As some of you may remember I was fortunate to go hunt BB on Baranof last spring. I was even more fortuante to get a chance to go back this Fall. I managed a bunch of great info from this board. If any one has any questions feel free to ask away.

Here is my story

3 Pm Wednesday September 17, 2008 I received the long awaited and hoped for phone call. Baranof expeditions called and told me to get up to Sitka, Alaska ASAP! They have room for me and want to try and let me fill a unused Brown Bear tag from Spring 2008.
Talk of lots of Bears and 2 charges that were as close as they come. (I will post up Danny’s story when he forwards it. I don’t know if such a bone chilling story can be told by anyone who was not present)

Phone my wife to tell her I just got the “call†She doesn’t sound to happy. I spend the next 20 minutes booking flights and trying to rent a car. Heidi calls back says she is sorry for the attitude and explains she is excited for me to have this second chance & what can she do to help me.. I LOVE MY WIFE!!

As we head to the Airport, we stop at Mom and Dads to sign some paper work due to the fact our house is going on the market. I am starting to feel really selfish about this whole trip. How can I leave my wife with a house that will be listed in the next few days? Once again Heidi, Mom and Dad say not to worry about it, they can take care of everything. I really appreciate the support. I tell Dad he should come with me. He declines but wishes me well\. I tell him by all rights he should be coming. A big hug from Dad and a kiss from my dear mother and we are off.

Hugs kisses and promises from my two children to be good and I head out to Vancouver. A sweet one way deal on a rental car ($69) and I make the 3 hour drive to Seattle. Knowing I had 5 hours to waste I pulled into a gas station to catch some sleep. I am feeling very anxious about this whole thing again. Last spring was 10 days of hard hunting and I was not lucky enough to close my tag. Thoughts of that Grizzly bear from Northern Alberta chasing me make me wonder if I have the guts to do this again. That experience cost me nightmares for 2 years. I hope I don’t freeze when its go time.
Finally after sending out some Emails on my Blackberry I manage to settle down, just as I am drifting off to sleep my car fills with Red and Blue lights. The cops have some young fellow down on the ground and are showing him who is boss. I figure its 2 in the Am someone should be showing this kid something! So I decided to give up the Gas station and head out to Sea Tac Airport. As I am doing the Electronic check in the screen asks if I want to upgrade to first class for a measly $50.. Well that was a no brainer!!

I arrive in Sitka at 9:30 AM to find out my Float plane will be leaving at approx 11:30. I head into town to pick up some supplies and try to find some extra gear. Bert (one of the owners of Baranof Expeditions) owns a hunting store in town, so I drop by. On the phone Jim asked me to try and find chest waders. Fortunately Bert’ store had a pair that fit great. Let me tell you these waders are the most valuable thing in my gear. I used them every day.

I took the chance to stop by a local used bookstore. They were all excited to hear I was back for a second chance. They remembered both Dad and I from the spring. I told them I was looking for a signed first edition of “ALASKA†by James Mitchner. Apparently James lived in Sitka while writing this book and then came back for the release party. SO there are more than a few books around town. With a promise from the owner he would look into it I headed back to the Float plane base. As I was driving I was thinking “man has this been easy.. No screw ups and I am here just a scant 19 hours after they called.â€

I walk into Harris air only to be disappointed with the weather. They say to call back in a hour. I walk outside and notice the clouds are really coming in.. I doubt I will get out today. Well lets make the best of it. So I head off in Jims suburban that he had left at his house and take a walking/driving tour of Sitka. This is a very pretty coastal town. It has more history in it than you can shake a stick at. The Russian church was worth the visit alone. I climbed up to where Russia and the USA signed off on the sale of Alaska. What a view! So after exploring the town and stopping to grab a beer, my phone rings with the news to get my azz over to the airport, Jim and Harris air have decided that if I don’t get out today, I probably will not be going for a few days. They spoke with a pilot who found a way to get me approx ½ way down the east side of Baranof island, jim will leave Port Alexander and meet the float plane where Bert’s boat is anchored. It turns out the bay we are headed to is the bay Dad took his Brown bear out of in the spring.

