We are already awestruck to be in the one of the most beautiful places in our country...arguably in the world! Alaska, our 49th state in the United States, happens to be Jamie's last state to visit. We are planning to make the most out of every day although we will barely scratch the surface of this enormous state!
We landed in Anchorage after connecting in Chicago on the 1st, got our rental car and then checked into our hotel. It was a long flight and we had dinner and went to bed to get some rest for our exciting day Saturday!
This was a must do trip for Jamie and it was really incredible. One of those experience that in hindsight you can hardly believe you did. We booked our Brooks Falls itinerary with Bristol Adventures. We flew with Katmai Air to King Salmon and then took a float plane to Brooks Falls part of Katmai National park. It took a total 2 1/2 hours. The planes were very small and it was exciting but very nerve wracking as well. We arrived at Brooks Falls at 10:30. We then went straight to the ranger station for "bear school". It was a video explaining park etiquette, how to act around the bears as safely as possible and other information such as locking everything edible (including gum) into the lockers. The bears are certainly interested in one thing...which is salmon but we are "loose" in their territory. They are wild animals and unpredictable but knowing a little more about their habits at Brooks Camp is helpful. It is a popular fishing spot for people but also seeing the bears fishing in the streams and catching the jumping salmon in their mouths.
It was a short walk on the platforms and being able to observe the bears in timed increments. We had many close encounters on the trail as well. The salmon weren't super active the day we were there but did see many bear!
Fishing strategies...experience is key but there are also other factors that affect their success like location, amount of salmon in the run, and level of the water.
Some of the methods are the stand and wait, snorkeling, diving and dash and grab.
Mom looking out while her twins fight over a perching spot.
Typical siblings picking a fight for no reason!
The young bear eating grasses along the edge.
The bear are omnivores and will eat plants, berries, birds and obviously fish.
The snorkeling is seen in deeper water where they submerge their muzzle and eyes but keep the ears above the water to listen for danger or other bears.
Sweet success
Brooks Falls is a bit of a ledge which becomes a hurdle for the salmon to jump as they travel to Lake Brooks to spawn. The bears have learned that this is a convenient place to fish as the salmon migrate upriver. The salmon run attracts a large amount of bears where they feed. Mid July is typically when the largest amount of bears are seen with plentiful salmon to eat and also again in September as the salmon weaken and die.
Stand and wait method
This male bear gets a little too close to the female and her cubs and a fight ensues.
The bear are great swimmers.
We came across this young bear on the path and moved into the grass to let him pass. He slowly meandered through glancing at us as walked.
golden eagle
There were a lot of anglers just downstream from the falls.
float plane coming in for a landing
The bear show incredible patience and different hunting skills. They watch and learn and wait for the salmon to emerge or "jump" for a meal. The reason so many can be in one place at once is because of the amount of salmon available so they don't have to compete as much for dinner.
Winter survival depends on their summer feast. According to a sign, "to thrive and reproduce, an adult brown bear needs to increase its spring weight by a third or more before entering its winter den." It will then sleep for half of the year. Plump at first and then thin and ready to eat by spring. The nutritional value of a 5 pound salmon is 4,500 calories. They can eat up to 90 pounds of salmon a day. National Park Service on Instagram (the best page on that platform) even has a contest, #fatbearweek at the end of the summer season where you can vote on the chonkiest "winner" that has packed on the pounds over the season. They also have a bear cam where you can watch the bears at Brooks Falls at Katmai.
The float planes
We had a buffet lunch at the Brooks Lodge. It was really delicious and had a great salmon soup. I am not sure if eating salmon is the wisest choice when it seems like that is what the bears want to eat. If you brought your own lunch/snack, you had to eat at picnic tables that had a cable fence around it. You can stay in their guest lodging which has rooms and cabins. We then left to go back to Anchorage at 4:00 pm.
It was an amazing and memorable day to kick off our vacation in Alaska.
A true bucket list destination not for the faint of heart.
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