Going on a Bear Hunt

Going on a bear hunt, a mighty, mighty bear hunt...I think that is how the nursery rhyme goes. About a week after I arrived in Skagway I decided to go on a bear hunt. I had heard there were bear spotting in Dyea, which is about a twenty minute drive. Dyea was once a starting point for the Klondike gold miners, until it was destroyed by a avalanche. Now it is a fun place to go camping or see the fields of iris' in the spring. There is a stream that runs to the Fjord and of course the salmon were running. It is the perfect place for a bear spotting.

After asking my boss if I could take her car, three of my coworkers piled in with me as we drove to Dyea. It was about 8:30 at night so I knew it would be getting dark in an hour and a half so we didn't have much time, but I had a feeling it was going to be a good night for a bear hunt. As the car skipped along the dirt road we tried to remember the childhood song. I remember sitting Indian style during preschool while tapping my hands on my thighs and saying, "Going on a bear hunt, a mighty mighty bear hunt." In the song you have to go through the grass, over a mountain, around a lake, and I think under a log while making fun hand motions. Between each verse you sing the chorus, "Going on a bear hunt..." For some reason, on our car ride we didn't get out more then the chorus!


After a quick ride we found ourselves on the outskirts of Dyea. There were a few parked cars and a group of people looking out at something. I had a feeling it just might be what we were looking for. Slowly we pulled up and faced a stream to find two grizzly bears feasting on salmon. They were so close to us that it scared me a little bit. I kept the car door open in case I needed a quick retreat as I inched my way closer to the on looking crowd. I couldn't believe I was actually seeing a bear in the wild! Through all my fear I almost thought they were cute playing in the water.


After splashing at passing salmon, the two bears disappeared behind a bend in the river. Most of the crowd dispersed, but since we had just arrived we stuck around a little bit longer. Just as we were about to get back into the car, the two bears appeared again and very close us too. It is amazing how the tall grass, though not to high could hide a large grizzly. We tried to take pictures, since they were so much closer at this point, but it was much too dark. Instead we watch from the car and made our way home.

I noticed that the bears were running parallel to our vehicle for a while. They kept looking our way, as if they we constantly aware of our presence and a bit scared by us as well. I felt like I could relate! I was just glad that it wasn't that close to home, though bears had been spotted very close to our cabins in the frisbee golf course. In fact, the bears that were spotted closer to town were a momma with her two cubs and one of the cubs was a glacier bear (albino). That would have been cool to see. Needless to say, a bear spotting was a spectacular sight and I hoped to repeat it in the next couple weeks that followed. However, when I went back a week later I wasn't as lucky. At least on this trip to Alaska I can say that I had a real bear encounter and not just one from my dreams!