There are travels, and there are remember forever travels. Our search for sea wolves was the latter.

It all began in 2022 with Ann and I wanting to take our daughter Waverly on a trip to celebrate the completion of her master’s degree. We figured it might be one of our last opportunities to travel as a family before she started her teaching career.

After contemplating options for a week or so, Waverly (a.k.a. “Wavey”) said, “Let’s go kayaking in the Great Bear Rainforest … we might see wolves.” We were immediately on board, knowing that wolves have been her favorite animal since she was about five years old.

We also knew these weren’t just any wolves we’d be tracking. The sea wolves of British Columbia (Canis lupus crassodon) are found nowhere else in the world. They’re a genetically distinct subspecies of gray wolf. What makes them so unique is they swim from island to island, and they derive approximately 75% of their diet from the sea (marine mammal carcasses, salmon, crabs, barnacles, etc).

Nearly a year after booking our trip, we boarded a BC Marine Ferry in Port Hardy for a six-hour sailing to the island village of Bella Bella. It was there that we would first meet our five other trip mates and two guides before embarking on seven nights/eight days of sea kayaking through the remote islands of the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy, BC’s largest provincial marine park and the ancestral home of the Heiltsuk Nation.

We knew we were in for an adventure; the scope of it is hard to capture in words.

How can I put into words the spine-tingling awe of watching orcas hunt seals 50 yards from our kayaks? How do I describe the taste of fish tacos made with rockfish caught one hour earlier and eaten on a white sandy beach beneath the glow of a near full moon? How do I characterize the otherworldly smell of an ecosystem where the land can seem as wet and full of promise (or menace) as the sea? Is the English language vast enough to truly capture all the colors of a sunset?

And even more to the point, are there really words to describe the co-mingled joy/love/hope/pride/gratitude of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with your child?

The Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy is a vast and mostly undeveloped landscape, made available for us to explore through the generosity of the Heiltsuk people. The Conservancy lies within the Great Bear Rainforest – a miraculous, green, dripping land that tumbles into a moody sea.

Some of the planet’s oldest and largest trees soar here above salmon-rich rivers that rush to the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the stewardship of the Heiltsuk people—who have lived here since time immemorial—the Conservancy contains an amazing diversity of flora and fauna.

Did we see any sea wolves? To find out, you’ll have to come to our show.

About Dave Shreffler

Dave Shreffler and Ann Soule have lived in Sequim since 1990 and have traveled to five continents. They are especially passionate about traveling if it involves hiking, skiing, cycling, rafting, or kayaking in addition to the requisite cultural exposure, photography, and eating ice cream. In 2023, their highest travel priority was to do an extended family kayaking trip with their daughter Waverly before she started her teaching career. Shreffler and Soule are making the most of the “go go” phase of their retirement, knowing that the “slow go” and “no go” phases will eventually arrive.

About Traveler’s Journal

Traveler’s Journal is an adventure presentation speaker/photo series presented by the Peninsula Trails Coalition to raise funds for Olympic Discovery Trail projects. Three presentations remain. They are:

Feb.13: “In Search of Sea Wolves: Kayaking the Great Bear Rainforest,” by Dave Shreffler

Feb. 20: “Iceland,” by John Gussman

Feb. 27: “Siberian Arctic,” by Leslie Saxon West

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Dungeness River Nature Center, 1943 W. Hendrickson Rd.

Admission: Suggested donation of $10

Photo courtesy of Dave Shreffler| Waverly Schreffler and Ann Soule paddle in calm water toward the McMullin Group, British Columbia.

Photo courtesy of Dave Shreffler| Waverly Schreffler and Ann Soule paddle in calm water toward the McMullin Group, British Columbia.

The family was able to get a close-up view of a canoe the Heiltsuk Nation Nation carved and paddled in the 2014 Tribal Canoe Journey.

A rainbow can be seen from the shore of Serpent Island, British Columbia.

Photo courtesy of Dave Shreffler| Camping on Calvert Island, British Columbia.

Photo courtesy of Dave Shreffler| Camping on Calvert Island, British Columbia.

Photo by Waverly Schreffler| Ann Soule paddles near Calvert Island.