Ray and I got to experience something we didn't want to leave Alaska without doing. On Friday we took a seven-passenger plane out of Anchorage on a 1.5 hour flight over Mt. Augustine to the Kulik fishing lodge where we landed on their gravel runway. This leg of the journey was beautiful and not too choppy. When we landed, I realized I didn't have a big enough coat for the day. The lodge was beautiful and we got some hot drinks and snacks while we waited for the weather to clear in Katmai (pronounced cat-my). We got into a smaller float plane (4 passenger) and flew the last 30 minutes. This was a bit bumpier but not bad. Upon arrival, you go to orientation (bear school) and learn what to expect and what the rules are. Then we headed out to the platform. This is where we experienced our first harrowing experience (see next post). The platform is 1.2 miles away and there are rangers with radios talking to each other about bear movement. You cannot approach closer than 50 yards if you know they are in the area. But those bears seem to come out of nowhere and they don't have any control over bear behavior.
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