Friday, 20 August: Part I
We had one more morning to sit with the bears before we began our return trip to Kodiak. Wanting to make the most of that time, we were up and about by 6:00a. We hurried through the blueberry pancakes Lindsay had prepared for breakfast and headed to shore.
The horizon is trimmed in crimson as the sun rises.
The mountains are bathed in the soft light of morning.
Our morning got off to a good start. What would have made it great? If the wolf sprinting across the beach had waited to show up after we were already ashore. The rising sun was like a spotlight and the wolf was literally glowing against the brown-sand beach. As we were still wading ashore at the time, my camera gear was still tucked away in the wet-bag. I’ll have to be content with the image recorded in my memory banks … let’s hope it survives the passage of time.
There were plenty of bears on the mudflats already; all waiting for the salmon to come in on the turn of the tide. We decided to set up on the mudflats too. The light was golden; the skies were blue. It was a perfect morning to get my reflection fix.
Double the viewing pleasure.
Arthritis Bear snoozes in the warm sun …
… but he is quite aware of our presence.
Let me explain about Arthritis Bear. When this big boar finally got up, it was quickly apparent that he was having a difficult time walking. His gait was slow, and he seemed to be staggering and swaying as he made his way across the mudflats. There were no apparent wounds, so I can only assume that his difficulties were age-related; the moniker seemed fitting. That said, he seemed to be in good shape, so he was obviously not having any problems fending for himself.
A memento of our visit with Arthritis Bear!
[photo courtesy of Lindsay]
Keeping company on the mudflats.
But Mom, I wanna play!
Curious Cub!
Family Portrait
It was a mostly peaceful morning, but one of the sows and her twins did give us a thrill or two. They were off in the distance, coming steadily our way, so we just sat and watched them. At first the sow and the cubs were walking together. As they got closer to us, however, the distance between them grew. By the time they had reached us, we were literally between the sow and the cubs.
I have to admit there was an “oh, oh!” thought that went through my head at that moment. It’s really not a good idea to get between a sow and her cubs. But the sow was very relaxed and didn’t seem to mind since we were not the ones initiating the contact. We stayed calm, quiet, and seated; with Eberhard ready to scare off the sow if necessary. It wasn’t. She patiently waited for the cubs to sniff around us before hustling them off. Perhaps she was teaching them to recognize the two-legged creatures that come to visit every once in a while. It was an experience that is indelibly etched into my brain!
Left: “Mirror, mirror on the mud; tell me who’s the fairest bear of all!”
Right: Like mother, like cubs!
Closer and Closer!
We didn’t just do bear-watching on the mudflats this morning; we did some people-watching too. Although there were no other boats anchored in Hallo Bay, three small aircraft did fly in and land on the narrow beach. After deplaning, the passengers gathered, shoulder-to-shoulder, and walked the length of the beach before disappearing from view. I was surprised that they would leave behind the easy bear-viewing we were enjoying. But hey, no complaints from us; we liked having the mudflats to ourselves.
A fly-in trip is another option for bear-viewing.
After about two hours, the bears started moving off the mudflats; fishing time was at hand. We followed, but decided to stay on our side of the creek so as not to risk getting stranded as the tide continued to come in. Finding a high spot from which to watch the action, we enjoyed one last hour with these magnificent creatures.
Our high perch gives us a different perspective …
… of the bear action.
I like the contrast of the sun-bleached driftwood against the sand and sky.
And so our long-awaited bear-viewing trip came to a close at Hallo Bay. It was fantastic; it was glorious. It exceeded our expectations in every imaginable way; and in some unimaginable ways, too. We experienced thrills; we experienced chills; we experienced quiet, peaceful moments. We made memories to last a lifetime.
I’ll leave you with one last bear photograph. It’s probably not an image that would speak to most, but it spoke to me.
Sparkle Bear
Bracing for what the Shelikof Strait might have in store for us, we left Hallo Bay to begin our crossing back to Kodiak.
