I never really wanted to shoot a bear. But I always wanted to go on a bear hunt.

Stories of Alaska intrigued me, and after tentatively dipping my toe into her chilly waters a year ago on a fishing trip on the Kenai, I decided that I should start looking for an excuse to schedule a trip off the beaten path. A week of being “unplugged” – whatever the excuse - would sooth the soul.

At the same time in a parallel universe, Jake Jefferson (Fourtyonesix here on AR) was weighing his future as a loader operator on the North Slope. As much as it paid financially, the costs to his family life were high and sense of job satisfaction was low. Time spent operating equipment gives one a lot of time to reflect – and in between trucks, Jake did the calculus and arrived at the conclusion that he is better off guiding hunters than loading drill stem. The oilfield’s loss was my gain.

I found his ad on AR, contacted him for details, did a detailed internet search on him and his operation – and sent a check. I liked that whatever I found on the internet, it reflected honesty and integrity. Jake isn’t lukewarm about anything.

The plan involved what I referred to as “my Huckleberry Finn little boy adventure.” We were to fly in to an unimproved landing site and pack supplies and equipment to a nearby stream and spend the week floating in pack rafts, camping, hunting and fishing our way to a take-out point miles away – a 57 year old’s boyhood fantasy. Then I got an urgent sounding email on July 9th indicating there were issues with the stability of Jake’s new pack rafts on their inaugural hunt (apparently spending 20 minutes fishing for his rifle in the bottom of the creek after getting dumped was enough to make him question the wisdom of his plan). After a brief discussion, we agreed to scrap the float trip plan and focus on hunting from a base camp above the tree line. I was a bit disappointed, but in hindsight, this worked out for the best – as rains during the first 3 days of the trip swelled all the creeks and rivers and would have rendered them too dangerous to travel.

My flights into Anchorage went without a hitch, and even TSA seemed cooperative. I spent the night of the 24th at a hotel near the airport and made arrangements to meet Jake the next morning. We met up at the designated time on the morning of the 25th, and began the drive north to Talkeetna, with a brief stop at Jake’s house to swap a couple of kids for a truck bed full of camping supplies.

Waving goodbye to our taxi.

The float plane delivered us safely to a small lake in the tundra sufficiently far from civilization, and we got the tent up before the skies clouded over and rain began to fall. Precipitation continued off and on all night and into morning. The propane burner on the cook stove came in handy for drying out sleeping pads after the wind drove water under the tent floor.

Home sweet home for a week and a half.

26th – It finally quit raining so we hunted from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on the 26th. We saw a wolverine right after we got to the lookout. It rained off and on – complete with dense fog and clear skies - constantly changing. I spotted a caribou, then another. By the end of the day, we had seen more than 10, including several nice bulls. In late afternoon, I told Jake it was high time for him to quit stalling and to find Goldilocks and the 3 bears (or at least the bears), and within 30 seconds he said he’d spotted a bear. I asked if he was just practicing - he wasn't. A lone grizzly was engrossed in catching a salmon supper about 2 miles away. The rain started pouring again, so we elected to head to the tent.

27th – I slept well during the night of 26th – despite (or because of) the rain all night. We woke about 5:00, and Jake fixed pancakes for breakfast. More rain. With nothing better to do, we swapped stories all morning while listening to the rain pounding on the tent. It finally let up towards noon, and we were able to hunt from about 12:30 to 8:00. We didn’t see any grizzly bears, but were treated to 13 caribou (2 nice bulls - 1 within 350 yards), 1 young bull moose, 1 smallish black bear (375 yards), and 2 wolverines. The rain and fog finally ran us out.

We spent several days waiting for the fog and rain to lift.

A couple of nice caribou bulls – photo through the spotting scope.

