“Yo Bear!"
This morning we awakened in Pavlof Harbor located near the entrance of Freshwater Bay. Historically, this area was an important stopping point for fur traders and explorers to replenish their fresh water supplies and do a little fishing. Today the salmon run is monitored by Alaska’s Department of Fish and Wildlife and is a popular fishing spot for both commercial and sport fishing.
Anticipation was in the air with high hopes of getting a glimpse of a bear fishing for salmon in the stream. We quickly finished our breakfast and headed across the shore for hiking and kayaking. We were not disappointed! The last group of leisure hikers was the first to spot the bear, Augustus the III (named after the day he was first spotted fishing on the falls). It was the same brown bear we saw last week back again to try, somewhat inefficiently, to capture salmon for his lunch. He caught several salmon and slurped them down in front of enthusiastic photographers. It was nice that he stuck around for a little while, so other hiking and kayaking groups were able to experience the excitement of watching real live bear fishing for salmon by a waterfall. It doesn’t get any better than this folks!
Here is some advice from some of the young people onboard when hiking in bear country:
“Don’t put grass between your fingers and blow because it sounds like a dying animal” Hannah Benson
“Don’t get between a mom and her cubs” Jenna Magri
“Go on hikes with a loud brother, it helps keep the bears away” Hannah Benson
“Watch out for bear scat because there may be bears nearby” Torie Patterson
“Take pictures quickly because bears run away fast!” Hannah Benson
“Lots of salmon make bears happy and we like happy bears” P.J. Benson
We were treated to a fabulous BBQ lunch on the fantail of the Sea Bird, and the afternoon was spent heading southward down Chatham Strait on our way to Endicott Arm. William Hedrick Smith from Williams College gave a talk titled: The Enemy Within, which generated considerable discussion..
As the sun set over Baranof Island, we made our turn into Frederick Sound, concluding another spectacular day in Southeast Alaska.
