August 17, 2012: Claws

August 17, 2012: Claws

It wasn’t just his size that amazed me, and that was impressive enough, nor was it the size of his head as he grabbed a chum salmon in his huge jaws and teeth. No what really impressed me and will always be in my memory is the size of his claws. While you could see them even as he walked but it was when he held a large chum salmon that the claws really became prominent.

It was the second time today that we were at the Fish Creek Boardwalk. Its located three miles out of Hyder, Alaska, and it is owned and maintained by the US Forest Service. It’s an elevated boardwalk that gives all a birdseye view of feeding Brown and Black Bears.

Arriving at a little after six am the first parking lot was full and so we had to park a little further down the road. The boardwalk had just opened and already there was a crowd of people hoping to catch a glimpse of bears feeding.

Below you could see chum, (dog), and humpies, (pink), salmon and it was the first time we have seen chum. They are quite a bit larger then pinks and they put on their own show as they jostled around the females. The larger males would push each other attempting to get a better position as the female turned sideways to dig her redd.

Many were talking, rather loudly I thought, and several were smoking cigarettes. One even lit up a pipe and I thought, do these people think they are in a zoo? It was obvious that they had never sat in a blind/stand and hunted or bird watched. Soon the road construction started and the road became busy as water trucks passed back and forth.

No bears showed up and so we drove back to camp, (we later learned that several bears showed up at 8:30 am). A couple with two kayaks told us of a lake where they had watched two grizzlies playing for over an hour. We drove up to Clements Lake but didn’t see any bears.

Returning to town we stopped at the visitor center and walked the boardwalk that extends out into the tidal marshes. After dinner we decided to head back to Fish Creek and hope to see a bear. Waiting patiently again I seethed as several women begin an animated and loud discussion in a different language. Finally they shut up and wandered away.

The forest service volunteer suddenly said bear and we watched as a large boar brown wadded out into the creek. It fished a bit before slowly wading up missing salmon. One ear was scarred from a previous fight and the same person said the bear was about eight hundred pound in size.

Cameras clicked and a crowd crammed around as he caught a salmon and gripped it with his teeth. Carrying it to a small rock island, it held the fish with its paws as it ate the skin and head of the fish. It seemed to have a taste for the skin as it left most of the carcass for the mew gulls.

Grabbing another salmon, he again would just eat the skin and maybe a bite or two of the rest. We watched it as it slowly fished the entire length of the boardwalk. The volunteers yelled at people to turn off their flash and several cars topped along the road.

One person even got out of his car and walked over to the edge of the road, having no idea how close he was to the huge set of teeth and claws. The Forest Service person yelled at the idiot to get back in your car!

The bear fed for an hour before going upstream and waded under a bridge before walking into the parking lot. Suddenly people begin pointing into the brush and a much smaller female brown appeared. She fed on some  leaves and then headed downstream, stopping to feed on left over fish.

Meanwhile the big boar returned and started wading downstream, smelling the air. The sow, picking up his scent, grabbed a salmon and ran into the brush. She knew better to tempt her fate! We continued to watch until the light became too low and so we returned to camp.

This is why we came to Alaska, to see bears feeding. It’s why we took the long and narrow Cassier Highway and it was worth the price of admission. I will never forget the claws and oh by the way children, monsters do exist. Clear skies

June 30th, 2012, The Savage River Loop Trail

We had just left the truck and I saw a bird with a brown upper body amd white undersides and legs fly across the river. It was a willow ptarmagin! As we started down to the willows Renita turned and looked at me and asked,"Can you hear that?, and of course I couldn't.

As we got a little closer the clucking sound became so loud that even I could make out the call and we both spied the hen, wait whats that movement, calling to her chick and we could see it. A little further we saw another hen and her two chicks and already the short drive had been all the ranger had told us about.

Crossing the bridge we heard the louder song of a rooster ptarmagin and watched as he flew across the river. His eyes are lined with feathers that suggested orange eye liner and his plumage contained more white then the hen.

We saw a ranger leave the tour bus and it was the same one that we had seen the day before at the Visitor Center. Thanking her for the information about the new life bird she suggested that we hike upriver and look for harlequin ducks. However there had been other hikers and we didn't see any.
Returning to the truck we donned our day packs and set off to hike the Savage River loop trail. Above us loomed Savage Rock and there were people climbing it and posing on the top. We stopped often and enjoyed the flowers along the trailside. Renita motioned to me as a white crowned sparrow seemed to pose and we had both rarely been so close to a wild bird.

The hike was an easy mile, mostly downhill and we stopped at the footbridge to sit and eat lunch. It's a busy trail and other groups passed us, making the turn and heading back up hill. A ground squirrel approached both if us, hoping for a handout but we don't feed wild animals.

The hike up the valley was easy and we stopped to enjoy the metamorphic rocks.  Greenstone was abundant, along with a silvery metamorphic shist, its lines folded tight together like last falls foilage. A large boulder of black and white gneiss sat in the middle of the river and I thought about jumping onto it but decided that it might be too big a gap. Near the bridge the trail split in two and we took the River Bar loop before rejoining the main trail back to the bridge.
We didn't notice any more Ptarmagin as they were roosting in the dense willows. Renita and I both realized we had been fortunate to get there early enough to see the end of their morning feeding, as the flock was nowhere to be seen.

