't leave. Finally after 3 weeks of Bud being grounded, or on his leash with me, she finally wandered off; probably after her estrus cycle was over. Bud, fortunately isn't a wanderer, but being part Japanese Akita, (and husky, shepherd and wolf) he's incredibly protective of his territory, and doesn't hesitate a nanosecond when his nose tells him there's something nearby, that he doesn't want nearby. He's treed my Spirit Bear a dozen times this early summer. He thinks it's just great fun, and she doesn't really seem to be fazed by it. He chases her up a tree, then comes back all proud and jaunty; and as soon as he's gone, she's back down munching on berries. lol!

Peek-a-boo!




Being that she's a coastal bear, and gets most of her diet from Salmon, Herring Roe, Shore Crab, shore grasses, Mollusks and berries, me and Bud haven't much to worry about. (Aside from her ever having cubs that is.) If she ever does have cubs that she brings berry picking our way, then Bud may be grounded for a while, until she heads down the channel for salmon season.

Anyhoo, like I said, I not too worried about her, but the wolves. In the early 2000's a squatter lived here with his family and a bunch of Blue Heelers. Out of the 7 dogs here, 5 were killed in a matter of minutes when a big pack of wolves came down to assert their dominance of their territory. Of course the Heelers were wanderers, that would regularly go up to the lake area to chase deer, and were an offence to the wolf pack. So, glad I am, that Bud doesn't roam.

Righty then, hope my reply wasn't too onerously long! lol!

Cheers!

Cory

Thanks so much for your reply Cory. I could listen to you talk all day about your life out there. I think it is hard for us UK-ers to grasp what it is like living with big predators, simply because we have never had to. There is talk of reintroducing lynx and wolves back into Northern England and Scotland but I am not sure it will ever happen. I am also not convinced it should be done, as it would only be a matter of time before they came into conflict with humans, which would almost certainly mean persecution.

"Your" bear is beautiful. Do you have any photos of the female wolf that came around last February?

If I am not being intrusive, could you tell me a bit about why you decided to move out there? Have you always lived in more remote places, or did you move specifically to somewhere remote for a purpose?

I will watch the video when I get a chance, thank you.

The author I am speaking of is Mike Tomkies, although by the sounds of it I should also look out the books of Proenneke.

Here is what Wiki says about Mike

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tomkies

I can highly recommend his books.

Hiyo again! Nope! You're not being intrusive at all. I love talking about Butedale. I did actually move out here for the majesty of the wilderness, and the peace and solitude that comes with being the only person living on a 2200 sq. km island. I'm not a hermit by any means; I do love my visitors, (human, as well as animal.) At night, with the flick of a couple switches, the nearest light is a half dozen streetlights 25 miles away in Hartley Bay! I never get woken up by garbage trucks, buses, lawnmowers, etc. Living in an out of the way spot, on the coast of BC has been a dream of mine since I was just a wee lad; and although it took a couple decades longer to find it than I would have liked, I can honestly say, I'm living my lifelong dream.

Life is good! Zero light pollution, zero air pollution, zero noise pollution, and water that I drink straight from the lake / river / creek, without any treatment. (4 years, and nary a tummy-ache!) And yummy-yummy the water is too! 280 foot deep, 1500 acre lake, fed by a 25000 acre watershed, filtered through 25000 acres of moss. Good stuff! And the water is soooo soft! Depending on how much it has rained, the PPM for dissolved minerals is between 0.01 and 0.1 PPM. Soft, soft, soft!

Anyhoo, I've gone a little off-track, eh! lol!

I have heard of Mike Tomkies, and I will look up his many books! Will likely order and download them through Amazon. Thanks for giving me the "head's up" on Mike and his books!

Righty then, I see that you found my post on last year's wolf visitor. She's a bit thin, and a bit arthritic, but seemed otherwise healthy enough. Fortunately, as a coastal wolf, she (like the bears) gets most of her diet from the ocean. I think she was kicked from her pack due to her arthritis. Which is probably partly why she came down to Butedale, and spent so much time here, even with me doing my darndest to scare her off. (That, and she wanted my Buddy as a boy-toy!) lol!

Anyways, if ya have any other questions, feel free to ask. You can also check out my Youtube channel if you like. Has plenty of whale, Spirit Bear, wolf, and other vids of Butedale on it.

Here's a video slideshow of many of the Historical Pictures of Butedale That I've collected over the years. Hopefully the YouTube Copyright Police allow the audio to be played. It seems rather hit or miss on what's allowed and what's not.


Cheers!