JOSEPH BATTENSBY

For 33 years I have had the privilege to call this beautiful place my home. I was born and raised in the Bella Coola Valley, am a member of the Nuxalk Nation, and have been exploring the coastal rainforest since I was a little boy. Naturally, growing up in a place like this I developed a passion for the outdoors and spent most of my life romping around in what people are referring to as the backcountry but to me it feels more like my backyard. As the years have gone by, access to some of Bella Coola’s most spectacular views have been degrading and becoming harder and harder to get to. Coming from a contracting background our family-owned and operated company was primarily a logging company, owning tugboats and working on the water sorting logs and loading barges. Along with logging, we did many other contracts with the Ministry of Forest, BC Parks, and the Central Coast Regional District, all mostly based around their Rec sites and trails. Over the years I have been involved with the building of some picnic tables, outhouses, footbridges, and signs that you see out there today along with trail building and maintenance. With the ups and downs of the logging industry, we wanted to do something more sustainable and in alignment with keeping this beautiful place as it is. In spring 2019 we sold our logging equipment and made the transition to the tourism industry with the idea that we can get people out to these must-see places with ease, using a UTV built to handle whatever these roads become in the future. Many people show up unequipped to venture out into the rugged terrain and are nervous about venturing out into the wild by themselves. We aim to provide an experience that you can enjoy and explore the Bella Coola Valley with comfort and ease, let us worry about the logistics so you can just experience what this place has to offer.