The flight was uneventful by Alaskan Bush pilot standards but by prairie boy standards it was borderline terrifying! The cloud ceiling was low, so we flew from Bay to bay going over the saddles in between the mountains. At one point we hit a saddle that was clouded in, so my trusty pilot goes “OH OH†hand HANG ON!! The pilot throws the beaver right onto its right wing to make a VERY VERY sharp turn the stall light is flashing and screaming and the G forces have my head stuck to the window. Defiantly something to remember. The rest of the flight was easy and as we came into the bay, he asked if I remembered this place. The memories came flooding back, I remembered motoring out and stealing the Shrimp from the crab pots sunk by Dad and Bert but more importantly I remembered coming around a corner and seeing Dads Bear hanging off the back of the boat. I still regret not being there when he took that animal. Not that I wish I he didn’t get one, I just wanted to be there when he did.

We transfer all my gear and supplies onto Bert’s boat The boat is empty as Bert is out hunting and Jim has not yet arrived from Port Alexander. As I watch the float plane disappear into the low hung clouds I cant help but think just how lonely it is out here.
It’s beautiful, but you are really alone.

Jim shows up in the “Gun Smoke†approx 30 minutes later. Laughs, handshakes and I get to meet my boat mate Danny. He is early 40’s from California/Texas after a bit of conversation we find out he also has had weight loss surgery. Its amazing the people you run into on these types of trips. Danny seems like a real good fellow and I love the Texas accent.

Danny has already filled both his Black Bear and Brown Bear tags. He wants to hang out and try to help me with my bear. By the end of the night and ½ a bottle of vodka we are close friends.

Off like a herd of turtles we leave the lodge early in the PM. I slept for 14 hours after not being to bed in 38 hours or so. We head to a bay on the east side of Baranof Island approx 2 hours from the lodge. We pull in and I grab my gear. Jim has generously let me borrow his 375 with a low powered Leupold scope and as he hands me 5 bullets I ask if he has more. His response was a bit of a confidence booster. He said “why do you need more? You are only going to have to use one†Its nice knowing the guide has a bit of faith in my shooting. Off to the head of the bay, where Jim shows me his classic Alaskan foot wear and how to “Indian anchor†the skiff.

Indian Anchoring is used when the tide is going out and you don’t want your skiff to end up “High and Dry†on the rocks. Now what you do is to start the engine, put it in reverse then pull the fuel line. Then you balance the anchor and push the boat adrift, when it reaches the proper depth, jerk on the tie line, the anchor falls in and soon the boat will quit running.. Very Slick.

As to Jims “Classic Alaska†Foot wear.. He wears Chest waders with a thin pair of sweat pants over top to deaden the noise. Over the booties he wears CROCKS. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was all worried last time about footwear and my Master Alaskan guide is wearing CROCKS.. I got a good laugh, but as he explained he found them the best to wear. They are soft enough to grip almost anywhere, they dry quick and are cheap to replace. The tricks a guy can pick up if he pays attention!

We walk into the thick rain forest. everything is a fantastic green, moss everywhere and it is like walking on a sponge. Jim spots a bear in the creek as we top a small rise. Scope caps off, and we try and sneak up. the bear decides at that point he is full and ambles off to the side of the creek.(Boy have I seen this movie before.. Just like in the spring!) No one got a good look at the bear, but Jim thought he was a good boar from the quick look he got. I scramble up to the top of a dead fall and make myself comfortable for the evening. Nothing comes back to the stream, yet I am grateful my hunt wasn’t over in the first 30 Minutes. I notice the terrain I will be hunting. Its tight, Its dark and there is no place to run if you have a problem. This Fall hunting is the real deal. Its much different than the spring hunt where you spot there Bears on the beach and try to get in front of them. This time we will be trying to spot the bears before they mistake us for very large Salmon. Shots will be close.

