The Traveling Widower

Tag: photography

  • Close Encounters of the Brown Bear Kind – Day Three in Katmai National Park

    A grizzly bear and a cub by the water's edge, surrounded by tall green grass.

    August 31st, 2026

    We had a few relatively close encounters with the bears on the previous days, but nothing too exciting. You really do get to a point where you trust that the bears really don’t care about us – we don’t bother them, and they don’t bother us. Today we was a little different, but not in a bad way.

    The crew raised anchor early on Monday morning (6AM), and we headed off in rough seas to our next stop, Kinak Bay, just on the other side of the mountains from where we started (Geographic Bay). It was really rocking and rolling along the way – the skies were clear, but there was a really strong wind. Things were rolling around on board, especially in the kitchen. But, once we reached the bay, we were sheltered from most of the wind, and the seas calmed down. We boarded the skiff for a look around in a beautiful bay, with long sand spits and a sandy beach. We did not venture too far – it was a long way into what appeared to be the main part of the bay. There were some bears there, so we watched for a while, hiked around in the deep sand, and then headed back to the ship. Our guide told us we would not recognize the place when the tide came in later in the day. He was not kidding. 

    A few words on the sand and geology. It was not the sand you find on beaches, which typically is a mix of bits of shell and some rock crystals (like quartz) – most everything we walked on was ash, as were what look like snow fields and glaciers in the mountains. In the early 1900’s, there was a massive volcanic eruption in that part of Alaska that was much larger than Mount St. Helens, and buried the area in huge volumes of ash – 30-50 feet deep in parts. Kodiak was covered in feet of ash for three days, to the point were roofs collapsed, and there were ash avalanches.  Over the years, the ash has been washing down the mountains, and accumulates along the coast, making for some nice, but very soft beaches. And there are still deep layers of the stuff on the mountain slopes. Once the wind picked up later in the day, there were ash clouds blowing off the peaks. Which was probably why some of us had itchy eyes.

    Panoramic view of a mountain landscape under a clear blue sky, with wisps of cloud hovering above the snow-capped peaks.
    Ash bl

    After lunch, we pulled on our waders and boots, and headed off in the skiff again. This time, all the beaches and large spits were gone, and we traveled through a huge tidal basin instead. Incredible. And it was absolutely stunning.

    After landing, we started our hike in along the river, following bear trails through the tall grass and crossing a few times. Most of the river crossings were relatively shallow except for one, and that was almost a disaster for me. I had two problems with the waders – one was the boots, the other was flotation. The chest waders are one piece, with attached booties – you just slide your legs in, and your are waterproof from your chest to your feet. 

    A pair of waterproof boots with a gray and orange design, resting on a wooden deck, alongside a hiking shoe.

    You then put on these clunky hiking boots. Mine were the right size (13), but way too wide, so my feet rolled around in the boot. That does not do much for maintaining your balance in water. The second problem was in deeper water, there was air trapped in the wader booties, so your feet float a bit. So, when we made that one crossing, I had my camera hanging on the strap, down around my waste. As I slowly worked across the stream, I realized that the depth was more than waist deep. And I was struggling to keep my feet on the bottom. I had a flash of my immediate future, floating down stream into the bears who would pounce on me, thinking I was the largest salmon they had ever seen. Fortunately, our guide realized I was in deep trouble (pun intended), and came out to save me from a very embarrassing moment. I really dislike being treated like an elderly fool (well, I am elderly and foolish at times), but this time, I appreciated the help.

    We reached a point where we were pretty close to a few bears, one with a cub, so we settled down on our buckets, and set up shop. I was hoping for more bears but I was not expecting a bear pool party, which is what we got. Pretty soon we had four bears, two with cubs, charging through the water as the salmon made their way up stream. As the tide went out and the water level dropped, more salmon started making the run, and the bears were having easy pickings, catching and immediately eating what they caught. The mother bears with cubs had to fight off their kiddies, adding to the chaos – charging bears, growling mothers and crying cubs.

