Page 45 - Breath of the Bear

you there so it’s either float plan or boat service. Brooks Falls Bears
Many feel the king of bear viewing would
have to be at Brooks Falls in Katmai. The Brooks
Camp area is truly wild Alaska. No roads will get
Brooks Camp campground and lodge are
adjacent to the mouth of Brooks River, which K A T M A I
flows out of Brooks Lake into Naknek Lake, with by Bill Feller
Brooks Falls in the middle.

We weren’t even done landing on our way where one of the fattest brownies would watched and quietly visited until we were filled.
in before we saw a pair of bears sparring in the sit, then move frequently to the shore to Maybe not as stuffed as the roly-poly bears, but
water, and it only got better from there. After devour his catches. Several other bears sufficiently satisfied. Of course the walk home
the ranger orientation at the visitor center and with not enough seniority to claim a prime left our bellies growling like you know what,
getting set up in the campground, we headed spot wandered back and forth among the so we fired up the little camp stove quickly. On
across the bridge over the river and up the thousands of salmon wanting to get up the way back to the evening ranger talk, the
trail to Brooks Falls. Shortly after we got to the beyond the falls to spawn. trail was blocked off because of the fatso that
railed and elevated boardwalk, we saw bears we saw strolling past on the beach outside the
on either side. Then a side short walk took us After the evening ranger presentation, campground. He had plopped down for a little
to the lower viewing platform, a ways below there was just enough daylight left to see rest.
but within sight of the falls. Surrounded by our way on the trail inside the tree line to
salmon, several bears were fishing or playing the campground. Halfway along, we realized The trip was not essential to see the
in the water in front and some came back into why we were warned not to walk the beach. brown bears of Alaska as they can be viewed
the woods alongside the boardwalk. There That’s the bear trail, and in use. We didn’t elsewhere for less cost, but there is a certain
they play-fought right below us for quite stop to see if the bear was just strolling, or rush to experiencing things first hand. Almost
awhile before wandering off. We made our bedding down, or stalking. Our focus was the anything can be seen on the TV or computer
way up to the upper viewing platform to get a gate to the electrified cable fence around the and many people watch the Brooks Falls bears
much closer look at those we had seen from a campground. There was a different version of on webcam at home, but there is no comparison
distance. Time flew as we snapped our shutters that encounter every night we were there. to being there in person. So we, like so many
and gorged ourselves on the sight of several others, do what we can afford. In our case, it was
already quite fat brown balls of fur feasting on The next day at the falls we stood and well worth the cost.
salmon after salmon.

Each bear had his or her own technique.
There was always one up on the lip of the falls,
waiting to catch a fish in the air as it made its
run to “fly” up over the falls. Below was one in
the “jacuzzi” that would grab fish that bounced
back after an unsuccessful attempt. A little
ways away a sub-adult chased the red salmon
in more shallow water. Out in the middle, a
“diver” had his head under water in his search.
Far across, there seemed to be a calm pond

Jim Griffin
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