At the boat that night I started to get a little anxious about just how close this is going to be. Danny shot his bear’s at 6 yards and at 10 yards. What can I say other than WOW!!

That night finds us rafted up with the Shiras. Both Bert and Bob are on that boat. They are having a heck of a time getting their hunter into Bow range. His Name also is Bob and comes from Boston. It was a small problem with his deep Massachusetts accent. After we met he asked if I had seen any bears.. I thought he said beer, so I replied all I brought was some Port and Vodka but he was welcome to drink ... Laughs all around once we got it figured out.

Saturday Morning we head back to Port Alexander for some small repairs to our boat and to restock on some things.

Saturday night had us sitting in the same spot only this time we were entertained by a very wary Sow and cub. They would dash out of the woods grab a Humpy and dash back in. The got as close as 50 feet. It was incredible to see her interact with her cub. Danny thought the Sow was kissing the cub, but I think she was licking the blood of its fur. I was fortunate enough to have enough light to see the Sow pounce into the river Grab a Salmon and quick like lightening snare a Salmon with her mouth. When she crunched down the blood squirted approx 3 feet on either said of the Humpy. I was watching all this from 50 feet and with my Binos.. What a scene!!! Awe inspiring to say the least. It was a cold night, my hands got wet and the rain is coming down so fast we can see the stream rising before our eyes.

In the boat that night Jim wonders about the quantity of Salmon, he is getting concerned that we need to find a more productive stream.


Sunday Morning had us up early for bear camp. We take off looking for the boar we caught a glimpse of 2 nights ago. Same procedure, run to the beach, Indian anchor the boat, walk in approx 150 yards and crawl up into my now comfortable stand. I added some moss to make a comfy seat. Nothing looks disturbed, no new tracks and the same Salmon pieces lying around. We are at the end of low tide, so the Humpys are not near as prevalent. Jim mentions this CRICK should be covered in them, but it is just not happening this year. Jim takes off up another stream to see what the salmon are like up that way.. Nothing again. Back to the Gunsmoke and pack up to head back to the lodge and regroup. Jims dedication and work ethic remind me a lot of my Grandfather. Spend less time talking and more time doing. A bit of Breakfast and we are off.

We spent the Afternoon at the lodge, fantastic fall day by Baranof standards. I spent the day reading a great book on the deck. The sun was beating down, a small nap here and there.. Very relaxing. Jim took the chance to re salt Danny’s hides.

Thankfully we were in port long enough for me to call home and wish my wonderful wife a happy 10th anniversary.

We are now rounding the Southern cape of Baranoff Island, as I write this we are being pounded by rough seas with waves washing over the back deck.. I will write more later

I just took a few pics of a Sea Lion colony. Not sure if they will come out, its tough using the camera while holding on for dear life, we have been in rougher but not while hanging on to the back of the boat.

Now we are around the cape I hope like hell I can read this later.
Back to my wife and kids. There is not to many Men who get to experience a Alaska Brown bear hunt and even fewer who get the opportunity to do it two times in 6 months. I owe Heidi everything. I am so happy she agreed to share our lives together. She has given me so much and at times I feel I am not worthy to be married to such a outstanding lady. I owe her everything. From our 2 kids, to my career, to my hunting. The joy and adventure and memories will be everlasting. I found it very hard to tell her I didn’t know when I would be home. I found it very uplifting to hear the understanding in her voice! I want to hunt till they kick me out but yet I want her and my kids with me.
One day I will bring my family to this place. I will let my kids test themselves against the wind, rain and the overall environment. Not that this is the toughest place on earth, but it can be taxing to be beat up by this wild place.

I hope I don’t kill a bear to soon. Its all about the adventure and I don’t want it to end!

This place leaves me at a loss for words. The mountains are higher, The trees are greener, The oceans are Bluer and the rocks are rougher. What else could a man want to see in his life.
THIS PLACE ROCKS!!

