Greetings from Munsey’s Bear Camp. While I am always sorry to see the summer end, I am happy to cherish another season of memories of wonderful people and great adventures. Four of our guests returned for a visit after a span of twenty years. Another guest made his 24th visit to our lodge, and two guests returned for their 12th trip.
We were thrilled to have MarciaMessier back for another summer In addition to creating her excellent meals, Marcia is central to our operation. Mike and I depend on her greatly, and I think the three of us make a good team. Joeleen Lane joined us this summer as the camp helper, and her perpetual good mood kept us smiling.
Our season began on July 15 with
Yoram and Zipi Hoffman, and Ron Arbel from Israel. This group watched two bears nuzzle in the sedges near a small creek. Even though it was late in the year for breeding, the pair seemed to exhibit mating behavior. On another day, this group watched a sow with two newborn cubs. While mom chewed on the vegetation, the cubs stole curious glances at the humans.
On July 20, we greeted Brian and Kevin Kaub from California, Adam and Carter Kaub from Washington, and Donald Kidd and Bob Bollinger from California. On their first afternoon cruise, this group got a close look at a bear walking the beach. While they enjoyed the wildlife, these guys mainly wanted to fish. Adam caught our first “Club” halibut (40 lbs. and over) of the season, and we proudly hoisted our halibut flag. The other guys also caught nice halibut, and on a beautiful little river, they landed sixteen salmon and enjoyed a gorgeous, sunny day. A fox followed them downriver and tried unsuccessfully to convince them to share their fish with him.
Beginning on July 25, we spent five wonderful days expanding our family. We welcomed
Mike’s second cousin, Jay, his wife, Penny; their daughters, Chelsey and Lexi; Chelsey’s boyfriend, Jorge Esteves; and Lexi’s husband, Teddy Beahm, and their adorable son, Theo. Mike and Jay had never met, but from their appearances to their personalities, there was no denying they were related. This group watched several bears on a small stream, including one that walked up close to them and posed for photos. Penny proved her fishing prowess by reeling in three halibut, a skate, and several cod, but Jorge landed the monster halibut (50 lbs.) of the week and joined our halibut club. Jay’s favorite memory of the week was casting a lure into a beautiful river, watching a salmon attack it, and reeling the fish to the bank.
We greeted Mike and Valerie Boltz on August 6. Due to a last-minute cancelation, Mike and Valerie had the camp to themselves for a few days. Mike and the Boltzes sat on the bank of a river one day and watched several bears, including a sow with two two-year-old cubs that fished in front of them all afternoon and a sow with three one-year-old cubs that stayed near them most of the day. A large male walked upstream into the mixture of mothers and cubs but opted not to stay long. Another day, Mike and Valerie watched a mother with two newborn cubs. On their last day on the riverbank, this group enjoyed another parade of bears, including two family groups and six single bears.
On August 11, we welcomed Rob Ryan and Michelle Baccaro from California and
Francesca, Stefan, Zoe, and Querin Ronig from Switzerland. This group was only here for three days and spent both of their full days bear viewing. One day, they watched a large female bear expertly catch fish near them and then enjoyed the interactions between a mother and her three yearling cubs. On the second day, they watched several bears, including two that fished in front of them.
On August 17, we welcomed back Tom Lassman and met his friends, Margo Salisbury and Dave and Lynn West, all from Oregon. Jimmy Matiasevich and Christian Leon from California rounded out the group. They watched a very large male bear amble down the beach on their first afternoon, and one day, they sat on the riverbank and watched two single bears and a sow with a two-year-old cub catch salmon. On another day, a sow with three one-year-old cubs fished in front of them, and even the young cubs managed to land a few salmon. This group also watched bears fish at the head of the bay on the low tide, where they could trap the salmon in the shallow water. The group only fished for a few hours but made the best of it. They all caught fish, and Margo joined the Halibut Club with a 40-pounder. Speaking of clubs, Christian and Jimmy proudly joined our Puffin Club when they took a plunge off the end of our dock into the icy water of Uyak Bay.
