Alaska and Salmon and Bears, Oh My

Submitted by: GySgt K.P.

One year after I joined the Marine Corps, my brother, Kevin, traveled from Pennsylvania to Alaska to spend a summer hunting and fishing. He never came back to PA. Every chance I have, I visit him to enjoy the Alaskan wilderness. He always has an excursion planned. No matter what time of year, Kevin claims, “there ought to be something we can go kill.” My most recent trip was no exception. We traveled south of Anchorage to fish for Red Salmon. We spent two days catching fish and catching up on the past years since we last had time together.

As we walked back from our final round of fishing several passing fisherman informed us that a brown bear was down the trail in the river. We kept a careful eye out. So far in the fishing trip, we had seen bears everyday. Additionally, we had several Ziploc Baggies full of fresh Red Salmon fillets. Fortunately for me, they were all in my brother's pack.

Kevin and I walked along the path towards our campsite. The park had improved trails that ran along the river. Wooden railing and green net fencing blocked off the riverbank. The trail had rubber matting and sections of metal grate. The intention is to prevent the high amount of foot traffic from stomping all over the riverbank for erosion control. We ran into two other fishermen standing at one the river access points. They were watching a brown bear crossing the river.

The bear came up the bank and onto the trail. He was about 30 meters in front of us. The four of us stood still for a moment to ensure the bear moved along. He turned towards us and Kevin told him to go away. It sounded kind of funny to hear him saying, “go away, bear,” but we had talked earlier about what to do in a case like this. Kev stated it is best to get the bear's attention and make yourself look big by staying grouped together. Most bears will leave you alone, but some can be unpredictable.

The bear moved down the path and disappeared from our view. We slowly walked down the path in hopes that the bear would go back down to the river or into the woods off the path. One of the guys in the pair that we met up with backed away about 10 feet behind us. Kevin tried to tell them that we should stay together, but he was not getting any closer than he had to. The other guy was being unnecessarily bold by remaining in front of us, so I moved around him. Kevin and I were both armed. Kevin had his 454 Casull and I had his Smith and Wesson 44 magnum. As we made our way around the bend of the trail, the bear was still on the path. He turned towards us once more, only this time he started walking our way. That's when Kev and I drew our revolvers.

It's not likely that the bear would have faired well against our handguns, but it was a little startling to be so close to a brown bear outside of a zoo. It would have only taken a few seconds for him to reach us had he broke into a run. We stood on the same path. There was no cage, no separation, nothing between the bear and us. During this short encounter, I no longer felt like a tourist. The difference between observation and experience became obvious. When you ride in car you see the road from inside the vehicle. Behind a windshield and dependent on the driver, similar to watching a show on television. If you are the driver, you control the car, but you are still inside the bubble. Kind of like watching a show on television, only you have the remote. In the military, we train, study, attend formal schools, and practice all the steps that our doctrine directs. While we may understand all the training and education we receive over the years, it takes direct experience to actualy realize it.

The bear did not move much closer. Instead, he chose to make his own path into the woods. He moved up a steep slope for about 20 meters and stopped. Partially concealed behind a fallen log and among some tall brush, the bear carefully watched as we passed by. Maybe he wanted to hang around and experience his encounter with a group of humans.

Or maybe he just wanted to make sure that we were not going to try to steal his fish.