Katmai Grizzly Bear Encounter

Katmai National Park and Preserve (72 degrees, blue skies, perfect day)

As we planned our trip to Alaska, one of our bucket list items was to take a float plane to Katmai National Park and Monument. It was an opportunity to see the grizzly bears feast on salmon which when they are running up stream. It's a very expensive tour and we had been told to try and book one which went to Brooks Falls. Initially we talked ourselves out of the expense but when we were in Homer it was peak time for the salmon to be running and we decided to sign up for a tour with our friends Bob and Patsy. 

It was hard to sleep the night before because I was so excited. We laughed and justified the cost by saying it would be our birthday and Christmas presents for the next few years. 

We talked to two tour companies and decided to go with Adventure Airways. When we booked the lady recommended the afternoon departure because it was less crowded. This is peak bear viewing time. The flight took an hour and forty minutes from Homer to Brooks Falls. The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery from our plane was breathtaking as it flew over this remote National Park. We also saw an active volcano called St. Augustine (it currently just smokes a lot). Our plane was small and just accommodated us. Our pilot landed on the water and taxied over to the beach. He told us in the morning there are planes lining up and down the beach. For us there were only a few and this turned out to be perfect. 

St. Augustine Volcano

Ranger monitored bridge

There is a mandatory bear safety briefing led by a ranger. It's not uncommon to see bears on the trail leading out to the platforms. You have to keep your head on a swivel and get off the trail and go back into the woods if one comes along. Luckily for us this did not happen but it's common. You cross a long bridge which is monitored by a park ranger from a tower. If a bear comes close to the bridge you cannot cross until it goes by. Since our time was limited we certainly hoped this would not happen and it did not. We also heard from the ranger there had been a two hour wait in line this morning to get on the main viewing platform. When you only have 2 1/2 hours this would be very frustrating. For us, there was no wait and we stayed on it almost the entire time. 

Trail to viewing platform and falls

The hike is about 1/2 a mile and we walked as quick as possible to get there. When we arrived there was a two level bear proof platform overlooking the falls and all the action. Everyone was very quiet and it was so awesome. We initially saw 21 bears from the platform. Life is good!

So, we stood there and took in all the action. The silver salmon were just flying up the falls in incredible numbers. Sea birds were well feed on the leftovers but still argued among themselves. The smaller bears were certainly not as experienced and missed catching fish a lot. When they did catch one they shared it with each other. Later in the day from above the falls some huge bears started to come down  and the other bears quickly got out of their way. I guess they had been taking a nap for awhile. Their skill at catching the salmon was extraordinary.  John took 976 photos!  Here are just a few of his incredible shots.

One very BIG Bear!!!

 This is a video of one of the big bears in action trying to catch a salmon

If at first you don't succeed....

Hmmm, which one do I choose???

Scuba Bear

I'm gonna getcha

Gotcha!

As we were leaving the platform these two bears were sound asleep in a salmon coma.

It was an incredible adventure. The flight back was equally enjoyable and we saw some great views on our approach to Homer. What a great birthday and Christmas present!!!

Homer