    A brown bear splashing through water, with greenery in the background and two other bears visible on the shore.
    Two brown bears wading in a river with a seagull swimming nearby.
    A grizzly bear walking through a stream with splashes of water around its feet, surrounded by greenery and grass.
    A large brown bear running through shallow water, creating splashes, with two other bears visible in the background among the greenery.
    A brown bear standing in shallow water, surrounded by grass and rocky terrain in the background.
    Two grizzly bear cubs sitting in tall grass, displaying their fluffy fur and playful demeanor.
    Three brown bears wading through shallow water in a natural setting, with green vegetation and some birds in the foreground.
    A grizzly bear and her cub play in a shallow river surrounded by grass and foliage.
    A mother bear and two playful bear cubs wading through a shallow river, surrounded by greenery.

    More bears showed up over time – at one point, there were seven or eight along this stretch of the river. I was expecting them to pull out a beach ball and start calling out Marco Polo. 

    A group of bears playing with a beach ball in a river surrounded by mountains and trees.

    Most of the bears were in the water, or on the other side of the stream, but there was one juvenile, named Spunky, that started wandering around us on our little beach. And rather than heading into the grass, he just side stepped around us, a few feet away. That was close, but not that close. Then he started fishing right in front of us – and caught one. A few feet away. And kept on coming. When the bear’s face fills my view in the camera, I know it’s getting really close. I thought he was coming over to share the fish. But, much like every encounter, he veered off to the side. A bit later, a large female started walking up the shore, straight at us…and kept on coming. We all sat very still and she veered off maybe three or four feet in front of us, and circled around. That was incredibly close. You could hear her huffing and puffing as she walked by.

    A brown bear walking near a stream, with a person holding a phone to take a photo in the foreground.

    Finally, Spunky came back a bit later, and was interested in one of our group’s camera bag, and seemed intent on grabbing it. Our guide, who speaks fluent brown bear, had to intervene, first telling him loudly, “No”, and then “Stop, that’s not yours”. Spunky got the message and ran off. That was amazing – telling a wild, apex predator to stop stealing a bag, and it listened. 

    As the tide started receding we eventually worked our way back for a pickup – the water levels drop quickly, so you cannot linger too long or the skiff will not be able to make it upstream. As we waited at the pickup point, the bears seemed to follow us – what a beautiful scene looking back at the mountains, with the bears splashing in the river

    A serene riverside scene featuring mountains in the background. A bear is wading in the clear water alongside several birds, with lush greenery lining the riverbank.

    This was absolutely one of the most amazing days, ever, from any of my trips. Aside from the photography, it was just one of those incredibly wonderful memories that will stick in my brain for a long time – just the incredible beauty of the scenery, and watching those huge, amazing beasts in the wild.

    We get to revisit Geographic Bay tomorrow for a few hours, before heading back on the float plane to Kodiak. Bummer. But I’m out of fresh clothes, and I’m ready to return to civilization again. And the internet.

    Peace

  • Rising Tides and Raging Torrents – Day Two With The Bears in Katmai National Park

    August 30th, 2026

    Our second day in the Katmai was a real adventure. Imagine wading through strong currents in deep rivers, with roaring grizzly bears on either side, and standing around in clouds of biting insects while the huge bears fight to the death in front of you, with the trip lead standing there with flares lit, trying to keep the bears from mauling the group. 

    You’ve got a very good imagination.  That’s not what this day was like.

    We traveled North from Geographic Bay to Kuliak Bay in the morning, and dropped anchor a few hours later. The tides were out, so we had a long walk on a very rocky beach to get to the river where the bears would be feeding on salmon. That’s not a lot of fun, slogging along in waders and Frankenstein boots. This area was absolutely beautiful – the river meanders through the valley, with  large sections of thick grass along the channels. There were no roads or paved paths to follow – just criss-crossing trails of trampled grass created by the bears. With lots of piles of bear poop. It was just a little bit frightening walking through the trails, since you could not see too far ahead, and we were basically walking through the bear’s subdivision. Luckily, our trip leader knew what he was doing – that was the trust thing he had talked to us about. It worked really well.

