Juneau and the Great Bear Hunt on Admiralty Island

Several weeks prior to our trip, Ronnie was browsing some things to do in Juneau and ran across Pack Creek Adventures.  You have a private guide and he takes you by seaplane to Admiralty Island which is a Brown bear sanctuary.  We learned that Grizzlies and Browns are the same bear....called Brown in the coastal areas and Grizzly inland.  Anyway, we decided we'd go for it, and made reservations.

Juneau

So, we got off the ship to search for transportation to the airport where we were to meet our guide.  We were to be there by noon.  There was one taxi at the cruise dock then (8:30 a.m.) and that made us leery.  We walked about Juneau a bit --not much there.  Juneau has no roads in or out so everything is done by water.  We saw no taxi's around town which made us nervous.

After a bit, we decided we'd go back to ship and get all our gear for the excursion and seek a taxi in earnest.  And we found one....altho it was only 10:30, we hailed him down and went to airport arriving quite a bit early.  But we waited.  Around noon, the guide arrived...nice guy, Jeff.  He told us another couple was supposed to go with us, but they never showed.  We waited until about 12:30 and then he got us geared up with knee boots, hip boots, rain suits (heavy rain suits), lunches, water and snacks.  

Jeff, guide; Trooper Bentz, me, shuttle driver, pilot on steps

Went back into airport to wait for 1:00 p.m. flight by Alaska Seaplanes to the island.  After Jeff talked to attendant, he told us that we would be delayed just a few more minutes.  An Alaskan State Trooper needed to hitch a ride with us to a little village called Angoon in the same general area we were going.  Actually on the other side of the island from where we were going.

Trooper Bentz, Pilot, Ronnie, Shuttle driver

If anyone watched Alaskan State Troopers TV show, you know that each little remote village has a Village Public Safety Officer, and when there's trouble, he holds the perpetrator until the Trooper can get there....by small planes.  So, Trooper Josh Bentz (noted the name) arrived, thanked us for letting him hitch a ride and we loaded up into a van to be driven to the waterstrip (as opposed to airstrip).  He said he'd been on the TV show 3 times....how cool.  

We had to put on waders in preparation for landing and wading to shore....ummmm.. Last time I had on waders, I fell into the Little Red River and froze my butt off.  But didn't fall down this time...waders fit a little better.

I actually thought I'd be so nervous about the plane ride, but it was soooo much fun.  Smooth.  Taking off and landing on the water was a treat.  Enjoyed it a lot.  

Take off

Landing

After about 30 minutes we landed in the waters off Admiralty Island and were met there by a Ranger.  It is  known to the Tlingit as Xootsnoowú, which is sometimes interpreted as "Fortress of the Bear(s)", Admiralty Island is home to the highest density of brown bears in North America. An estimated 1,600 brown bears inhabit the island, outnumbering Admiralty's human residents nearly three to one. However, the name is a false cognate in Tlingit as the term actually comes from Xhoodzee Noow or "Burning Embers Fort" in reference to a large fire that occurred one time on the island and is not connected in any way to a reference to bears, but the mis-nomer continues. Angoon, a traditional Tlingit community home to 572 people, is the only settlement on the island, although an unpopulated section of the city of Juneau comprises 264.68 km² (102.19 sq mi) (6.2 percent) of the island's land area near its northern end. The island's total population at the 2000 census was 650.

There are only 24 people allowed on the island per day.  We were the only two that day other than the rangers.  One of the 3 rangers stayed with us at all times with a .338 rifle and bear spray.  They were game and fish/naturalist/ranger.

Jeff,  our guide, Ronnie and the ranger....

When we got there, we put on the knee boots they provided us....wet and muddy...and proceeded to walk about 1/2 mile down the beach to the mouth of Pack Creek.  We had actually seen bears there as we flew in.  And they were still there.when we walked up.  A sow and her THREE cubs were feeding on salmon all along the creek.  Another sow and her two cubs were seen in the distance.  We watched for an hour or so...until they went back into the forest.  We walked back to the landing area and ate lunch. 

Then we walked about 1/4 mile to trailhead and proceeded up the trail to a tower ...another 1 and 1/2 miles up through a rainforest.  It was beautiful but very strenuous in places.  The tower was about 15 feet off the ground and right beside the creek.  Good views.

And it was only about 3 minutes after we climbed up, here comes a bear wandering down the creek....started chasing salmon and eating....in a few minutes, here's another BIG bear walking right under the bridge we'd just used to cross to get to the tower. 

This bear was not more than 30 ft from us.  We watched for a long time....what a sight.  Even the guide and ranger commented how unusual to see this much activity.  Jeff even commented that we might be stuck in the tower awhile.  I was anticipating a helicopter rescue.


Finally, one wandered on down the creek and the big sow lumbered off into the woods.  After a bit, we left the "safety" of the tower and slowly walked back down the trail.  It wasn't 15 minutes til we met up with the big one on the trail.  Bear spray was handy, along with rifle, but she just watched us as we slowly walked past.  Wow.

Got back to the landing area and then walked back to the mouth of the creek....9 bears out there feeding.  One was so full, he could hardly sit up....still slapping at salmon and couldn't even get it to his mouth....it was hilarious to watch.

Soon, we heard our plane approach so off we went to put on waders and waded out to the plane for our trip back to Juneau.  Got a taxi and got to the ship just about 30 minutes before it was to leave.  

What a day!!  We were exhausted....legs hurt, knees hurt, back hurt, but it was worth it.