Back from 3 weeks on land

[trimixdvr]

Well since my cruise was cancelled (empress) we decided to go anyway. 3 week independent....gotta say I wouldnt have changed a thing. Spent time in homer, seward, anchorage, talkeetna, brooks, hallo bay, juneau and ketchican...loved it. Working on my albums but got a few pics up, at 500+ pics daily it'll take awhile...already working on next year's plans...

 

 

pics

 

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb311/trimixdvr

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that your cruise was cancelled but glad you made the most of it and spent 3 wonderful weeks in Alaska.

[cvschmitt]

Great pictures!! Glad it all worked out for you. Sometimes the things that happen spontaneously are the best.

[Cruisin' granny]

We leave in 30 days for our self-guided land tour before cruising southward. Will you post a summary of your trip?

[photodoodle]

I just starting looking at the pictures and I'm blown away. Great photos. You or your friend were awfully close to those bears at Hallo Bay...

The photo of the wolf or fox, hb4 is damaged at the bottom, fyi.

[photodoodle]

What camera and lenses were you using?

[trimixdvr]

Thanks, I'm still learning..thats me in hallo bay, camera was a d80 70-200 lens...

[photodoodle]

Thanks, I'm still learning..thats me in hallo bay, camera was a d80 70-200 lens...

Well your photos are fantastic. Did you have an extender or was 200 mm enough for those bear shots? If so, you really were close! Glad you are home safe!

 

I'm going to Anan bear observatory next week, but I don't think it will be anything like this. I hope to do a self guided trip similar to yours in the future. I'm looking forward to your review. I'd love to learn what worked, and what you'll differently next year.

 

I love your shots. Bravo.

[cruisin2alaska]

Excellent pics! Glad to see the D80 performed well for you. I'm taking the same camera, but the 70-300 VR lenses.

 

Definitely looking forward to the trip!

[coder01]

Wow, really great photos!:) Looking forward to reading your trip report.

[greatam]

I just starting looking at the pictures and I'm blown away. Great photos. You or your friend were awfully close to those bears at Hallo Bay...

The photo of the wolf or fox, hb4 is damaged at the bottom, fyi.

 

At Hallo Bay, you are frequently less than 100 feet from the bears. We spent well over 1/2 hour less than 40 feet from from 2 4 yo females playing on the beach. The bears actually bed down in the camp at night. First lesson in "bear school"-look outside your tent BEFORE you wander about". And Andy, the pilot, often has to "buzz" the beach at South Hallo to get the bears to move so he can land. When you land, the bears are still there.

 

A couple years ago, Brad and his group were less than 12 feet from a large boar.

 

The bears of Hallo Bay are not threatened by the people and have plenty to eat. And the guides are VERY good.

[RCCLismyfav]

Very nice Pictures and looking forward to reading your review.

[Alaska05]

Fantastic photos!

 

I really enjoyed looking at them since we've never gone to any of these areas on our previous cruises.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[bluedaisy]

Those are amazing pictures! Is that a specific excursion? Where in Alyeska is that? I"ll be in Alyeska in August and am not really sure what to do there. I look forward to see your trip review. :)

[JohnQ]

Trimixdvr,

Nice photos. So the bears were still in the meadows and not down at the streams fishing? Too early? Were these the same couple of bears or different groups? We were there a couple of years ago on July 31st and they were primarily down along the water fishing all day. We were actually about 15ft away on one or two occasions as the bears walked past us.

[trimixdvr]

the bear we found on our own hiking. The glaciers ect was a helo landing tour through the resort...book early, I would also recomend reservations at 7 glaciers for a dinner...best meal I've had..period. There are some very nice trails in girdwood and if you have a car we found several nice hikes just up the road abit.

[trimixdvr]

Trimixdvr,

Nice photos. So the bears were still in the meadows and not down at the streams fishing? Too early? Were these the same couple of bears or different groups? We were there a couple of years ago on July 31st and they were primarily down along the water fishing all day. We were actually about 15ft away on one or two occasions as the bears walked past us.

 

the fish were not running to much at hallo, saw a few here and there but not allot. There were roughly 30 bears in the meadow with us. The pics are a very small sample of what I have ,just going to take awhile to resize and post allot of them...we spent the majority of the day within 30' or so of most of them, had one young male that followed us around and laid down 10-15" from us for along time...great trip. Brooks was real nice no people, the fish were just building enough to draw in the bears, fishing was great and had some of the best encounters in waders with a pole...go figure. Spent a week there.

[JohnQ]

Wow, great experience. Next time, we will have to decide on Hallo Bay again or Brooks Falls. I really like the meadow photos for the color.

[EnidSooner]

Trimixdvr - Awesome photos! Would you be so kind as to outline your trip and who you used? I'm crusing in a couple of weeks with the wife but I'd love to take my hiking buds into the country you were walking.

 

Did you do any diving while you were there?

[trimixdvr]

Trimixdvr - Awesome photos! Would you be so kind as to outline your trip and who you used? I'm crusing in a couple of weeks with the wife but I'd love to take my hiking buds into the country you were walking.

 

Did you do any diving while you were there?

 

Tell me where you are going to be and I can give you some of the trails we did...the hallo bay trip was done with emerald air out of homer..2 days over there. But have some nice hikes around homer, talkeetna, seward and the like...Juneau has perserverence trail which is a very nice trail.

 

did 3 days of diving, kodiak and juneau areas...did a couple deep wrecks and 6 or 7 shallower dives....very nice dives, pretty good vis.

[EnidSooner]

My trip in August is planned and pretty full. Talkeetna and Juneau are possibilities. I have a group of old HS buds that goes each year at least once if not twice on a camp/dayhikes/backpack, 11 years running. AT, Tetons, Glacier, RMNP and the like. I'm the only diver of the bunch.

 

It sounds like Brooks and Hallo Bay were great places. How did you get there, who did you book with, any tips besides the 7 Galciers and Emerald Air? Assume this all occured in early June.

[NancyIL]

I'm glad your land trip, rather then land + cruise, went so well. While I loved our cruise, I think I preferred the land trip afterwards a bit more.