Dave took me out in his boat to look for black bear out of Valdez. Unfortunately, and Dave I'm sorry I forgot to mention this, I took along black bear repellent; my rifle. We didn't get a bear but man what a trip.
I drove up Friday and glassed along the way...saw sheep, but no bears. Camped at the campground in town and planned to glass hillsides (steep as all get-out I now know) and called Dave. Dave offered to take me out the next morning for bears -- let's see...glass and climb Mt Everest or boat -- boat it is. Before long Dave had us anchored in a peaceful cove and we took the raft to shore. You could see the bottom like looking through glass. We both wondered just how the heck we could describe this beautiful place. I'm the Alaska newbie and I've just never seen anything like it. Quiet, calm, clear water...mussels, starfish, ducks, geese, etc... You could easily forget there were any cities with a thousand miles in that sheltered cove. I could camp there for a week and take a different hike every day. We hiked around but there wasn't any evidence that the bears had been out and about at all -- not much to eat yet. We motored to a couple more bays and had porpoises "play" with the boat; saw mountain goats (close enough to stalk for a change), bald eagles, tons more ducks, etc... I'm not sure I've had a nicer day afield.
When I arrived home my wife asked "did you get your bear." Darndest thing is...I never thought about that during the entire 5-hour drive home...seeing sheep and moose. Don't get me wrong I'm still hunting my tail off for a big game animal before we move again, but getting the bear
today just didn't seem all that important. What a day -- what a place!!! Thanks Dave.
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OK, let's see how this works.... First pic is looking back a Valdez as we leave harbor. Second is the beautiful cove, and third is Capt Dave piloting back to Valdez.
