Thanks everyone for the responses!

I'm having a hard time adjusting to ordinary life......Alaska is on my mind non-stop!!!

Regards,
Scott

The black bears this time of year are referred to as "blueberry black bears" and are supposed to be very tastey. In fact, the manager of another guest lodge in Port Alsworth and her french chef made me promise to bring them some meat to cook for their guests if we were successful, which of course we weren't.

Brown bear, on the other hand, is not considered very edible due to their diet.
Unit 17 is home to the Mulchatna Caribou herd, which was once one of the largest in AK, however due to the proliferation of brown bears, commercial hunting for these caribou has been closed for some time now. Moose numbers in the area have also taken a dramatic dip. This unit used to issue bear tags on an every-other-year basis, but now due to the large numbers of bears it is open every season with a two bear limit!!

Whether or not we agree on what constitutes a game animal, I DO hope we can agree that proper wildlife management is essential to preserving the balance of the ecosystem and ensuring future opportunities.

Regards,
Scott

Agreed Scott and again I apologize for my comment.

Great report. Enjoyed the pics and story.

Awesome narration and pics!!!

No problem at all!!

That sir is living life to the bone. Great pics, great story, beautiful family.

Honestly, none of the flying bothered me much. After spending a couple of weeks with Seth, it was very apparent that he's an extremely accomplished backcountry pilot and even though we flew in some very crappy weather he never once made me nervous.
The float plane is pretty tame compared to some of the tundra landings we made. For instance, the landing at our spike camp is along a ridge and frankly, given the best of weather, it's a real tough spot to get into, but both times he had a 40mph cross wind. That meant he had to land perpendicular to the ridgeline and the strip! Basically, he flew right into the side of the mountain and landed going uphill!! We had to lift the tail around to turn the plane and then he just flew off the side of it with no more than 50 ft of takeoff room! We lost sight of him and had to run to the side of the hill to watch his plane go down before he got enough lift!!

I've always wanted to learn to fly and this trip was the shove I needed. I'm signing up for flying lessons in the next week or so!

great story! that is one of my dream trips for the dall sheep up there. brown bear is not far behind either.

did the kuiu gear hold up for you?

those float planes scare the crap out of me. The o'god strap in ours had all the paint worn off of it where you hand goes in. My wife took some happy pills and loved, i didntg and left a little piece of my self on the plane. Id love to be able to take the whole family on a trip like that some day. I cant afford to hunt up there every year, but i could probably make a fishing trip. Theres something about being up in that country that makes you realize how small you really are.

KUIU gear did very, very well!! Love the Attack pants!

Stunning pics. That is my dream hunt for sure, along with the moose....

Great story and cracking pictures .

well written Scott, as always.
your story helps bring us along like we were there with you.
glad you and the family had such a good time.

awesome bear and great pictures.
congrats again

Thanks bud!!

Wow, what a trip! Great pics, great times and even better memories.

Great pics and story, thank for sharing.

absolutly incredable, Pics and story.

Awesome story and even better pics. Congrats!

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

I was just thinking the same thing!!!

What a great story and wonderful pics. You and your family are well blessed and have built memories for a lifetime.

great pics and story