28th – Even though visibility was hampered by rain and fog, the curtain finally lifted enough to lure us out to a different lookout. It was a little slower this day – despite a welcomed appearance by the sun. Jake spotted a grizzly about 2 miles away - moving fast in the wrong direction. We watched as it dug ground squirrels and grazed on blueberries – never staying in one place long enough to convince us it was a likely candidate for a stalk. We also spotted 2 black bears and a wolverine, and about 6 or 7 caribou. I discovered that wet lichens are slick – as I managed to take a spill on the rocks while hiking into the lookout. I got some dandy bruises on various parts of my body as well as a cut over my eye. Nothing serious but enough to insure I was sore for the remainder of the hunt. We timed our return to camp perfectly as it resumed raining hard all night starting about 10 minutes after we got back to the tent.

29th – The weather was pretty dreary, but lifted enough that we could go on a short walkabout on the 29th. We saw several caribou, but not much else.

30th – The rain finally lifted for most of the day and we were treated to views of wildlife of all descriptions including 4 grizzly, 1 black bear, a big bull moose, a cow moose with 2 calves, and a female fox with 3 kits. The sun made a welcomed appearance for several hours, and the animals seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. Unfortunately, all the bears were between 2 ½ and 3 miles away – on the wrong side of some nasty terrain.

31st – Not much new to report on this day – saw the same bull moose as the day before, and a cow moose with a calf, and 3 black bears (1 with a cub). We spent a long day glassing for bears (7:30 am - 8:45 pm). We enjoyed intermittent sun, though it was pretty windy.

1st – Spent a long day at the lookout over the river. Saw lots of caribou, but no grizzly bears.

View from the lookout – good binoculars were essential!

2nd – We were beginning to be on a first-name basis with the area residents as we again saw the black bear sow with the cub, the cow moose with the calf, the moose cow with the twins. We also saw 2 other black bears and a grizzly. The grizzly was on our side of the river for a change, but quickly disappeared into the alders – and we never saw it again. We had a myopic caribou that came to within 10 yards before finally figuring out we weren’t part of the rock pile!

3rd - Last day. Jake found a grizzly on our side of the river pretty early. We watched it for a few minutes, then it walked into the alders and disappeared. I was a little disappointed, since we didn't get to try a stalk. The light colored bear looked like the one I had spotted during the trip earlier in the week – the only one I had detected before Jake. We saw several black bears and several moose and caribou during our stint at the lookout. Jake finally saw the yellow grizzly again late in the afternoon, and after several minutes of observation he said "You want to go on a big giant hike?" With time running out and no better prospects, I agreed – knowing it was going to make for a long day. So we left (5:15 pm) and beat our way through the brush and slogged our way through the marshy ground and fought our way across the creek and ascended the near-vertical bank and splashed our way along the alder-choked muddy moose trail and trudged through a combination of all the above until we got within 100 yards of the bear (6:45 pm). She was intent on feeding on blueberries and never saw us. The grass was too tall and there were no suitable rest on the marshy ground, so I rested the .375 on Jake’s back and aimed in. At 75 yards, it was a chip shot – but I remembered to focus, turn the scope power up, engage the set trigger, and breathe. At the shot, the beast swapped ends and sprinted towards cover of a nearby alder patch. She only made it 10 yards before she crashed in a spray of water in a small depression. She never rose again.

I freely admit I know nothing about bears, so I have to take Jake’s word that it was an “average size” sow for the area “about 7 1/2 years old.” I’m not an “inches” kind of guy, so I don’t know how big it squared or the skull measurements – I just know the hide and skull will be a neat addition to my office area.



We took photos, and Jake began skinning. He finished within an hour and we were ready to start the hike back by 8:15. The force march sucked - even with Jake packing the hide. The additional weight proved to be the great equalizer – as we trudged towards camp, Jake was willing to take breaks almost as often as my screaming lungs demanded them! I remember thinking that the additional 70 or so pounds that Jake was carrying almost equaled the 20 extra years I was packing! We got back to the lookout at 11:07 just as the sunlight began to fade and took a short rest - then began the final leg back to the camp. We arrived back at 12:50 (am!), and Jake began the task of fleshing the hide. He had it fleshed and salted by 1:50 and we finally turned in for a short night!

Jake made short work of bear skinning.

4th – We slept a little bit later than usual after our twilight hike, and spent the morning leisurely packing up camp. The plane arrived a few minutes late, but not long enough to cause any anxiousness. The flight out was mixed with bittersweet emotions – happy with the success, sad to be leaving. My thoughts were crowded with lots of pleasant memories from the previous week.

