It felt wonderful having my very cold feet warmed by the heat of the wood stove. I gladly took the peppermint gum offered to me from what appeared to be an over sized neon gum pack.
"Hellooooo......anyone awake?"
I awoke to find my feet still ice cold despite the wool sweater shoved into the bottom of my sleeping bag. My tongue still lay dry in my mouth which also made the dream of saliva producing gum another cruel trick of sleep.
Another booming hello was followed by the sound of rustling nylon as we struggled out of slippery sleeping bags to greet our visitor.
our pot before noon.
Our visitors brightened a gloomy morning. Knowing friends are just a radio shout away is comforting.
"Bucky, what day is it?"
After a quick look at his watch, "It's Saturday."
This marked our sixth day on Alf Island. The days blended together as they do when daily tasks remain the same, breakfast, glassing, lunch, sometime between breakfast and dinner, more glassing, dinner and sometimes more glassing depending on weather.
Saturday was a special day. As far as we could see, the mountains were reflected on a calm sea. It seemed the perfect day to take our Zodiak along the shore looking for bears, a different view, away from the confines of Alf.
Lisle put in for a Kodiak Brown Bear tag over a year ago. It had been decided that Bucky would support her if it came to shooting one of these massive and at times unpredictable animals. It had also been decided that a bear of 8 to 10 feet, was desired. An old, large sow was up for debate, but a boar was what Carlisle wanted.
This bear stayed occupied on the beach giving time for a long look. It was decided to land upwind of the bear, not a normal hunting approach but appropriate for this shoreline. Carlisle was firm on where she wanted to be and Bucky followed her lead, knowing her as an experienced hunter and very familiar with Brown Bear. We pulled the Zodiak into a cove hoping the bear would continue traveling along the shore ending up within shooting distance.
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In this picture, the bear is on the beach in the upper left corner.
Go time. Bucky climbed a bluff keeping the bear in sight with the spotting scope while Lisle retrieved the rifles from the boat. They took a position on a bluff watching the bear advance toward them. I stayed with the boat waiting to hear shots. None came. The bear passed within yards of Bucky and Carlisle, leaving them convinced that this wasn't the one. Both spoke of having it pass so close by and wishing it was just a shade larger. Watching from a distance, they were able to gauge its size when it passed in front of the stern of an 18' boat overturned on the beach. When ample time had passed and I hadn't heard shots, I knew that it was likely I now stood where the bear wanted to travel. I inched closer to the Zodiak which was anchored offshore in the outgoing tide. I learned later that James watched through binoculars as it passed above me on the bluff. When Bucky and Carlisle returned, we got into the Zodiak and relocated the bear so I could see it.
This was the only bear we saw during our stay on Alf Island. Perhaps we started our hunt a little too early in the Spring, who knows. We were pleased that our travel plans, which were extensive, our gear list for a hunting party of four and the hunt of this particular bear went flawlessly. Undertaking a fly out hunt of this scale takes prepreparation, but provides hunting experience and knowledge of the outdoors that can't be matched. Our hope is to see Alf Island again. If we do, we'll check on the human skull which James carefully placed in a rock cave along the shore, an appropriate resting place for this person, perhaps a native, who should remain on Kodiak.