Alaska 2010, the Burks cold, wet, but very cool journey

burk48237 · #1 08-30-2010, 05:17 PM

Well every couple of years I get the opportunity to go fishing in AK. This year we saw very unusually cold wet conditions. In fact the camp where I visited in Katamai National Park had thirty days of straight rain before we arrived. I'll probably post the fish porn in the Fishing thread but here's a bit of a photo perspective on one of the worlds most incredible places.

Here are a couple of scenes from the airport in King Salmon an old Air Force base serviced by prop planes from Anchorage. Their are very few roads in AK and our camp is at the end of the road.

Here was the sunset the first night we stayed at the Antler inn in King Salmon, not a Hilton although they charge like one. AK is very expensive, a gallon of milk in KS cost $9.

We arrived at camp the next day. The skies in AK are unreal, especially when its not raining.

burk48237 · #2 08-30-2010, 05:26 PM

On day two we went to the Brooks River (an hour boot ride). This is a very short river known for its bear population. In fact the famous waterfall where all of the National Geo bear specials is just downstream from where we started fishing. Unfortunately for both us and the Bears thirty days of straight rain had made the fishing tough. Their were only a few Bears around, including one big sow that got rather close very quickly.

Sunset that day was rather uneventful, but the cabins look nice as the rain cleared for a bit.

The next day dawned pouring down rain and the camera (Nikon D300) stayed in the bag...

burk48237 · #3 08-30-2010, 05:38 PM

Day three was clear and sunny, we actually swam in the Nak Nek River. As far as photography it was a washout until an evening Rainbow, I'd show you shots but rainbows are kind of blase in AK. We did have a nice Sunset though.

The next day we went to Idavain creek for some bushwacking for Grayling. Idavain is a gorgeous place, the cove it lay in look like this.

That evening it showered on the way back in the boat. Surprise, and we had another blase AK rainbow like this.

burk48237 · #4 08-30-2010, 05:46 PM

Thursday was our day to go to Margot creek. This small creek was now a raging torrent thanks to the rain but it was still a lot smaller than Brooks, so the Bears felt comfortable there. We were greeted by this guy as we bulled on to the sand bar and beached the boat.

Here's a bit closer

And this guy sitting on the beach.

These two playful one year olds greeted us at our first hole

FL Knifemaker · #5 08-30-2010, 05:49 PM

Beautiful Pics!!!

I wanna go fishing there!!!!

modulusman · #6 08-30-2010, 05:50 PM

Nice pictures.

I spent 2 years playing in a band all over Alaska when I was 22-23 and like an idiot I never took any pictures.

burk48237 · #7 08-30-2010, 05:52 PM

The Sow kept a watchful eye and we kept our distance.

Another great AK sunset and the day was done. No one had been eaten and plenty of fish were caught.

The last day was another rainout, the D300 stayed in the bag.

sloasdaylight · #8 08-30-2010, 06:07 PM

I'd like to visit Alaska at some point.

StyleOverShow · #9 08-30-2010, 07:25 PM

Last weekend I was up in the Sierras, just west of Mammoth California (fly) fishing the San Jaoquin. It was a beautiful couple of days catching brown trout (and releasing them).

Did Alaska in 2007, the salmon made the holidays very tasty. I did pick up some 16 to 20 inch rainbows that would have been trophies anywhere in the lower 48.

Nice to see nature still exists outside these concrete cities.

GregC · #10 08-30-2010, 07:43 PM

Great pics! I considered going to AK for the first time this summer (I have a couple relatives there), but I couldn't get it scheduled. Soon!

MJ5150 · #11 08-30-2010, 09:57 PM

Here is this picture of Burk from the funny pictures thread. Apparently he got a little closer to those cubs than he led us to believe......

-Mike

burk48237 · #12 08-30-2010, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Here is this picture of Burk from the funny pictures thread. Apparently he got a little closer to those cubs than he led us to believe......

-Mike

Fondling the cubs is recommended, it shows the Sow (mother) how affectionate you are, they appreciate that.

Here's one of our group preparing for an affectionate moment.

burk48237 · #13 08-30-2010, 10:34 PM

Even the Cubs are the real deal, look closely at the teeth on this boy.

MadMan118 · #14 08-31-2010, 02:02 AM

Yep it sure is some beautiful country, glad to call it home. Never spent a lot of time in the southwes but bears aside, how was the fishing?

KJung · #15 08-31-2010, 05:30 AM

Amazing Steve. That picture of you (can't tell, is that you or one of your group) fishing with the bear in the background is something!

Wilbyman · #16 08-31-2010, 05:34 AM

Thank you for posting these! Very very beautiful!

burk48237 · #17 08-31-2010, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Amazing Steve. That picture of you (can't tell, is that you or one of your group) fishing with the bear in the background is something!

That's not me. I took all of the photo's. But we did get closer then we'd like. Margot is a small stream surrounded by thick cover. The Bears congregate there because of the lower water and the Salmon are easier to catch. The good news is these are the same bears that congregate at Brooks and they are use to people, and well feed from Salmon. While we kept a wide berth on a few of the bigger Sows most of the two year olds will move with a yell. Our guides literally made it a point to stay between us and the bears. And their was one point where one of our group had a bear wonder within about fifty feet, which is far closer then we prefer. The general rule is fifty yards for single bears, one hundred yards for a Sow with cubs. At Margot you can half that because of the tight quarters. A Brown bear can move real fast, if it wants you at a place like Margot, their aren't many options. They can run as fast as a race horse for about fifty yards (3 seconds in the fifty), and they swim good too.

Madman, the fishing was excellent but tough. The high water limited a lot of presentation. My best fishing was in the main river (Nak Nek) for silvers. They really showed me something. I had one fish that took over twenty minutes to land and was into may backing three times (over fifty yard runs), they jump, change directions and seem to never wear out. In other words they are the real deal, and lots of fun. I'm still waiting on some pics my friends took and then I'll post some fish pics.

burk48237 · #18 08-31-2010, 07:47 AM

This is one Sow we kept a real wide berth on. She moved deliberately and even the other bears avoided her. One of the two years old stayed about fifty yards away at all times even if it meant running into a group of fisherman. I suspect she had earned her reputation. Bears have more reason to fear each other than humans. More immature bears die from being eaten by dad then any other cause. At about one year old they become food.

**Josh Ryan** · #19 08-31-2010, 08:39 AM

Awesome. I want to go there.

mikeyswood · #20 08-31-2010, 08:45 AM

Everything about this thread is Win.