Capturing the Moment

  A swimming Katmai bear, heading our way! It was another spectacular visit to Katmai National Park in Alaska. Known for its bears, it did not disappoint. We had many close bear encounters, and we even got to see a number of swimming bears. One swam all the way across Kukak Bay. I couldn't blame him, as it was one of the hottest days of the summer for this part of Alaska. We had another playful bear that rolled over in the shallows, giving us a good view. We explored Kukak Bay in the morning. This is one of the more famous bays on the outer coast of Katmai National Park. People will fly in on float planes to come watch bears here. Early in the morning, Christian and I paddled our kayaks out for a recon of the shallow bay at the back of the bay. It was a beautiful morning with calm water, but no bears. Then, after breakfast, I took out a shorewalking group. The tide was going out, so the landing was tough. No one topped their boots, and everyone walked slowly so they didn't slip...

  Absolutely stunning kayak conditions this morning in Geographic Harbor. Last time I was here, all we saw was rain and fog. We had no idea about all these majestic mountains and beautiful views. And anytime the water is calm enough to see reflections of the landscape and sky, it is a day for kayking! The first time I explored Geographic Harbor, in Katmai National Park, it was rainy and foggy. We took our small boats around, looking for wildlife, but mostly just got pelted with rain. I knew from my research that this spot was supposed to be a real gem, with natural beauty all around, but I couldn't see it. This time, Geographic Harbor really showed off its stuff. Named after the National Geographic Society, this part of Katmai National Park is seldom visited. It is remote, and has no road access. This is the perfect place for us to visit with the expedition ship, Safari Explorer. We motored the boat all the way to the back bay, through a narrow entrance cut. The entire back bay was...

  A huge Katmai brown bear walks out of the meadow in front of us. We stood there watching him eat grass for nearly an hour, getting closer and closer to our group. Finally he made this turn onto the mud flats, walked a ways, then lied down for a nap. Today we explored an entirely new part of Alaska, the coast of Katmai National Park. We started off at Kukak Bay, which is a known brown bear hot spot. We had flat calm conditions, so Christian and I jumped in a skiff early in the morning to scout out possible landings, walks, and bear meadows. We found a few good possibilities, and we found a big brown bear ambling down the shoreline, close to our boat. After snapping a few photos of the bear, he disappeared into the alder bushes, only to reappear later right behind the boat during breakfast. After breakfast we sent out a guided kayak group, into beautiful flat calm conditions. Then everyone else jumped into our two skiffs and went out to find some of Katmai's famous brown bears. We ...