A bunch more random pics of the trip that give some idea of the intrigue the place holds for me.
Any place only reachable by boat, or this vintage 1953 DeHaviland Beaver is my kind of place. I was amazed at what great condition this 62 year-old aircraft was in. Not sure what Alaska will do when all these Beaver and Otter planes are retired.
A couple shots of how we set up our camp. Off the beach about 100 yards to provide some shade and the soft padding of moss to the sleeping situation.
Bart took to raising a colony of these slugs. They were here by the dozens. Unfortunately, they blend in really good and a few of them met their fate at the bottom of a Simms wading boot.
When it is low tide, the tide pools are filled with these little crabs and other urchins. You see mink, otter, eagles, and often bears, scrounging the seafood that gets caught in these tide pools at low tide. I suspect this is why I have had pretty good success hunting bears at low tide. Nothing like a bit of shellfish to add to their grass diet.
Not a bad view from camp.
A few pieces of equipment I've been using lately and tested a bit more on this hunt.
I've been a big fan of the replaceable blade knife for the last ten years. I've been using them since they came to the market, but I had never found one with a good blade replacement mechanism. Until now. The new Gerber Vital is the best blade replacement mechanism I have found.
I met with them at SHOT Show to tell them how impressed I was with the way they have designed the Vital. They also have a really cool dispenser for the blades that doubles as a place to safely hold your old blades, other than carrying them in your pack and tossing them when you get home.
Some of you with experience using other models, of which I have a few myself, know the danger you feel when trying to replace the blades. Problem solved with the way Gerber had designed this.
I tried most every brand of traditional hunting knife known to man. Companies send knives to me by the dozens, asking how I like them and how they work for our hunts. I've bought ones I thought might work good, with mixed results. There is a reason you have seldom seen me using a traditional knife. It is hard to find one that works for what we need.
Gerber sent me some advance versions of these new Gator Premiums knives that they will be rolling out later this year. I am impressed. Not sure I've seen a traditional hunting knife that is this sharp out of the sheath and stays this sharp after use. It did the most part of this bear and was still razor sharp when done. Most gut hooks get dull after about three hairs touch the edge. Not this one.
Now, if I can convince them to take this knife and alter it to my design idea for the "Ultimate Elk Hunters Knife" I could sell them by the thousands. I am "just another TV guy" so I suspect it will be as hard to get attention from their engineers and designers as it is has been with other companies I've approached with the idea. But, who knows; they seem pretty tuned in to the ideas I gave them on the Vital.
I kid you not that you can be 15 yds away and not see your partner. It was especially fun to go out with the guy that got me into bear hunting (Tyler) and then be able to go with Randy who I coaxed back into spot and stalk bear hunting. Both guys have shot more than me now for sure. What a beautiful place Alaska is and I'll treasure the photos and show more than ever.