    We had to cross the river a few times, but it was not very deep, with a nice, sandy bottom. Low tide changes everything. Walking in the tall grass on the bear trails was more difficult, since you were stepping on matted grass, but we all managed, even with all the camera gear and the buckets. Oh…something I forgot to mention – we carry green, lidded buckets along to sit on. You know, like the ones you see at Home Depot, but with a plastic seat as a lid. Awkward to carry, but lightweight, and they work better than portable camp seats, and are better than sitting on the ground.

    There were quite a few bears around, but much more scattered than at the previous site, so once we found a mother bear with two cubs, we settled in for a while. 

    Since it was low tide, there were not a lot of salmon in the river, but we did see the bears catch a few, and then quickly consume the fish. We also witnessed a few exciting interactions when two bears saw the same fish – they moved very quickly through the shallow water. Great for photographers, not so great for the less dominant bear which usually ran for the hills. Or river bank in this case.

    A brown bear splashes through shallow water near a sandy shore, with a bird standing on the ground in the background.
    A brown bear sitting on a rock in shallow water, surrounded by green grass and a sandy shore.
    A brown bear catching a fish in a river, surrounded by rocks and grass.
    Two brown bear cubs sitting in tall grass with a blurred natural background.
    Two brown bear cubs exploring a grassy field.

    Finding a mother with nursing cubs is the real bonus – the little ones are adorable, wandering around while the mother fishes for salmon, exploring the area but not venturing too far from Mom. The also cuddle and cling to each other, making for some really great photos. Seeing the cubs nursing the day before was really special – we did get a glimpse of that once again, but the mother was in the high grass, mostly out of sight.

    There was one truth in my leadoff to this post – the clouds of insects. We had our bug nets on all day today – there midges, no-see-ums and mosquitos out in clouds since there were no breezes at all. The nets work well – you just get used to it. Bug spray helps a little, to keep the nasty things off your hands. The adult bears seemed to handle it well, but the cubs did not. The photos look like the lens was dirty – nope, those are bugs flying around the bear.

    Two bear cubs playing and exploring on rocky riverbank with flowing water in the background.
    Those darn bugs!

    After returning to the Ursus for lunch, we lounged for a while, and headed back onshore later in the afternoon. The tide was rising, pushing the salmon upstream to the falls, so there was a better chance of seeing more activity from the bears. We were able to land much closer, reducing the amount of hiking on the rocky shore, and then retraced our path along the bear trails in the grass to a very small beach by the falls. 

    Once we settled in again on our buckets, we waited for the show to begin. There were a lot of salmon moving in but none working their way up the falls. Bears did start lumbering in. First we had the mother with two cubs – a real bonus since the cubs are fun to watch. The mother bear perched herself on the falls, and patiently waited for salmon to appear. Which did not happen. 

    Other bears wandered through, sometimes appearing out of the tall grass on either side. And some wandered very close to our little cluster of buckets. It got exciting once in a while. The mother exited with her cubs when a big male came downstream – that one started pulling rocks up, looking for fish. Amazing strength. That was fun to watch. Eventually, when the bear activity slowed down, we headed back out to the beach, boarded the skiff, and motored on back to the Ursus. Day two was not quite as exciting as our first outing in Geographic Bay, but it was still amazing – it was an adventure walking through the bear trails in the tall grass, and captured some great shots along the river and at the falls. Plus, we had more cubs.

    A brown bear walking along a sandy shoreline with tall green grass in the background.
    A brown bear standing among rocks near a river, with water dripping from its mouth.
    A brown bear standing on rocky terrain near water, with grass and moss in the background.
    A brown bear standing among tall green grass near the water's edge.
    Two brown bear cubs walking over rocky terrain near water.

    Peace