Guides & Staff
We have a strong, professional and highly-talented team of guides and staff at Wild Bear Lodge. We hire the very best people we can find.
Your wilderness and bear-viewing guides are trained, experienced and qualified in wilderness first aid, working around bears, off-road driving, radio communications and other core backcountry skills.
From backing up fully-laden trailers, to operating off-road vehicles, to being entertaining and informative hosts around the dinner table, guides need a whole array of different skills. We are proud of the team we have put together.
Kristin and Kim are our cooks and each vie with the other to turn out ever more impressive meals.
We also have three regular housekeepers – Mel, Cheryl and Rachel – the unsung heroes of the lodge who make sure that the cabins are always clean and sparkling. They also ensure you have an ample supply of freshly-cut firewood.
Others who help out are Steve, our main mechanic and Jim, who services our small machinery. Spring helps out with just about everything.
Julius – Guide
Julius and Kristin are your hosts at Wild Bear Lodge but Julius (pictured here with Katya) also guides in the field. One of BC’s more experienced bear guides with more than a decade of experience, much of it around grizzly bears, Julius still loves nothing more than setting out on foot with a small group of keen guests.
Julius is a certified raft guide, a Swiftwater Rescue Technician, a Level 3 animal tracker, a Level 3 bear-viewing guide and guide instructor and has trained in driving ATVs, UTVs, and off-road vehicles.
As well as being an active guide, Julius is the chairperson of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of British Columbia’s Political Committee. He is also an active advocate for bear conservation, an occasional newspaper columnist, public speaker and pilots his own Piper Supercub.
Sage – Guide
Sage is an enthusiastic naturalist and much else besides. She joined the Wild Bear Lodge team in 2017, and is passionate about animals. Her enthusiasm for the natural world shines through in her guiding.
Sage has a diploma in Recreation, Fish and Wildlife and she is also a trained and experienced bear guide. She speaks French. Originally from Ontario, Sage has been living in the area for several years and considers herself a local.
Sage is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician, a Level 3 animal tracker, a wilderness first responder, a Level 2 bear-viewing guide and is trained in driving ATVs, UTVs, and off-road vehicles. She is currently studying for a degree in biology.
Graham – Guide
Graham grew up in the mountains of British Columbia and has a deep love for nature.
He has a diploma in Recreation, Fish and Wildlife and has long been interested in conservation. He joined the Wild Bear Lodge guiding team in Spring 2018.
Graham can often be found hiking, rock climbing, canoeing, ski touring, or enjoying the peace and quiet of the outdoors.
An extremely versatile guide, he is at home brushing trails, cataloguing wildlife movements, rafting the river with guests, or checking out new terrain.
Graham is a certified raft guide, a Swiftwater Rescue Technician, a Level 2 animal tracker, a wilderness first responder, a certified bear-viewing guide and has trained in driving ATVs, UTVs, and off-road vehicles.
Paul – Guide
A wilderness guide for more than 30 years, his work has taken him to Iceland, Greenland, the Arctic, the Antarctic, Russia and many other countries. He has also guided extensively in Canada.
In addition to his decades of wilderness guiding and his nature photography, Paul has also been a long time Canadian Heritage instructor. Teaching about the cross-cultural experiences of first contact and the fur trade are some of his greatest passions. Paul has guided at Wild Bear Lodge for a number of years.
Kim – Cook
Kim, and her partner Todd, live half a mile away from the lodge in their own small house and arrived in the valley the same year as Kristin and Julius. She is a Red Seal chef and has a long history in catering.
Mel – Head Housekeeper
Mel was born in the Philippines but has lived in the area for more than 20 years. She says that the mountains, lake and wildlife mean it is a place she never wants to leave. One of the hardest-working people we know, Mel has worked with us for many years and is our head housekeeper.
Cheryl – Housekeeper
Cheryl grew up in the local community and has lived here all her life. She is a true local with a sparkling smile and salty sense of humour. She works with Mel and Rachel making sure the cabins and the lodge are always clean and tidy for our guests. Cheryl is also passionate about green energy and is the local dealer for a renewable energy company. She has supplied many in the community with their solar panels.
Rachel – Housekeeper
Rachel is originally from Vancouver Island but has lived in the area for more than a dozen years. She has a long history in farming and runs an organic greenhouse which feeds up to 35 families a week in the local area. We are among her biggest customers and, while we grow our own herbs and some root vegetables, source most of our fresh produce from Rachel’s farm.