Sixteen alumni and family braved the wilds of Alaska for a remarkable trip to see the grizzly bear up close and personal. The main portion of the trip took place in Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp on the Katmai peninsula, at least a one-hour plane ride from “civilization.” 

The trip started in Anchorage on May 31 with the group breaking up into smaller groups—some going by train to Seward for a wildlife cruise and others going by either train or car to Whittier for a wildlife cruise. On the Seward cruise we were presented with several orcas swimming about and traveling with our boat as we docked at Fox Island. The orcas like to swim up onto the beach of pebbles on Fox Island, and it was an impressive sight. Also seen were sea lions, bird rookeries, puffins and humpback whales, not to mention the occasional glacier on land.

 
The Entire Gang

The next day, June 1, we all headed to the airport for two flights to Homer (the planes only hold 9 passengers, so we needed 2 scheduled flights). Grant Aviation was very accommodating and rescheduled the 12:15 p.m. flight to 10:45 a.m. for us so we could all spend more time in Homer. We shared three vehicles to see the sights of Homer. The evening was capped by dinner at Crabbies, which closed down the restaurant to the rest of the public just for us. Lots of crab and halibut were consumed by all.

Saturday, June 2, was the start of the adventure in Hallo Bay. Four flights were required to get us all out to the camp, two planes at a time. The last plane to leave Homer for Hallo Bay was piloted by Jimmy. And when we saw Jimmy we looked at each other — he is 25, but look like 13. We made it to camp, were shown our cabins and then got the lecture on safety and how to act in camp. After the orientation, we donned our raingear, packed our lunches and headed out with heavy camera packs to view the bears. We headed down the beach to the meadow to see if the bears were out and they were. We observed bears on all of our outings. 

 
Ursula, resting on a branch with a cub practically invisible. 

By Tuesday, our final scheduled day, the weather had turned cloudy and rainy, with little chance of flights in or out. So, we were resigned to spend another night at Hallo Bay. The next day was basically a repeat, and no flights appeared. Finally, on Thursday, the clouds lifted enough at Hallo Bay and Homer for flying, and around noon we heard the sound of small planes overhead.  The landing of the two planes meant that eight of our group could get out right then and try to catch up with the other plans they had scheduled. It was assumed that the remaining eight would be flying back to Homer that afternoon as well. But, as fate would have it, only four were rescued that day. Four had to stay until Friday, as weather and the tides closed the flight opportunities.

Our final glimpse of bears, strolling down the runway.

Having the 3 planes arrive also meant that new people, most of them from the Netherlands, were arriving at Hallo Bay. On Friday, our four remaining members were convinced that any minute now they would get a call from Homer Air saying a plane was in the air and on the way to whisk them back to Homer. The minutes and hours slowly passed, however, with no call that a plane was coming. Finally, after dinner we heard the words we wanted to hear, a plane was in the air and headed for us. Twice, earlier in the day, Jimmy, our youthful pilot, had started across the bay and twice had been turned around by low visibility. The third time was the trick, and, as we waited on the beach with our luggage, the bear pictured above casually walked the landing strip before the plane landed. 

Bruce Worster ’64 actually reported that he was glad to have the extra days in Hallo Bay. They flew on to Coeur d'Alene and got to their lake cabin about noon Friday. When they arrived at the cabin they discovered a 60-foot tree had fallen across their parking space within the past 18 hours. “Without the delays at Hallo Bay Camp, the car would have been toast,” he said.

The staff at Hallo Bay were the best—from Kevin and Herb, the guides, to Fannie, the cook, and Tony, the handyman. Everyone went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable and had lots of opportunities to view bears. Most of the group want to plan another trip to Hallo Bay to see the bears excel in their fishing skills during late July and August. So watch for another trip in the coming years.

Please email Karen Taggart at Karen_Taggart@hmc.edu or call 909-621-8334 with questions or to put your name on the tentative list.