Perhaps his shiny, massive, belt buckle wasn’t the first thing I noticed about Gene Allen, co-owner of Bear Claw Lodge and patriarch of the Allen family. But it definitely caught my eye within the first fifteen minutes of meeting him.
Gene had just picked me up in Smithers, British Columbia, located in Northern Central British Columbia. We had a two hour drive to Bear Claw Lodge ahead of us. During this time, he regaled me with tales of his rodeo days, passing the clicks (kilometers) with stories of bucking broncos and championship competitions, helping me make the connection between him and his gleaming belt buckle. I was totally enthralled. I wasn’t sure where I had landed, thinking it could be the Wild West, but I knew I was going to enjoy myself.
Bear Claw Lodge is different than any other place I’ve ever been. Aside from its’ remote location and wilderness beauty, the eight room lodge is an honest-to-goodness family-run getaway. with excellent customer service and cuisine. In the fall, they offer world-class steelhead salmon fishing right in their backyard on the Kispiox river. The head guide, Jim, has guided guided fishing trips all over the world. (Jim also happens to be Gene and Joy’s son.) In the winter they have almost 6,000 miles of a heli-skiers paradise in the Skeena Mountain Range that surrounds the lodge, managed by Skeena Heli-Skiing. I visited during their quieter summer months, where plenty of hustle and bustle still abound, with activities like horseback riding, rafting, and hiking available.
As we pulled up to the lodge in Gene’s truck, I was given a warm welcome by the handful of staff as well as Gene’s wife, Joy. The Allens’ are sixth generation Kispiox Valley residents, and they excel at making you feel right at home from the minute you arrive at their front door.
“We treat folks like family here, and we find that people come back year after year because of that. We’re truly a family run operation.” Joy explains to me. Over the next few days I began to understand what she meant.
The following morning I went for a two-hour horseback ride with Joy. As we rode along one of their many trails, through open meadows filled with blooming wildflowers, fiddlehead ferns and aspen groves, Joy shared her stories of growing up riding horses, and the countless people she’s taken on these very trails. Many have never ridden a horse in their life. “Those are my favorite people to take for a ride,” she says, “because you can just see them open up, become more comfortable, and really enjoy themselves.”
In the afternoon, I head out to the river with Jim for a lesson in spey casting. Spey casting is a two-handed casting technique used in fly-fishing, and being a novice fly-fisherwoman, I was excited to try it out. As Jim showed me how to cast, we saw Chinook salmon swimming upstream in the crystal clear water, briefly breaking the surface before continuing its’ journey upstream to spawn. After a few tries, I got the hang of the “tai-chi” cast as I began to call it, as a very slow and precise movement was necessary to properly get the line when I wanted it to go.
It was the perfect day.
Not only were the activities fun and the scenery spectacular, but the service, food and accommodations were what truly put Bear Claw Lodge in a class by itself. Kim, a lovely, young woman, gently woke me up in the morning by bringing me my choice of coffee (a latte) in bed to me.
The chef, Heather, followed up my caffeine buzz with eggs benedict, fresh fruit and just-out-of-the-oven muffins.
Dinner was delicious as well, with fresh greens from the garden, and local chicken from a nearby farm.
I left the lodge with a full belly, rested body, and heavy heart. I was sad to say goodbye to my new Kispiox river family, and I was going to miss the beauty of their land that they had shared with me. This lodge and the locale is a little slice of heaven, and the people are what truly make it so special.
You can check out Bear Claw Lodge for yourself here on their website, and also, have a look at their instagram photos!
Adventure On,
Joslin
All photos taken by Joslin Fritz.