I met my wife and brother and nephew for a few days of fishing afterwards – and we had a ball. There is nothing in the lower 48 that compares to seeing and catching salmon – or the huge rainbow trout found in Alaska.

Sockeye anyone?

… or maybe silvers?

… or maybe a fat rainbow to bend your rod?

Notes to self:
I would hunt with Jake again any time. Pleasant, competent, witty, driven, strong, professional – a good Christian man. And, if you’ve got to be stuck in a tent in a rainstorm for a few days, he’s one to do it with.

The .375 H&H did the job well. One shot (270 grain Swift A-frame handload) passed through and the bear only made it about 10 yards. On the flip side, the CZ 550 is HEAVY!

Flying with firearms domestically is much more relaxed than dealing with airlines and TSA on international flights.

I should have booked a window seat. I usually get an aisle seat so I can get up and walk around – but the views over Alaska are stunning!

I bought a small Brunton solar panel to recharge my cell phone (for pictures primarily). It was junk. Jake had a Goal Zero model and it seemed to work well.

Get a Thermacell. I have always been skeptical about them, but I am a convert after experiencing mosquitos with and without!

Toss the small Ricoh camera in the trash and get something better. I spent too much time, energy, and money on this trip to have such poor mementos!

I never expected to see a wolverine – let alone 4 during the trip!

I count myself among the truly blessed to have experienced this trip. I’m physically back at the office, but my mind occasionally takes a welcomed unplanned side trip to the lookout over the river – and my blood pressure drops… the heart rate slows… and I feel the unconscious tug at the corner of my smile… Ahh.. there it is…

Thanks for sharing!!! Congratulations an your trip.

It looks like you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing.

That would be a dream trip for me.

Tom

That's an awesome looking coat on that bear! Thanks for sharing - it makes me what to make a trip to Alaska.

sounds like a good adventure.

Great post Acer, you have really got me fired up. I will be doing this with Jake next year, Thanks for posting.

I leave on the 13th to hunt with Jake and fly into the bush the 15th. Thanks for the writeup can't wait. Hoping for less rain! I'll be lugging a .375 M70. Did you have any black bear tags?

Yes, I purchased a black bear tag. I knew if I didn't, I would have a suicidal monster lounging about camp!

My focus was on grizzly - though we probably could have taken a medium sized black bear that showed a couple of times (with a bit of effort and luck). I imagine if you told Jake that black bear was a priority, he could put you on one.

Good luck on your hunt - fun time ahead!

Dave

Thanks! I am keen on getting both. See any wolves? I reckon not as there was no mention that I recall

Didn't see any. Got the feeling it would be very unlikely to encounter a wolf.

Best of luck!

Weather bad lost 2 days so far can't fly. Hope I get into camp soon!

I can imagine how you are feeling, gunslinger. I am going with Jake next August on this hunt. I am sorry for your lost days, hopefully you will get out today.

Guns hunt we ended up loosing a lot more days to weather. Had snow ice wind fog and no bears. Winter set in early and we ended up getting out a day early as well was the worst fall I've ever had in 17 years of guiding. All the animals were acting odd these last two months. Gonna try to get gunslinger back next season and try to fill the empty tags.

Everyone is saying how bad the weather was this year. I spent 7 days of my hunt in a backpack tent (2 rain and 5 snow) and outfitter said it was the worse August snow he had seen in 30 years. I was thankful I still managed to get my sheep but it was a heck of a weather year.

Regards,

Don

Wow, I am so sorry Jake, I am sure it was just about as hard on you as your hunters. Being a farmer I know all to well how mother nature can screw up the best of plans. Lets hope she has it out of her system and next year will be better. That is what the farmer way of thinking is anyway!

Got 3 ground squirrels with the Glock, including one booner. Hunt definitely did not turn out as expected. Tags good till end of June gonna try and punch those if I can, not sure. No more late Sept hunts glad lake didn't freeze over.....

Jake,
I just happened to log in and find this thread. From my prospective it is good to know you are back in the business.

Tim