I am starting to understand why I am drawn to these wild places, the spirit of independence runs high in this environment. Here a mans life long hope of self reliance can blossom in a second or be dashed forever in this setting. My new friend Danny found out the other night if he had the mettle to with stand one of Alaska’s challenges. In the process of staring down a rather upset Brown Bear Sow at less than 10 feet, I wonder if he discovered something new about himself. I wonder if this newfound confidence will lead him to higher places both in his personal and business life. Danny has been weighed, measured and found to be a reliable hand. I can only hope I am as trustworthy if that opportunity ever presents it self. I am sure he will take something out of this experience, something that can not be bought, sold or lost. I wonder if it should be called SPIRIT.

Its 3;40 pm on Sunday. I feel the boat slowing down.
LETS GET READY TO HUNT!

Perhaps tonight will draw a conclusion to this wonderful adventure

Its been 13 days of hard hunting. Tonight we pulled into *** **** bay, dropped the skiff, have a quick bite. Jim seems excited to hunt some new ground. We move up towards the mouth of the bay. It looks great. Lots of gulls flying around, Big Coho jumping beside the skiff. I managed to see two 15 pounders jump while using my Binos. VERY COOL.
Perhaps this is the place?

Jim hisses at Danny and I that he just saw a Bear stick his head out of the trees. Danny crouches down in the front of the skiff to lower our outline. The Bear gives us a great look and Jim calls him a shooter. With the sun and the shadows he looks coal black and has a massive back end. The bear jumps in the water swims across the high tide and ambles into the forest. DAMN.. NOT AGAIN!! Jim says to relax. He is the biggest and baddest bear in this drainage. He will be back.
We beach the skiff and crawl up the beach for a better look and to formulate a plan. The wind is blowing towards the mouth of the creek, but jim is concerned it will be blowing down the creek a bit inland. He looks at me and asks if I can climb up the side of a mountain. I nod the affirmative. As we scale up the climbing is fairly easy due to the big wide trails. There are only 2 kinds of large animals on Baranof Island. Deer and Bears. As of yet we haven’t seen a deer so I assume it must be a huge abundance of Brown bears that are making all these highways and ripping the ground to shreds. Spooky doesn’t cover what we went through. We literally crawled straight through bear beds, I moved half eaten salmon from in front of my nose as I belly crawled under trees. The numerous scratching tress were impossible to miss. I wish I would have taken the chance to snap some photos, but that would have meant putting my gun down and with all the sign and the rank smell of Bears in my nose and in my mouth I thought better of it. Man we weren’t just in the bears backyard, we were crawling through his living room. My heart kept thumping and thumping.

We presently made a spot high above the creek where we could see exactly where he disappeared into on the far side of the creek. Jim designed this stalk to “T-Bone this bear when he showed back up again. As we sat a few hundred feet above the creek I couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to be the same old, same old. Over the past 13 days I have had way to many bears not do what they were suppose to do, so many chances yet not a drop of Blood. But I threw the negative thoughts out of my head and kept glassing, just looking into every piece of brush I could see. Suddenly Jim spots him from his view point, both Jim and I bail off the side and slide down the few hundred feet to the creek floor. Our first set up from 50 yards doesn’t allow any sort of shot as the bear keeps moving to our left and up the creek. Our second set up from 40 yards allows a window through the bush, I throw myself down bring up the 375 and get fixed on this bears shoulder. Just as I am about to drop the hammer, jim and I notice some twigs in front of his shoulder. Still the bear continues to walk up stream; another 50 feet and he will be behind the bend in the creek. We make one more quick dash to the corner and get set up at 25 yards. Its a easy shot especially when he puts his left paw up on a rock and sky lines himself above the darkness. The 375 thumps solidly against my shoulder, jim says to shoot again but all I have is a rock and some ½ submerged Salmon in my scope. Then it occurs to me I must have wacked him especially hard, as I dint lose the sight picture and I recall a lrage splash in the scope. He must be down right behind that rock. We slide down to our left, gun is loaded and waiting for the follow up shot. Jim has his large handgun out, but all it was unnecessary as behind the large blood spattered rock was my bear. My bear I had dreamt of and came so far for. As we come to a stop the massive head slips beneath the small rushing waters of this stream. This stream that is so far away from my prairie home, this stream that will be permanently tattooed upon my memory. I don’t like being this close to death, but it is a price that we all as hunters must pay.

