Inlet Team Member Spends a Day with Brown Bears at Katmai National Park
One of the many perks for our Inlet team is the opportunity to go on our charters! This 4th of July, Inlet team member Jorden got the chance of a lifetime to fly with Bald Mountain Air to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park! Here are a few photos from her trip… Enjoy!
One of Inlet Charters’ most popular trips is brown bear viewing at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, so you can imagine how excited I was (hi, this is Jorden here!) when Inlet Charters Owner, Barb, called me and let me know I was going! Although I grew up in Homer, I have never taken the time to book a bear viewing charter. Let me tell you… I don’t know what I was waiting for!!! This was truly a trip of a lifetime. From the moment I met with the Bald Mountain Air crew at Beluga Lake to gear up for our float plane charter over to Katmai, it was such a magical experience!
My 1 year old Talia + husband Tulio (taking the photo) dropped me off at Beluga Lake.
If you haven’t flown in an “Otter” or float plane, don’t wait! It is such a special way to see Alaska! I saw 2 humpback whales just below the surface in Kachemak Bay, but missed getting a photo in time!
Flying with Pilot Gary Porter (owner of Bald Mountain Air) was such a treat! Gary has over 45 years of Alaskan bush flying experience. Pretty amazing, right?! He has so many stories from his years of flying all over Alaska.
The moment we got to Brooks Camp in Katmai, a brown bear was walking along the lake! When you first get to the camp, the National Park guides go over bear safety with you. I definitely felt comfortable & excited to set off on my own to spend a day with the bears!
You see bear scat EVERYWHERE in Katmai! As I mentioned, I took this trip solo. There were other folks in the park, but I didn’t know anyone there. I enjoyed walking through the trails and looking for bears.
You really do see bears, everywhere! Here is a big brown bear walking along next to the trail. Although Brooks Falls is iconic, everyone wants to get that classic photo of the bears standing in the falls waiting for salmon to jump up the waterfall, I thought seeing the brown bears on the trails to the falls was so spectacular. I did have an encounter with a big brown bear walking down the trail, myself + another lady got together and moved off the trail to make room for the bear. We just said, “hi bear” as the big mama passed through. It. Was. Amazing!
I’ll have to leave the photos there… now it’s YOUR turn to take some! Would you want to spend a day with brown bears in the wilderness?! (Trust me…the answer is YES!)
You can browse Inlet’s Bear Viewing charters here!
And as always, feel free to call our team to go over any questions you may have! 907-435-1600
Thank you to Barb for giving me this incredible opportunity + Gary for the trip of a lifetime!
