The grizzly bear emerges from the bush on the banks of Melt Creek, its low-slung head swinging side to side as it lumbers toward the swift-moving water. Two cubs follow, as oblivious as their mother to the fact that 15 slightly freaked out river rafters are watching from the opposite shore.
Moments earlier Brad, lead guide on this 11-day Canadian River Expeditions rafting trip down the spectacularly remote Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers—from Dalton Post in southern Yukon, across the northwestern tip of British Columbia to Dry Bay, Alaska—interrupts a lazy afternoon around camp with a clarion call.
“Everyone together. Here. Now!”
We drop our books and campfire-side conversations and double-time it to where Brad and fellow guide Tyler stand overlooking the creek. We’re thrilled to see the bears and slightly crushed when we realize only Edna has a camera, and it’s a modest point-and-shoot. Tyler reads our wildlife-photo-obsessed minds and gives the order: “No one goes to their tents to get their cameras.”
Continue reading in this month’s issue of Just For Canadian Dentists magazine.
