We began the day with a pancake breakfast and then headed out for more bear viewing. As we approached the beach in the skiff, we could see the mother (from Monday) and her two cubs. We made our way to a bluff over the Thumb River and watched them as they napped on the riverbank. As we watched, we caught sight of a few other bears spread across the area, and one of them crossed the river about 20 meters from us.
After watching these four bears for about 30 minutes, our bear guide led us back to the skiff. On the way, we looked up yesterday's mountain and spotted the trail we'd blazed. Coming down the trail was a sow with a cub, and they covered the difficult terrain much more quickly than we had. We watched intently as they reached the lake shore -- about 200 meters from us -- and made their way into the lake for a quick swim. After making their way back to the beach, both bears headed in our direction, and they eventually passed within 20 feet of us.
Farther down the beach, these two bears were turned back by the sow and two cubs. So, we had a second close viewing, this one from about 15 feet. We and the bears kept our distance from the other, and the bears moved into the grass as they approached and then came back to the beach once they were past us. It seemed the sow was only looking for food; the salmon aren't running yet in the Thumb River, and it spent the entire time eating grasses.
We eventually made our way back to Camp Island, had a quick lunch, and then departed by floatplane. One group had an aerial tour of Kodiak's last glacier, while the other saw a herd of mountain goats on a mountaintop snow pack. After our arrival at Trident Pass floatplane basin, we returned to the Island C in order to offload the marine debris. With the help of a boom truck and 13 sets of hands, we unloaded the debris in about three hours.
We returned to Andy's and enjoyed pizza for dinner. Tonight was relaxing, as we took advantage of the creature comforts at Andy's -- like electricity and running water -- and we also played more Scrabble. Click below's for today's photos.
Fabulous photos! And the mama bear and cub in the water -- very cool (pun intended). At least some of you are probably beginning to anticipate being at home again, but you will be talking about this trip for years. Thanks for taking us along via this blog.
ReplyDeleteSo amazing to be able to see your journey online! I am truly impressed with you all. Send my birthday wishes to all that had one! Turning 30 in Alaska? Sounds awesome.
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