It was a cold and rainy afternoon when two road weary travelers rolled into Stewart, British Columbia in search of a place to rest their tired bones. The only campground in town was closed, for renovations, not to open until the following year. The exhausted travelers stumbled into the local tourist office seeking advice from the local elder. She shook her head and in a quiet voice told them the legend of the phantom bear of Clements Lake. She pointed her gnarled finger up the street at the local motel and told them they better bunk in for the night.
The travelers emptied their pockets and counted their pennies, not enough. The old woman looked down at the floor silently contemplating. She knew the owner of the motel to be a hard person who would not take pity or offer a handout. She slowly raised her eyes and gave the travelers directions to Clements Lake. Thanking her the travelers took a deep a breath and left as the old woman chanted a blessing.
Climbing into their old rig and heading north out of town the travelers found the turn off for Clements Lake. The sign hung askew on a rusted metal post, the road showed very little traffic. Easing onto the rutted lane they inched their way up to the lake. It was a beautiful place, a small lake with mountain waterfalls crashing down in the distance. Could this be the place of legend? The peaceful surroundings were in stark contrast with the old woman’s story. Was she playing a local trick?
Picking a site, there were only 2, the travelers set up their rig and jumped in the cold lake to wash off the road dust. They had just finished, thank goodness, when in drives an RCMP vehicle. The ranger rolled down his window and wanted to know if they had seen a crazed grizzly. The travelers having decided this was all a joke shook their heads laughing. Giving the travelers a funny look, the ranger told them an aggressive grizzly was charging log trucks on the main road and to ‘keep an eye out’, oh and cool Rover. He then spun his SUV around and spit rocks as he raced out of the park.
Totally confused at this point, the travelers settled in for an uneasy night.
Sweet dreams!
We later learned the lake is known as Bear Lake by the locals for the number of Grizzlies that hang around that area.
We are heading up the Dempster Highway into the Northwest Territory and to the North Sea, to put our toes in the water. We will probably be out of touch for 10 days or more.
Happy trails everyone!
