We woke for the last morning of the hunt. Jim was still committed to the big bear he had seen on Monday. We motored over to the beach. It was calm, deceiving of the 20+ knot winds to come later in the day. Hopefully that would allow them to get a set up and Jim could get a roundball in the big old boar.
Back at the big boat Frank and I got everything ready for the run back to shore. I waited for an inReach. Finally at 12:30 I heard the beep of a new message. Unfortunately, it was not a message to bring packs and knives, rather to come pick them up. Dang it.
When I got there, they reported not a single bear had come out. The wind was good, but still no bears. Jim had surely given a good effort to a bear surely worthy of such. I wish I had grabbed some images from Jace to show that bear. I'll get some uploaded later this week. It was a whopper.
We pulled anchor and made the run back to the boat ramp. We loaded up our gear, gave our thanks to Frank for the pleasure of Camp Lindell, then headed to Jim and Karen's house. We spent Thursday filming interviews and wrapping up the episode. Later Jace and Jim caught a lot of sea-run cutthroats. I'm not yet cleared to run a fishing rod, so I gave commentary about how they should fish.
The trip was one of those where everything goes better than it should, short of Jim not hanging a tag on that big bear. Sometimes you work your butt off and fight terrible conditions only to come home empty handed. This time, I felt we got more than we deserved, especially with good weather and cooperative bears. We counted 26 total bear sightings, a few of which were likely duplicates. Not bad for five days of hunting.
Super thankful for the use of a big boat. It is not something I ever expect to happen again, but with it working out as it did, we will gladly share our footage and images with Lindell for the comforts created. Having done this hunt many times in tents and cabins, the bigger boat solved a lot of logistics we normally face.
As with all hunts, it seems we end up trying out a few new things. On this hunt, two stand out for me.
Nosler suppressor. This was my first time hunting with a suppressor. A couple weeks ago,
@brockel stated that once you hunt with a suppressor you will never hunt without one. I agree. Having a short barrel on the Howa SuperLite makes the suppressor very manageable and it makes a .308 feel like a .223.
Caribou Gear Rifle Shield - It's always raining up there. Except for this trip when it only misted a few mornings. This shield has a large enough muzzle cover to snuggly fit over a suppressor. Easy on, easy off. I've never hunted with one before and I can see it becoming a normal part of my gear in fowl weather.
Big thanks to Jace for his hard work and smiles. He loves this part of Alaska as much as I do, having done an internship up here. He's great with a camera, always smiling, and happy to encourage me to shoot.
Thanks to Jim and Karen for their kind hospitality. They are always inviting me up to hunt with them. I wish I could take them up on more offers, but I suspect they'd tired of me. Jim is a ton of fun to hunt with. All smiles. Being a geologist and hunter who has worked for 30 years on the Tongass, he's a huge fountain of knowledge that adds so much information and intrigue to every hunt. I enjoy it when he comes south and I get to return some of the favors.
I also admire all of Jim's conservation work. He's volunteered for many projects related to bears and blacktail deer. He now does that officially by leading a lot of the Sitka Blacktail efforts on behalf of the Mule Deer Foundation.
Thanks Jim. You're a true friend.
I hope all of you put the Tongass on your trip list. Whether it is fishing, hunting, or just touring, it is a remarkable landscape that is a true treasure. So much to do that I never feel that I do it justice.
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