Pack Creek brings the brown bears up close and personal on Admiralty Island

June 5^th – Slight swell early last night at anchor but otherwise peaceful both nights in the Cove, and it was all ours last night.  Over to Pack Creek today to see the bears, we hope, though not sure about the details.  Since it is “shoulder season” the Juneau office says we can get permits from the on-site rangers.  Distant whales and bow-riding porpoises enroute.  Stopped Bedoeling in the shallows before the ranger’s island campsite for a shouted conversation; they said to meet them ashore on the other side.  Got permits for the next day and a partial briefing. 

Ended up anchoring 3 times:  once inside the Forest Service buoys (wrong), then too close to the extensive mud flats (oops), and finally about 1/10 mile offshore in 65 feet of water backing towards the beach to set it.  A mama brown bear and her yearling cub watched this procedure from shore as they dug for clams.  Nice welcome from both staff and bears. 

Popcorn put up quite a fuss after the first anchoring because she expected her shore-duty first thing, but we had to figure out where to take her since bears and dogs do not mix.  Decided we would take her across to the island where the rangers camp which has no bears.  For the first time we need the outboard engine.  Been rowing ashore all along, a quieter gentler method, but its too far to the island.  Tried what looked like a sandy beach, but when we got there it was all rocks, barnacles and mussels disguised as sand.  Tried three spots over the two days and all were barnacled rocks.  Once we got the logistics done, it was delightful having our evening bears and some eagles to watch just a few hundred yards away.

June 6^th – consumed 2 hours in dog shore duty, breakfast and getting gear together, but finally ashore to meet our rangers shortly after they started their 9-to-9 day.  This sanctuary has been off-limits to hunting for many years, informally at first and then by law covering 95 square miles in 1984.  The rest of Admiralty Island’s 1500 square miles, averaging an unusually high density of 1 bear per square mile, are still hunted.  There was a bear-friendly homesteader Stan Price and his wife living here from 1950's to 1990 before the US Forest Service and AK Fish and Game Wildlife Conservation took over.  There are about 25 brown bears in the sanctuary enjoying the rich combination of food sources and the protection from hunting. 

These bears are “habituated” to humans.  Everything works well so long as the humans follow strict rules about no food, walking only in the few designated areas and respecting but not fearing the bears (respect is easy with something that weighs over 500 pounds and has 6-inch claws).  These are still very wild bears, just accepting of humans as non-food, non-threat, non-compete -- hence irrelevant -- parts of their landscape.  The prime season begins when the salmon start running in July concentrating all the bears at the creek where there is a viewing tower.  This time of year they dig clams and eat sedges (a grass-like triangle-stemmed plant that grows in mixed salt-fresh environments). 

This secondary 'pre-salmon' viewing area at the tidal flats is a short walk along the beach, up a low dune onto a small gravel pad protected by two large logs.  Period.  Its obviously real important that everyone follows the rules above!

Watched the bear named “Café” go about her bear business for a couple hours, mostly as if we did not exist, as close as a rangefinder-measured 20 yards away.  The missing fur from her back is normal springtime rubbing off. 

One ranger stayed with us; the other stayed at the landing site since 6 other guests were supposed to be coming from Juneau.  They did not fly in until mid-afternoon while we were taking a lunch break aboard, and only stayed an hour or so (you really do need a full day at least; we wish we had another).  Otherwise we had rangers and bears to ourselves. 

Walked the dense rainforest trail partway to the viewing platform used during salmon season.  The trail passes a solid wood trail sign the bears have nearly demolished using it as a scratching post.  Back to the salt flats later to watch Café plus an unnamed bear with a rich dark chocolate coat.  The rangers were perfect hosts: nice company, informative, responsible and reassuring about how the bear-human interface works here.  Unfortunately Jan discovered digital cameras and really good spotting scopes which may cost us later.  Not too many visitors this early in the season so the rangers were a little bored, but it will get busy soon up to the maximum 25 guests/day.  Saw the mother and cub bears working the beach again from our dinghy later.

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