Al Kyte's Life Take-Aways

“Before this day is over, you will see moose, dall sheep, caribou, and grizzlies.” That was our bus driver’s promise before driving us through Alaska’s Denali Park. We did see those animals and almost saw a wolverine as well. My first grizzly sighting that day, a mother and two cubs loping across an open hillside, was the first of many thrilling moments in my 25 years of taking groups of anglers to Alaska

Eventually I encountered many grizzlies there, both on the coast and in the mountains. The biggest ranged from 600 to 800 pounds, although we did see tracks of one estimated to be over 1200 pounds with front claws easily longer than my fingers. One day a large bear passed within a hundred feet of us on a sandy beach. Although in an ATV with the motor running, I thought that a little close. Yet later, I was standing inside a modern cabin about 15 feet from its glass door and found myself looking out at a large bear standing about that distance beyond the door. I’m thankful he did not climb up onto the porch. Why was that door made of glass?

We were told not to look into the eyes of a grizzly as it would be taken as a challenge.  Yet I soon found that when you see a bear unexpectedly the first thing you do is look into its eyes.  When I did so, the bear gave me a disinterested look and kept walking past.  Even if I had seen emotion in those eyes, I wasn’t in much danger that time.  Our bear tower was nearby.

However, I did see myself in harm’s way one day while fishing for salmon.  I had made a cast to the far side of the river and was watching my fly line drift down through a deep riffle, when a movement caught my eye.  I looked up to see an adult grizzly standing on that far bank watching me.  I knew I was in trouble.  I had no weapon nor bear spray, no nearby tree to climb, and no people near enough to reach before that bear could reach me.  I was more than a little relieved when he decided to continue his salmon-search on his side of the river.

Bears are said to have a strong sense of smell, and one evening we had a chance to see how true that is. Our guides submerged some salmon guts under three feet of water, and we climbed our bear tower to watch what would happen. Within two hours six different bears came by and each went directly to where the guts had been submerged. No problem for their noses.

Their hearing isn’t bad either.  One day we were fishing in a mountain lake keeping a watchful  eye on a mama griz and her two nearly-grown cubs foraging on the far side of the lake.  Hearing an airplane motor, I immediately looked at those bears, but they had already disappeared where there had seemed to be no place to hide.  With that plane not yet in view, I realized why we didn’t see more animals when flying to and from our camps.      

It was a special thing to watch various natural behaviors, some quite gentle, of such potentially dangerous animals.  I loved it when a mother bear walked to a stump, sat down with her back against it, and invited her two cubs to climb up for their morning nourishment.  Truly beautiful!