As the head was under the water I stared at her, then the massive chest began sucking in great amounts of water. I was tempted to put another round into the back, but it just didn’t seem necessary. I had anchored this dream and it was not going anywhere. This bear was dead. The amount of water she had just taken in was outstanding. The only noise in that creek was the sound of the Salmon and the rushing water, but yet I don’t recall that. I only recall silence.. Nothing at all.

Jim warily approached my bear with his handgun pointed at her head. He was as surefooted in that stream as I would be on the open ground around my house. This guy has a real talent for this game. I think it is something you are born with. He always moves so perfect. Then Danny showed up on the scene he was able to watch from our hide high above, he is slapping me on the back telling me I had “Done gone and shot myself a big old bear†Gota love that Texas accent.

When we all approached the bear Jim grabbed a paw and said “CRAP†He turned out to be a She. It was a dry Sow. A rather HUGE dry sow. He said by far and away one of the largest sows he had seen taken on the Island. Live weight was guessed in the neighborhood of 900 pounds. It took all 3 of us large sized boys to pull her inch by inch from the creek. It was a gargantuan effort that took well over 20 minutes to move her 6 inches up and 6 feet over.
I got the privilege of standing guard while they skinned out the bear due to all the bears in the area. It was 11:00 pm by the time we walked out of that place.

As we were packing the bear into the Backpack, I asked to be the one responsible to pack her out. This was my Bear, and I should be the one taking her home. Jims response was that I was useless with a handgun, and I couldn’t do both a Rifle and this hide. He wanted me to bring up the rear , while Danny took the lead, Jim would be in the middle with his handgun pulled. I understood at that point just what a position we had put ourselves into. We had to walk this creek side Bear trail, fully armed, covered in blood and ready for whatever came our way.. Fortunately we made it to the skiff with a minimum amount of woofs and popping of jaws. It was a relief to get back into that skiff. But now we had a 3 mile run back to the Gunsmoke. It was BLACK,BLACK,BLACK. We navigated with flashlights held to the shore and got back with out a issue.

To tell the truth, I am more than a little sad about this bear, sure its a nice rug and she was bigger than I had hoped for. I was happy with the effort, I felt I really hunted this bear. But the Adventure is over. First there was the dreaming, then there was Reno, Then onto Phoenix to talk Dad into this, Our hunt got moved up, dad gets his bear, my opportunities don’t pan out, then I get a second chance in the fall. Its been a glorious 8 months and now its at a end. You will excuse me if I grieve a tiny bit. I wish dad could have been here with me. This Bear should have been taken with both of us in attendance. I guess it will make me appreciate our hunts together just a bit more this fall. I don’t know how many hunts Dad has left in him, but I dream I can squeeze in another decade of hunting with him and my son. Perhaps long enough to Get my Son well rooted in this way of life.

Now I have to talk him into Africa, then another Caribou hunt to do some unfinished business.. And a new goal.. WALRUS!!

Ok now for the tale of the tape

My Bear Measured out at 8’4†it had a skull of approx 22 ½ inches. It was estimated at 18-20 years old and had a live weight of approx 900 pounds.


Sorry its so long, but something this incredible needs to be laid out correct.
Calgary Guy

Great report on a fantastic hunt. Those rain forest are the real deal and truly a step back in time for most of us. Love Sitka and its people and can only hope to get back sooner than later.

Thanks for sharing.

Pics?

Thanks for sharng your story.
Congradulations!

Great story. Sounds like that hunt was"meant to be".

Great story .. Glad you had such a great adventure ............. And people sometimes dismiss Southeast as not being part of Alaska ...HUH .....

Great story.

Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Enjoyed reading your story and happy to hear you did finally get your trophy.