When Rick and I were arranging the details for our trip to Alaska we decided that we would plan three main adventures to take. Well, I already posted about the first adventure – our Northwestern Fjord Trip with Major Marine Tours. Now I get to share the second adventure with you – an up close and personal encounter with Alaskan Brown Bears! Let me just say right from the get-go that this was an amazing, unforgettable, slightly terrifying experience that I would do again in a heartbeat!

We booked our excursion to take place our first day in Homer with a family owned company called Scenic Bear Viewing. We met our guide and pilot (Martin) at the airfield, were given a pair of hip waders and a brief session on bear safety, then boarded his six seater Cessna and flew across Cook Inlet to Lake Clark National Park. Rick and I ended up being the only two signed up for the trip, which was so wonderful!

After landing on the beach, and seeing a couple of bears at a distance, we set off for a marshy meadow where the bears like to eat sedge, a grass-like plant that grows in wet ground.
This large gal was the first beauty we encountered.

In our briefing, our guide told us that we needed to stay together, as that way the bear would be more likely to see us as one unit. Apparently, most attacks occur when someone is either alone or running away, or interfering with cubs. He also told us that when we approached, we would kneel down to communicate that we were not trying to be aggressive or threatening.

Now at first, this lovely lady was just lying around, probably digesting an earlier meal. She even started to wiggle and squirm around on her back, something we would call “barn-dogging” if it was one of our labra-mutts.

It was when she stood up that we realized how truly massive these Brown Bear actually are…

…and it was when she started heading toward us that we hoped all of Martin’s safety advice was legit!

She was very aware of our presence, but was much more interested in conveying her dominance over this younger, smaller bear that was not too far from us.

The smaller bear kept a close watch on the bigger female, and stayed a respectable distance away as she chewed her sedge.

Then the bear we had been watching at first (we’ll just call her Miss Alpha from this point on) changed direction and headed for a small stream to get a drink and continue her meadow munching.

The video below (that Rick took with his phone) will give you a better idea of what is was like watching them in the sedge field.

Just a side note, I’ve been calling these bears Alaskan Brown Bears instead of Grizzlies because they are coastal. Grizzlies are considered a type of Brown Bear that are slightly smaller and live inland.

Across the field from the first two bears, we saw a male, who was a little farther away. He seemed a bit uneasy by our presence and kept an eye on us as he made his way toward the woods. When you see all the Swallows dipping and diving around him you know that either he was a buggy fellow, or his motion through the grass was stirring them up. Probably both are true!

After spending time with one more bear in the meadow, a well-fed female who could easily be nicknamed Wolverine…

…we set off toward the mud flats, since most of the bears seemed to be sensing the tide and heading in that direction.

When we got there, we saw the male bear (the one that we had seen earlier) making his way at a quick pace out toward a female that wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

Then our alpha gal arrived to do a bit of clamming. The bears will listen for the clams, then dig down through the mud with those giant paws and massive claws to scoop them out.

Then they will put the clam on their paw to eat it. How refined!

We were only about 15 feet away from this gorgeous gal. The picture below (Hubby was on i-phone duty) gives you an idea of how close we were.

Before long, the smaller female arrived as well, cautiously clamming and keeping an eye on her adversary.

It wasn’t long before Miss Alpha turned and headed her direction, once again asserting her dominance. Apparently, there was only room for one boss bear on that part of the beach!

I like the video below that shows her huffing and making her way toward the unwelcome clammer.

Needless to say, the smaller bear did not put up a fight but turned around and went back to the meadow to eat some sedge in privacy and in peace!

We were on the ground hiking about and watching the bears for close to four hours, and for most of the time it was just Rick and I and our guide. It was almost other-worldly to be somewhere so isolated and remote, populated with more bears than people!

Truly, this is one adventure I will never forget!
And can I just say, there is something adventurous about wearing hip waders…I think I’m putting a pair on my Christmas list!