06 June 25 - 06 July 3

Katmai National Park

06 June 25 - A Dream Come True

From Anchorage, I chartered to my final dream destination via floatplane — Katmai National Park. There are no roads into this pristine grizzly bear sanctuary. Katmai, recently made famous by the documentary on Timothy Tredwell, the “Grizzly Man,” is home to the massive Alaskan brown bear.  These animals can stand 14 feet tall and weigh more than 1200 pounds.  For eight days I camped alone on the edge of Naknek Lake near the salmon-run waters of Brooks River.

Each morning I walked barefoot along the beautiful beach to the river. Massive paw prints patterned the wet sand. Each day, I witnessed one of the most magnificent spectacles on earth. Sockeye salmon struggled to clear six-foot-high Brooks Falls and arrive at the lake of their birth.  There they would spawn and conclude their life cycle. Grizzlies stood on aggressive hind legs, swatted paws and gnashed teeth in a roaring percussion of grunts and growls.  In the prime fishing spot atop the falls, a dominant male snatched salmon from the air like a little-leaguer shagging fly balls.  Overhead, dozens of gulls joined the noisy frenzy awaiting discarded scraps of salmon.  A bald eagle majestically looked on from his perch in a tall pine.

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