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to several thousand Alaskan
brown bears, Katmai National
Park offers perhaps the world's
best bear viewing, and certainly
the wildest. This experience
will impress even the most seasoned
wilderness traveler, adventurer,
and photographer. Gary and Jeannie
Porter of Bald
Mountain Air have
a lifetime of experience in Alaska
and the knowledge to guarantee-or
you'll get your money back-that
you'll see, observe, and photograph
numerous grizzlies in their
undisturbed natural habitat.
From the spring groupings of
breeding bears to the summer
and fall frenzy of salmon fishing,
they can predictably access the
key areas that will afford the
best viewing opportunities.
Bald Mountain Air tours leave
Homer's Beluga Lake every day
at around 9am for a spectacular
flight across Cook Inlet. Your
knowledgeable pilot will give
you a thorough orientation on
what you'll see and where you're
heading. You'll fly past Cape
Douglas, a group of volcanic
mountains that protrude into
the mouth of Cook Inlet; on these
peaks sit glaciers that extend
all the way to the beach, as
well as beautiful blue-green
lakes filled with giant icebergs.
Don't forget to save some film
for the ride home. Most of the
time, you can see whales if the
water is calm.
Trips start June 1 and head to
Katmai's outer coast, landing
at the mouth of the Swikshak
River. After lunch on the beach
and a quick and easy walk (depending
on the tide), you'll arrive at
the bear-viewing spot, where
you may spot tundra swans, nesting
ducks-even a nearby den of red
fox. In early summer, bears come
to this area to breed and to feed-sometimes
as many as 35 to 40 bears at one time.
It's also a great place to take photos,
with the 7,000 –foot, snow-covered
volcanic mountains as a backdrop.
Around the
first of July, depending on the timing
of the Bristol Bay salmon run, you'll
go to the world-renowned Brooks River
Falls. This is the place you've probably
seen on the Discovery Channel, with
bears lined up to catch fish as they're
jumping up the falls. As you stand
on a Brooks Falls viewing platform-multi-level
for optimal observation, with room
for 35-40 visitors-the bears feed right
beneath you. Not to worry, it's very
safe-in 54 years, there's never been
a human hurt by these animals.
Most
every year close to the end of July,
trips head toward the northern boundary
of the park, to Moraine Creek. By
late July, bright red schools of salmon
flood into this part of the country
and along with their arrival comes
the bears. These snow-fed rivers are
shallow, swift, and clear, and the
bears start feeding with a frenzy.
It's not unusual to see 15 or 20 different
bears throughout the course of the
day and literally tens of thousands
of spawning red salmon.
Bald Mountain Air trips around the
first of August head to the southern
coast of Katmai National Park to Geographic
Harbor. It's not uncommon to see 10
or 15 bears right in front of you,
fishing for pink and chum salmon or
digging for clams.
Bald Mountain Air will try to stay
on the coast as long as the bears stick
around and the weather allows, but
sometime in the middle of September
they'll head back to the park's interior
to the red salmon streams. About this
time of year, bears power-feed as much
fish as they can before true winter
sets in.
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