It had been a great day and a new life bird. A nice two mile hike in the sub artic biome. Flowers, rocks and birds, who could ask for more on our first full day at Denali National Park? Clear skies.

June 17th, 2012, On the Way To Dawson

June 17^th, 2012, On the Way To Dawson

We really didn’t decide which way to go until this morning. I checked out the weather forecasts and the road reports for the Top of the world highway. It looked like the weather would be nice next week and the delays and construction on the Top of The World Highway said that delays would be less then twenty minutes.

So we turned north, onto the Klondike Highway. Our plan wasn’t to make it to Dawson but to drive at least to Carmack or maybe even Selkirk Landing on the Pelly River. The Carmack area is reported to have agate trails and the Selkirk area has a Native Hude Arts and Craft center so they both seemed like a good bet.

Soon after driving up the road we saw two tundra swans, a mated pair, serenely gliding across a small lake. It’s really not a good road for wildlife viewing, the road has no shoulders and a steep drop off. It also has the dreaded frost heaves and I only hit one badly before I gave them the respect they deserve.

Before long we reached mile ninety three. There a sign talks about the plume agates and geodes found there an so we backed the rig, yup all fifty five feet of it, onto a cobble side road. Locking the dog into the fifth wheel we headed up the trail. Soon Renita and I were grabbing rocks and occasionally stopping to examine the wolf scat.

Renita suggested we talk loudly so as not to startle a grizzly bear and you knew she was right. I had forgotten all about bears as we hiked up the heavily forested trail. The trail ended in a small turnaround and you could see where others had camped and then looked for the beautiful plume agate.

Now the problem is that we really didn’t know what the local plume looks like on the outside or rind. We do know what Rio Grande plume looks like but perhaps it was different. It wasn’t until our hands and pockets were full that Renita let out a shriek and grabbed a probably true Yukon plume agate.

Returning to the truck we loaded the rocks into the back end and headed north to Carmack. After filling up with diesel we talked with a shop owner who told of the beautiful blue agate found by some and then showed us the one piece of geode she had. It looked like Iris agate, found in the Wind Rivers of Wyoming and so left for Selkirk Landing.

The frost heaves got worse but the scenery was fantastic as we drove across and along the Yukon River. We stopped for lunch at the Five Fingers rapids, where the paddle wheels had winched their way through the five up thrust fingers of rock.

Too soon the drive was over and we found a great free campground at Pelly Crossing. After setting up we walked to the arts and crafts center and admired the beautiful moose skin and beaded clothes. They also had a list of rules for the Hude, the First Nation People their and I admired the main theme, called Dooli. It’s a creed based on respect, respect for the animals, respect for each other, and a respect for nature. It gave examples of behaving badly and stressed the importance of honoring the elders.

May 30, 2012

We left Star Valley and drove to Idaho Falls where we stopped and bought some parts for our fifth wheel. From there we headed up new road, for us anyway, along the wide open and deserted spaces on Interstate Fifteen.
You almost wouldn't believe its the same highway that's crowded with cars and trucks in Utah and Nevada. Here its one of the most deserted roads we have been on and I was reminded of the phrase that describes the Alaska Highway, miles and miles of miles and miles.
Regardless its a beautiful drive and Renita logged some wheel time which allowed me to actually sight see as we passed the Organ Pipes, near Dillon, Montana. We went for a walk, after setting up, and met a gold miner from Kalispel, who also travels to the Kenai salmon fishing. Small world but we are nearing the border. Tomorrow its Great Falls and our final prep for crossing the border. Clear skies

May 31, 2012

After spending the night south of Dillion, MT, we first filled up with diesel and then headed to Great Falls. It was an easy drive up and over the continental divide and the whole trip was filled with strange mountains and new sights.
We were both impressed with the statue to Mary poised on the skyline, high above Butte. Having already seen the open pit mine we were less then impressed as the coal mines around our home of Gillette have to be reclaimed but the feds declared that open pit mines can be left as an eyesore....

The Gateway of the Missouri was another impressive sight.    Renita took  over the driving and of course she had an unexpected pass to cross. As soon as she topped out the interstate was partially blocked with a huge wide load going slow and flashing it's emergency lights.
She did a great job driving the rig but that should be no surprise as she is a smooth operator and it helps so much having her giving me a break from the wheel time. I started a list of birds and today we saw two Ferrunginous hawks, along with the usual ravens. These were added to yesterday's golden eagle perched on a dead tree and the flash of what had to be a Bullocks Oriole,(formerly combined with Baltimore Orioles).

It was a beautiful drive and the Missouri was filled with drift boats as it meandered in its narrow valley. It looked very floatable for our canoe but Great Falls and  the  border calls to us. Later, upon reaching Great Falls we pulled into a campground where we will fill our larders and finish some wiring, before crossing into Canada. Clear skies