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Last year I flew some friends to Anan Creek to view the bears
that congregate there to eat salmon in preparation for their winter
snooze. Now, they're not guides and have had little experience
with bears but they had a great time - saw and photographed bears,
salmon, seals, and eagles in their natural habitat and still haven't
stopped talking about their experience at Anan Creek.
Anan
has become a permitted site. This means that everyone going
to Anan must have a permit and only 64 people per day will be
allowed to visit the site. These permits are gobbled up fast,
so don't procrastinate, as soon as you've decided to
go, give us a call to book your trip.
Due to the type of permits available we
cannot offer to guide you on one of these trips. We can, however,
transport you to Anan Creek where you can see the bears just
like my friends did. The photos on this page share that trip
with you.
The flight
is 30 to 40 minutes through the Tongass National Forest and along
Behm Canal and Ernest Sound. On a clear day (yes, we have some
in Ketchikan) you will see majestic mountains in the distance,
virgin forest, islands dense with greenery, muskeg (bogs), and
lots of lakes and water.
The plane
lands at Anan Bay and while we taxi to the beach you will see
eagles in the trees (one time I counted 230), and fish
& seals in the water. As you get off the floatplane, you will
be met by a Forest Service Ranger who briefs you on what to expect
on your hike to the viewing platform. The hike to the platform
is about 20 minutes on a boardwalk and gravel/dirt trail. Along
the way you will be surrounded by old growth forest and a fresh
water stream packed with salmon going upstream to spawn! Truly
the wilds of Southeast Alaska! At the platform there is another
Ranger who supervises the platform and a photo blind. You will
be able to spend 1.5 to 2 hours at the observatory, depending
on your transit time on the trail and actual flight time to Anan.
When you
go on this adventure you should wear sturdy boots or shoes and
bring rain gear. After all, this is a rainforest. A camera and
plenty of film is a must. Please turn off the camera's flash so
as not to startle the bears. You may not take any food or drinks
on the trail except water. And lastly, prepare yourself for a
fun and wondrous experience in a true Alaskan wilderness.
Before you
come please familiarize yourself with the US Forest Service's
page on safely
viewing bears.
Transportation
price for this adventure is
$450.00 per person (this includes permits)
2 person minimum/4person maximum.
To
reserve the plane exclusively for your party / three person
minimum.
The entire adventure is about 5 hours, this may be amended by
special arrangement.
You may
also want to add on a flight through the Misty
Fjords National Monument (weather permitting) ... an additional
$105.00 per person and adds approximately one half hour to the
tour.
This year
we are also offering add on flights to the LeConte Glacier (weather
permitting). This is the southern most tidewater glacier in the
U.S. and is surrounded by truely magnificent peaks (see pictures
below) and adds approximately one hour to the tour... an additional
$195.00 per person.
"We
flew with you to Anan Creek and Misty Fords the first weekend
of August. The bear watching activity was our first adventure
of our 17-day trip to Alaska, and although we knew the adventure
of seeing the grizzlies just across from us in the photo blind
for an hour and a half was pretty extraordinary, we didn't know
at that time that it would be the highlight of our whole
trip! Thank you again."
F & D
Fort Lauderdale, FL
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