7/4/19 - Day 6 - Moose, Lynx, and Bears, Oh My!

After a drizzly evening we woke up to low clouds. So low that we couldn't even see the hill across from us, let alone the mountain with the waterfall behind that! However, after breaking camp we stopped in a turnout to watch for animals and drink our morning coffee. An hour later and the sun broke through the clouds. As we drove back down the valley, we were able to see the Bear Glacier
Note the gushing water coming out of the
left side of the terminus!
again. This time though with the bright blue sky and sunshine, we could see they typical glacial blue color at the terminus and the crevasses.  This was such a gorgeous drive.

Then we got back onto the Cassiar Highway which totally lived up to its reputation for wildlife viewing today! Not long after getting back onto Highway 37  I saw a black bear run off through a small grassy glade to our right. Then, maybe 15 minutes later, both of us saw a black bear standing on the right embankment looking at the road. About 15 minutes more, a cow moose walked across
the road in front of us. Then as if to ensure that we got a picture of it, the moose walked back across the road, turned to look at us, and then dove headlong off the road. A bit after lunch, I told Pat to look in the mirrors at the beautiful  mountains behind us, just as a black bear climbed up to the road with a piece of grass in its mouth. Boy, I got in trouble for that diversion! If those sightings weren't enough, close to the town of Ipsuk, another black bear was slowly meandering his way along the ditch to our left.  That was followed by Pat seeing a black blurr run across the road. He didn't think it ran like a bear... a coyote or wolf maybe? However, the most thrilling sighting today came after we set up camp along Deese Lake.  While sitting with a raspberry iced tea along the lake shore, we spotted a beige animal walking along  a nearby bank just across a small bay. At first we thought it was a brown bear, nope. Then we thought it was a dog, nope! By then the camera was out and zoomed in. A cougar?
Nope, there was no long tail. It was a lynx! It just kept padding along the bank, disappearing behind brush and then reappearing further along the shore. We've never seen one outside of Northwest Trek before!  Today's adventures will be hard to top. However, we will give it a go!

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