On August 21, we welcomed back Steve Schlag from Hawaii and met his wife, Janna,
his daughter, Kate, from California, and his son, Nick, from Colorado. We also greeted John and Janet Chelf from Oklahoma. Janet said she didn’t know how to fish, but we doubted this claim when she landed an 82-lb. halibut on the first day of fishing – the largest club halibut of the year. Everyone in the group caught big, beautiful silver salmon in the ocean, and they had a close encounter with a sow and three cubs on a small stream. Nick, Kate, and Janna hiked up a river with Mike and enjoyed watching several bears catch salmon. They had bears around them the entire time they sat on the riverbank.
On August 27, we welcomed back our yearly group of August fishermen. However, this year, the trip was bittersweet. One of the guys and our good friend, John Mendoza, passed away unexpectedly a few months earlier. Gordy Sexton, another long-time group member, was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and unable to make the trip. To make things even worse, Gene Fanucchi had to rush his wife to the emergency room on the morning he was supposed to fly to Alaska. This year, Dan Robertson from Nevada and Mike Saner and Howard Hancock from California were joined by Sammy Mendoza (John’s brother) and Bruce Sexton (Gordy’s brother). Despite some rainy, windy weather, these guys had no trouble catching fish. Sam, Mike, and Bruce joined our halibut club, and Mike’s 80-pounder was the second largest of the summer. On the last day of fishing, they landed fourteen large silver salmon, and each guy went home with a box full of fish. Best wishes to Gordy and Gene’s wife, and we look forward to seeing you next year, Gene!
On September 5, we welcomed back Tony and Karin Ross from Pennsylvania for a
twelve-day stay. Ross and Diane Nowell from New Zealand joined them. This group of hikers enjoyed the long trek upriver to watch the bears and were here for the peak of the bear-viewing season. After two nights of freezing temperatures and frost, the bears seemed to know it was time to fatten up as fast as possible before hibernation. One day, this group watched twenty-five bears fish on a small river, and many caught salmon in front of them. They saw it all – a sow with three one-year-old cubs, a sow with two two-year-old cubs, a sow with two newborn cubs, a large male, and an old female we have been watching for years. She is distinguishable because she has a large scar on her hindquarters. They laughed at the curious behavior of a small female bear that dug in the gravel for over half an hour close to where they were sitting. Diane said there were so many bears and so much activity she didn’t know which way to look.
On September 10, we welcomed back Terry Douglas from Alaska, and joining Terry, Tony, and Karin were Tom, Deb, and Monica Boucek from Ohio. This group alternated two intense days of hiking upriver to bear view with two lighter excursions on side streams. The bear viewing on the main river was still at its peak. On their last day, they watched thirty bears wander in front of them, fishing and interacting. They saw mothers with newborn cubs, mothers with one-year-olds, and mothers with two-year-olds. They also watched several single bears, including two large males that strode down the river and melted into the brush. On a day of fishing, Karin joined our halibut club with a sixty-pounder! On our boat trip back to camp the last afternoon, we saw a humpback whale, and Tony took a distant photo of the whale leaping out of the water.
A storm altered our plans for the end of the season. Terry, Tom, Deb, and Monica were
stuck in camp for two days, waiting for the weather to improve enough to fly to town, and Tony and Karin spent their last full day hiking through the pouring rain with Mike to watch bears. They did manage to catch a couple of silver salmon, but we fought to tie our boat to its mooring in 50 mph winds when we returned to camp on our last day, and we knew it was time for our summer season to end.
One of the big thrills for us this summer was to reunite with Yoram Hoffman, Ron Arbel, Tom Lassman, and Steve Schlag. Each of these four men was here approximately twenty years ago and wanted to come back for another visit. They shared photos showing much younger versions of us – yikes – it has been twenty years! For Dan Robertson, this was his 24th year visiting our lodge, and one year; he came twice. Tony and Karin Ross have made twelve trips to Munsey’s Bear Camp, and Tony always brings entertainment. We wished we would have met Mike’s cousins Jay (and his wonderful wife, Penny), Chelsey, and Lexi (Beahm) Munsey long before now, but late is better than never.
Thank you to our dear friend Marcia for all her hard work and to Joeleen for rounding out our team. Thank you to our guests, and we hope to see you again soon!
I invite you to check out my website, robinbarefield.com, to see my books (including Kodiak Island Wildlife) and listen to my podcast.
–Robin
