Well, now it's Melissa's turn to try to get a bear.
Saturday morning found us once again climbing skyline trail to the place where I shot my bear two weeks ago. This time we were at the top of the mountain by daylight and glassing for bears as soon as it was light enough to see. I have noticed that Melissa has an incredible ability to spot bears from great distances. We were hidden up and to the left of where this picture was taken when Melissa spotted a large black bear feeding above timber line in the far right side of the picture (about a half mile away). She spotted him with the naked eye but it still took me awhile to see him even with binoculars. He was eating blueberries and moving the other direction so we had to stalk very quickly to catch up to him. This included climbing about 500 feet up and traversing the mountain side using whatever cover was available. This is exhausting, we were moving very quickly trying to stay low the the ground while navigating alder patches and rock slides without making any noise. Anyone who has stalked big game animals knows how tiring that crouch can be!! At three hundred yards we looked at him through the scope but decided to try to get closer. At 200 yards there wasn't anything to steady the rifle on for an accurate shot so we moved closer still. When we were inside 100 yards the bear was moving behind rocks and terrain and wouldn't offer a good angle for a shot long enough for Melissa to steady herself (remember, the bear was moving away from us so we were trying to keep up). We moved closer three times to get into position. Only a hunter can understand how exhilerating it is to sneak up on a large animal, it's like the adrynaline rush you got from playing hide and seek times 100! It was sooooo cool to be doing this with my wife!! This is the stuff hunters dream about when they should be working, paying attention in church/school/while driving. I just knew we had this one in the bag, which wall will we hang him on? (he was HUGE) Will the news paper want to do a story? what is the AK record size? The third time we got set up for a shot there just wasn't anything to rest the rifle on and Melissa said the cross-hairs just wouldn't stay on that sweet spot. So, like only the most seasoned mature hunters can do, she waited until everything was just right to take her shot. She knows how important it is to kill this bear quickly, he would be VERY dangerous to go into cover to find if he was wounded. The bear took a few more steps and again was out of sight, so we elected to move once more to find a good angle on him. As we rounded the mountain we expected to see his shiny black coat glistening in the morning light, but with each passing step it became more and more painfully obvious that the bear had sensed our presence and vanished like only a predator so adapted to his environment can do.
Melissa was devastated, she came so close to the trophy of a lifetime only to have him give her the slip. I was and am extremely proud of the way she handles herself in the field. I know that if she lets the hammer fall with that rifle there will be little if any tracking, and that makes me feel very comfortable hunting with her. The season is not quite over yet so there may still be an entry with another bear in it soon.
Melissa was so hung on getting a bear that we decided to hunt again the next day. To make a very long, painful story short and painful, we packed 18 miles in the wind and rain and Melissa saw only one bear at least a mile away. I'm sure the missed opportunity from the previous day served as more salt in the wound with every passing mile. 9 miles in, Melissa developed a case of planters facsiitis in the feet and was in agony the whole way out. At the end of the day we were wet, blistered and cold and very glad to take a steamy shower!!
My dad is dressed as a fisherman! We think he'd rather be fishing than farming, but in Kansas, it's tough! It's Dad's birthday on this Halloween! Yes, it's on Halloween every year! We had a great time while he was here visiting! I also know that if I ever need anything that he could give me, he would! He's moved me innumerable times, and I hope I'm near being done with that request! Thanks for being a great dad, Dad! Happy Birthday!
We've had our first sticking snow! It is most exciting! There seems to be a calming effect with a clean, fresh blanket of snow. It will likely be some time before the snow is here to stay; however, I am excited just the same!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Mom, Happy Birthday to you! (less the operatics!)
We spent this last Saturday trying, again, to bag my bear. Unfortunately, we did not spy any bears in any remotely close location. Our morning started by going up our familiar Skyline trail, and once we reached our intended position, the fog rolled in so thick, we could only see between 50-100 yards. It was an ice-fog that left many plants iced over in an inexplicable beauty. In many places, the fog only iced the north-facing side with about a half-inch of layered ice. As the sun rose and pushed the fog up, most of the lighter frost burned off, but at the end of the day, there was still a remaining white tinge at the top. We decided to change our trip up a bit, and explored a different face of one of the mountains. We climbed up and side-passed along the top rocks. The view was spectacular, and unable to tranfer to photo's! We climbed down after going about 2/3rds of the top after Pat spotted a gorgeous bull moose chasing a cow in the lower areas. We "stalked" the moose up to about 100 yards and got a full view of the incredible spread of antler ivory! On our way back out through a different trail, we heard the second bull moose of the day grunting for a cow! Pat called to him and he seemed interesed for quite a while, but as we wanted to leave before it was too dark, we had to continue! It was a bit daunting to hear him crash through the alders ahead of us as he went down the mountain.
We did get the skull back from Pat's bear this last week! It is really interesting! And so much fun!
These moose were romping through our neighborhood this last week, and made it right up behind our kitchen window! It seems as though this young bull's actions cost our neighbor his zodiak (a very tough inflatable raft). I had just been thinking it was about time to start seeing moose in the yard again!
Pat's been making some adjustments on my machine! Apparently, wrapping the trailing arm (what the ski is on) around a tree isn't a good thing! Oops! Those bent pieces are supposed to be straight!
Here's just a pretty picture of Pat taking his bear back down the trail through what I called the "Golden Forrest." It is one of the most beautiful parts of the trail with the fall colors, but it's also one of the most steep areas. The wet weather hasn't helped either. We'll see how it is this weekend!
This shows the sun shining on the aspen leaves while the background shows how dark and forboding the sky really was! 
This is Mt. Redoubt (named after an early explorer) from the top of Skyline Trail. The light band at the base of the mountain is the Cook Inlet and the Mt. actually rises from sea level to over 10,000 feet. It was/is spectacular!
I was "wasting" film to finish the roll and this shot was at Skilak Lake on the far west side. Not too shabby! I wish I could say that the color really looked that amazing, but it only shows up on film!
This was on our Skyline Trail hike (before the bear hunt) while I was picking wild blueberries beside the trail! It has snowed up on these high elevations, and in fact, the back mountain ranges in this picture are completly white-capped!
