bears

Ken was guiding in Alaska before I was born. So I can’t say much about his early years up here. I’ll leave that to friends and family. They explored the wildest rivers in Alaska, chased bears in Russia and found perfect snow while backcountry skiing in Juneau. For me, Ken was the always-enthusiastic force that got me away from my desk and back out into […]

Ecologist Chris Morgan made this lovely piece with Legend Jeff Bridges. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Chris a little bit through my work in conservation. Chris is the real deal, one of the few people presenting natural history today with real bear skills. He’s got passion too. I’ve never met Mr. Bridges, but if I do I’ll thank him for his work […]

This past summer, I had a great bear encounter with a small group of guests. The bear was relaxed and walked by, maybe 10 or 12 yards away. Brown bears, or coastal grizzlies, are dangerous animals. While we can never say that bears are “safe,” we can manage the risk and have really outstanding viewing. We purposefully go looking for bear encounters. At Pack Creek […]

Hi folks, Early July has only a few seats left for Pack Creek. We have a scattering of availability in late July. Waterfall Creek presents some great opportunities starting late July, so check that out if your preferred dates are full at Pack Creek. August should be great at either Pack Creek or Waterfall, so take a look at both options. Feel free to call […]

I spent some time chatting about bears and the Pack Creek experience with our friends at Northwest Navigation Co. (Home of the M/V David B). We team up with them for a few trips each year. Here we talk about the zen of wildlife watching and more. Hope you enjoy!      

Close encounters are thrilling. Having a bear walk by at close range makes my heart pound every time. When we go into bear country we find that our guests often have very high expectations for bear encounters. These expectations might come from seeing photos taken with powerful telephoto lenses and film footage of bears at extremely close range. Sometimes bears come close, other times their […]

There is a famous bear at Pack Creek. A matriarch of the meadow who has been there for decades. No one is sure how old she is. But we can confirm that as of yesterday, she is still here! One of these winters will likely be her last. Throughout this past winter we all wondered and speculated. She had ended the summer looking thin and […]

This video captures the spirit of everything I love about a day at Pack Creek. Taylor has bottled the feel of a trip to Pack Creek. He captures warm smiles and the grandeur of the land. Of course, there are bears. Pack Creek is in a protected Wilderness. Thanks to the efforts of previous generations, the land will take its own course without our efforts […]

For bear viewing trips, sitting quietly can help the bears feel comfortable in the open where we can see them. We are lucky that these bears have often seen people before, so we don’t need to hide or be totally silent. However, sitting still is an useful skill to cultivate. Go to Bear Country You need to be where the bears need to be. Wild […]

For groups of 5, we can customize many of the elements of your adventure.  Flight Seeing There is lots to see around Juneau, from the magnificent granite walls of the fjords to Juneau’s icefield and glaciers. Weather permitting we can add additional flight seeing time by the hour and then subsequent half hours.  Timing We’ve scheduled our tours to take advantage of the best tides […]