actions3

Several years ago, my wife, Cynthia and I drove from Maine to Alaska in our pick-up truck; towing a travel trailer. Our destination was Soldotna, where our niece, Pamela, and husband, Daniel, lived. We planned to spend the entire summer in that state, using their backyard as a sort of "headquarters" for our R.V... This was convenient, and occasionally, we would travel to other parts of Alaska with our camper, to enjoy the scenery and fishing.

We spent many enjoyable weeks in that state, and stayed until the middle of August, when we packed up and headed home. Instead of going back via the Alaska Highway, we decided to travel through British Columbia, on down to Washington State, and then on to Maine with stops at Mt. Rushmore, and other points of interest along the way.

Several of our friends reminded us to be sure to stop by at Stewart, British Columbia, and Hyder, Alaska, to see the bears fishing for chum salmon in the Fish River. This meant a side trip of several miles to those adjoining communities. We also had been advised to leave our travel trailer parked beside the roadway at the intersection of the highway leading down to Stewart & Hyder. That way we could make the side trip without having to bother towing the R.V. those extra miles. We only planned on staying a few hours to watch the bears, so this suggestion sounded like a good plan.

If I remember correctly, the trip, one way, was about ten miles. Once we arrived at Stewart, B.C. all we had to do was drive directly to Hyder, Alaska; because there was only a marker at the border, between the two countries.

We continued about four miles beyond Hyder, where we came to the Fish River. As we approached a bridge that crosses the river, we saw a black bear in the right-hand ditch, beside the main road. I decided this was a great chance to get "close-up" photos, so I parked the truck beside the road, grabbed my camcorder,, and headed for the back of the truck, hoping to get the picture.

I was some surprised, when I saw the bear come walking towards me from behind the rear of the truck. I decided that my best move was to forget the photo session and hurriedly headed back to the drivers side door, and jumped into the pick-up in a hurry!

After that close encounter, I drove the truck a short distance further up the road, where we found a place to park, only a short distance from the bridge. On the further side of the bridge was a graveled road that made a sharp left turn and ran roughly parallel along the back side of the river. Cynthia and I walked across the bridge, with plans to follow the gravel road downstream, to a point where we saw several people observing numerous bears in the river.

As we crossed the bridge we noticed one black bear in close proximity to the bridge and from that vantage point we could see at least five black bears and two grizzly bears, all fishing for, and eating the large chum salmon that were migrating upstream on their spawning run.

Soon we arrived at the spot where the people were standing on a fairly high banking, alongside the river. Immediately behind them was a parked pick-up truck with a pick up camper in the back. We walked over to the edge of the embankment, directly in front of the truck, and looked down the steep embankment to the shoreline of the river, about fifty feet below, where we saw a grizzly bear catch and start eating a salmon. We were near enough so we could hear the crunching of the bones as the bear devoured the head.

Every once in awhile it would glance up at us with a menacing look, but it made no aggressive moves, so we continued to watch. During this time I also was busy taking pictures with my camcorder. Several other bears were wading in the river at other locations. Some of the bears seemed to remain fairly quiet, while others kept chasing the spawning chum salmon all over the river. It was a sight to behold.

Immediately adjacent to the parking area was a viewing ramp that had been constructed on the southerly side of where the pick-up truck was parked. It was built so that it started on the northerly end at ground level and then arose at an angle high enough to be above the alders and other bushes. My best guess would be that the walkway was at least eight feet above the ground.

This continued for a distance of about fifty feet, and then made a ninety degree turn westerly, continuing on a slightly downward slant for a distance of about thirty feet, where it ended immediately adjacent to the gravel road. There were wooden railings along both sides, for the entire length of the observation platform, which I would estimate to be about four feet between the railings.

I watched intently from the platform for several minutes, and became amused when I saw a black bear run out of the river and into the alders. Once it felt safe, the bear stood on its hind legs and peered over the top of the bushes to watch a grizzly bear who moved into the area near where the black bear had formerly been fishing. One thing for sure, that black bear knew enough to keep out of the way of the huge grizzly!

I kept taking footage of some of these events with the camcorder, and at other times simply watched the action from a point on the ramp where the ninety degree turn was located.

Suddenly, the grizzly bear came charging out of the river and passed directly underneath the observation platform, where I was standing. It was only seconds before the huge grizzly was up on the edge of the graveled roadway, where it turned around and looked my way!

Soon it moved over to the lower end of the ramp, only about thirty feet from where I was standing! My first reaction was one of surprise! I was astounded to see that huge grizzly so near to me! When the grizzly noticed me, it arose up onto its hind legs, and peering at me, swiped its massive front leg and paw across it's body in a very menacing manner. It growled loudly, and then swiped its other huge front leg and paw in the opposite direction.

Needless to say, I was frightened, and began moving down the ramp, away from the area where I was standing. I vividly remember how tall that huge grizzly appeared as it stood at the end of the ramp! It appeared to me to be at least nine or ten feet tall! Believe me, I also noticed those huge front paws, with claws several inches long. It was a very frightening moment!

Quicker than it takes to write about it, that huge grizzly dropped down onto all four feet, and came charging up the ramp! In my frightened state, I started to run down the ramp. Another man, who was watching from the lower end of the ramp, near the pick-up truck, said to me, "Don't run! Walk backwards facing the bear!"

I heeded his advice, even though all I could think of was how badly I might be injured. When the grizzly bear reached the ninety degree turn of the walkway, he stopped, looked my way, then turned around and walked back down to the roadway!

Needless to say, it took a while for my heart to stop racing, and for me to get calmed down, even though no harm was done. It was the most harrowing experience I have ever encountered with wildlife, and one that I hope will never happen again.

I later learned, as I reviewed the tape in my camcorder, that the only images I have of that grizzly bear was just before it passed underneath the ramp, as it ran towards the roadway. All the other images after that show mostly a mix of ground, bushes and sky, as I was trying to move out of the way. For some reason, I failed to record even a split second image of the charging bear!

All the camcorder images after that show mostly the ground, as I was trying to get away from the bear. Several other people, who saw the incident, commented about how lucky I was that the grizzly didn't continue around the corner of the ramp. I told the others that it sure looked like a monster to me. One fellow spoke up and said: " I doubt if it would have gone over a thousand pounds!" I thanked him for his comforting words.

A. Sayward Lamb