Alaskan Grizzly Adventure
Bears have an inherent fear of man’s scent. Our scent not only scared bears approaching camp, but pushed mature animals further away from the lake every day. The bears move constantly when afoot. Eating scavengers, constantly munching on berries, and often traveling at a running pace to escape bugs hanging in willows and alders. As the boars made use of the back range, sows and cubs moved safely around the lake, occasionally using the shore line as an easy travel corridor. There is a real danger associated with recovering wounded bears in the thick bush. They are massive, explosive animals, and the guides had countless stories of blank range charges approaching bears in thick cover. We followed strict guidelines, forcing us to be within 100 yards before shooting.
The hiking wasn’t easy - 6 to 9 inches of soft tundra reminded me of hiking in the deep snow. Our 2-to-4-mile spot and stalk routines were hard on everybody. As we passed through the brush, we attracted more and more bugs. I really appreciated the relief from the cold wind on the dark boat rides as we made our way back to camp each night. The first several days were filled with soaking rains and poor visibility. On the fifth night, we snuck within 166 yards of a mature boar. When the wind stopped the bear heard us in the tall grass as we belly crawled to get closer. The bear sensed us immediately but walked away slowly unable to see or smell us. I went to bed worried my opportunity was lost. However, on the last night with a rare second chance, we spotted a lone boar lumbering his way through a berry patch at 1.5 miles. Come along as we try to head it off.
Produced and Edited by: Adventure Mongers
Camera Operators: Travis Volk and Seth Nehl
Music by: TicTac9 and Papanin Kasettratat