A day at Pack Creek with Alaska's Grizzly Bears

Imagine…

you’re soaring in your 4-seater over the verdant island-dotted channels of Alaska’s Inside Passage.   As your seaplane banks around the cove at Admiralty Island, you spot your first grizzly, tugging at a tree stump by the water’s edge.   A bump and a shower of spray, and you’ve landed at Pack Creek.

Unfold yourself from the cockpit and climb down onto the float of your seaplane.  Your first gaze around Pack Creek confirms your complete isolation.  Not to worry - your bear guide Ken has decades of experience in the wild, and his stouthearted presence reassures you.

With only a spyglass, you move gingerly down the beach, staying downwind of the grizzly.   At 30 yards, he grunts and shoots upright.  It’s not you but another grizzly coming down the beach that has alarmed him.  He mock-charges, and the younger one scurries off.  It’s only a show, but still you are struck by the speed of the great bear’s feint, and you take a step behind Ken.

The grizzly returns to his stump and in the soft breeze, you can hear him whinge and strain as he tugs.   As you soak in this privileged audience with this remote grizzly, something titillating yet peaceful stirs in you.

The bear finds a clam.  His attention is drawn up onto the beach and he meanders, one clam at a time, towards you. You can hear the scratch of his 7” claws in the gravel, see his wet nose pry open shells and rip out succulent morsels.

He’s making a big mess of the beach, with holes here and there, a string of ravaged shells.

He pauses once, and looks over – directly at you.  “Who, me?” you shake yourself.   You’ve been noticed.  The staring eyes of this strapping bear give you a flash of panic, but good ole’ Ken is unruffled, and the grizzly’s attention, more curious than comminatory, returns to the clams.

It’s an hour… then more… that you crouch on the stones, watching this moving clam feast.  The grizzly’s company now feels so natural that your gaze shifts to the sun-rippled bay and the encircling snow-capped peaks. 

When you look back to the beach, this 700-pound grizzly has curled up on the stones and dozed off, right before your eyes.   He’s so close that his still coat gleams in the sunlight, and with a spyglass, you watch his whiskers twitch.

You’re fooled for a minute that you could reach out and stroke him, but he’s as wild as this treasured island and you’ve been one of a mere 28 permitted daily guests at Kootznoowoo, or Fortress of the Bears, for the afternoon.

You collect a smooth stone off the beach to take home - a touchstone.

That was a trip of a lifetime.  You say, “Let’s do it again next year”.

Melanie Tucker, owner and chief designer of Tough Love Travel, can custom design YOUR trip to Alaska.  

It'll be an Alaska like you've never imagined. 

Contact her today to get started:  

(609) 923-0304

melanie@toughlovetravel.com

ToughLoveTravel's Alaska

Carlsbad Caverns National Park: bats, caves, and aliens

Quick facts:  

WHERE:  southeastern New Mexico

HIGHLIGHT:  caves and bats

QUESTIONS?:  email Melanie @ Tough Love Travel

I traveled to Carlsbad National Park with my sons in 2004.  That summer, a new backcountry cave had recently been opened which we toured with special permits, but the highlight of our visit was the sunset show of the bats.  They spiraled out of the cavern each and every evening, counter-clockwise (the same way that toilets flush and eucalyptus trees grow in the northern hemisphere) and we were quite amazed!  (check out video at bottom of blog)
  

Getting to our remote NPs is often a dilemma for the traveler.   How should you physically arrive at Carlsbad and why?

We drove, but you can also fly into Roswell (100 miles away) - the home of the aliens!

By driving on a long road trip, we visited Carlsbad after Big Bend NP in TX and before Saguaro NP in AZ.  (read blogs later this week for these parks)

If you have only one overnight in the park (2 days, 1 night), where would you stay and what would you do?

I'd see the main caverns and stick around for the bat exit at sunset.  Then I'd pre-reserve a special tour for Day 2, like Slaughter Canyon (see below) or the 3-dimensional maze, Spider Cave.

Best wildlife viewing opportunity?

The bats!

Best food?

You'll only find cafeteria food in the park, but in Carlsbad village, there's a sushi spot called Blue Ocean Robata.  Located more than 6 hours from the nearest ocean, it offers quite a unique experience.

Best photography shot?

The Christmas Tree formation inside Slaughter Canyon Cave.

What problems have you encountered there (or heard of others encountering)?

Be ready for close screening prior to entering the caves, because our noses, footwear, and clothing sometimes carry diseases harmful to bats.

What is the “rare find” within Carlsbad NP?  

the road out to remote Slaughter Canyon

The private tour of Slaughter Canyon Cave is extra special.  There's no illumination, no paved walkways.  You have to have a flashlight or headlamp to enter this underground space!  It's a true, wild cave, accessed only by a 1/2 hour hike up the desert mountain, to crawl though the small circular opening.  And, in addition to the untouched stalagmites, there are anthropological remains from ancient peoples who used to collect the bat guano here.   Cost:  $15pp

Any words of warning, or wisdom, for the Carlsbad NP planner?

Take a jacket.  The desert may be 120* outside but the cave is 50* inside. 

Did you know?

The limestone rock that holds Carlsbad Caverns is full of ocean fossil plants and animals from a time before the dinosaurs when the southeastern corner of New Mexico was a coastline similar to the Florida Keys. 

waiting for the bats to fly

If you're looking for a road trip though some of our country's most spectacular scenery and most intriguing National Parks, I would love to talk to you. 

I'm Melanie Tucker, owner and chief designer at Tough Love Travel, where I offer complimentary 20-minute get-acquainted sessions.  Select yours right here.