THE DESTINATION:
In a quest for photographing wildlife I figured that the Sugar Bowl Grizzly Den in British Columbia would be a sure winner for spotting bears. I set out on a weekend road trip in June of 2013.
MAP/ROUTE:
DAY 1:
I had no idea the trip would be an 8+ hour drive from Edmonton, and really, time seemed to stand still with all the amazing scenery along the way.
From Edmonton, you need to drive through Jasper National Park, and there is pretty much always a few animals to spot along the way.
Bugs love Jeeps. I really need to start bringing some heavy duty cleaning supplies along with me.
The trails in and through the Sugar Bowl Grizzly Den are quite easy, you don’t need any specific vehicle configuration or even four wheel drive for the routes I took. There does appear to be a few more challenging sections that you wouldn’t want to venture without 4wd and a wheeling budding to go with you.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see much for wild life and only one black bear that darted across in front of me and was deep into the forest before I had a chance to grab a photo. I did manage to grab this amazing photo before the end of the day though.
The ripples in the water are from a beaver swimming across.
CAMPING:
I was ground tenting at this time, and stayed at Purden Lake campground, not too far from the Sugar Bowl Grizzly Den. I should have taken some photos as it was a very nice campground and awesome restaurant just at the entrance to the park as well.
DAY 2:
Time for the long drive back to Edmonton, but not without stopping to explore BC’s “Ancient Forest”.
There is a very interesting eco system here – it is actually classified as an in-land rain forest!
It’s an easy hike through the area here, and some areas are built with wooden walk ways. Honestly, showing you photo’s is pretty much useless – you can’t get a good representation of the size of the trees from looking at the pictures.
Careful where you walk, these things are painful:
But venturing off the beaten path will get you some views like this:
INTERESTING FINDS:
I encountered a very brief hail storm along the way. Some heavy rain and relatively light hail. After reviewing the photos quite some time later, I discovered a photo of a hail stone exploding on the hood of the Jeep.
SUMMARY:
I really do want to get back into this area again, but being an 8+ hour drive from where I’m currently living will make it difficult. For my upcoming 2015 travel season I want to explore in more detail closer to home – spend more time on foot hiking than driving around. I’ll add the Sugar Bowl Grizzly Den and Purdon Lake back on my re-visit list, but I have no idea when I might make it back here.
182 photos on my Flickr account here.
I have a JKU also. The bugs on the windshield is amazing. I carry paper towels and glass cleaner with me.