Hallo Bay
As I sit here in the dark noticing the snow, and now the outline of spruce trees, I am trying to write about Hallo bay without trashing the Park Service. They really mean well and some of the volunteers and interpretive rangers are the very best but some of the managers from outside seem both fearful and passive aggressive; they haven’t a clue about Alaska. In addition, put a gun on the hip of an enforcement ranger and he starts to strut with his hand on the holster. There was once an elevated cache near the shore at Hallo Bay. Photographers would share it as a retreat of last resort while hanging out with their cameras. The Park people came along and put a lock on it and a keep off sign. They burned the crab pots of one of the commercial fishermen and they outlawed the tie-down rope and anchor used by one of the air operators. I guess we should not complain, in Alaska they out number the rest of us. The parks are a wonderful thing, but if managed by exclusion who are they for?
What really irks, is the arbitrary administrative extension of park authority into the inter tidal zone and shoreline of lakes. In addition, even more the requirement that we keep their collections and accounting for passenger visitors while we pay through the nose for the privilege of doing so. So there, I can get it off my chest in a blog what I cannot write in a book or magazine.
22 Hallo Bay
Hallo Bay was one of our main bear-viewing destinations on the Katmai Coast, the Alaska side of the Shelikof Strait across from Kodiak Island. This was about an hour and twelve minutes from Homer across open water. The Katmai Coast is part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, but totally unpopulated, and visited only occasionally by guys like us. There is a large Brown Bear population feeding on the shore grass that extends between the mountain slopes and the shoreline. A large island and the contour of the shore shelter the bay. Two streams with small slews afford tide dependent sheltered landing for a floatplane. This destination belongs to the high-end wildlife photographers. Camping here usually calls for an electric perimeter, special tents and a bit of caution. The young bear want to play, the female will try to keep her cubs at a distance, but at night the old boar becomes dangerous. Bear-proof containers keep the smell of food to a minimum, a prudent requirement; prepared foods too minimize the olfactory footprint, self-heating meals with zip locked bags for disposal work well. Avoid the smell of food on clothing sleeping bag and tent. For this reason Hallo Bay favored the day trip with refreshments only on the aircraft. Passengers cold walk the shoreline and streams for a few hours and return to Homer. The occasional charter dropped off professional photographers, well equipped for a week of camping with a perimeter and other safeguards. The tide is not as extreme in Hallo Bay as in the Cook Inlet but still enough that trips were tide dependent both for tying to a log on shoreline and for landing in the tidal pools and streams.
Hallo Bay as part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve lies far from the Park Service Station at Brooks. Park Rangers visit the Katmai coast only occasionally. The desolation strikes you immediately as does the number of Bears. Here the sable coloring and silver collar of the Kodiak bear seems more in evidence. Some strong swimmer may have ventured across the Shelikof Strait. The larger Kodiak bear differs a bit genetically from the Brown bear of the Alaskan Peninsula. This area once provided for a great population of native Aleuts. The smallpox epidemic decimated the population until none were left. If you overlook the fierce winter storms and occasional strong winds, this coastline feels warm and pastoral. It looks like the best possible ranchland with a backdrop of mountains, glaciers and meandering streams. Today this land belongs to the wolves, sheep, goats and many Brown Bear. Surprisingly the sheep and bear graze in the same field interspersed and not widely separated. One might suppose the bear knows he can’t catch the sheep, so he does not try, but it seems a curiosity. Bear-viewing here requires a circumspect attitude. Some have wandered up the hillside and up the streams, rewarded by many opportunities to photograph wild life up close. A calculated risk, assuredly but with caution and bear country behavior a rewarding experience.
After the sun goes down, however, it becomes a different matter. “What’s for supper?” Don’t look around. The electric perimeter and reinforced tent are minimum precautions. For the hiker it would be a good idea to move well out of the costal concentration of bears and even then, you may have visitors at night. Camp well away from bear trails and salmon streams. Hiking the Alaskan bush becomes a challenge for almost everyone. The thick Alder and deep soft tundra make walking difficult. You will likely share the abundant bear trails. The volcanic hillsides above tree line feel a bit easier. Native trails from long ago may run along ridgelines; these can often be seen from the air. They do not appear on the map.
Safety considerations prohibit Bear spray on the aircraft and the Park Service outlaws guns in the Park. The bear spray can be carried in the float lockers safely and the survival kit always contained a gun. Some prefer railroad flares and they may be the most effective.
Hallow Bay can be accessed by floatplane, fishing trawler or beach landing. Our service supplied the trawler, Watters in Hallo Bay on many occasions. A passenger could live in comfort onboard with trips to shore in the skiff for bear ventures. Flying in and out, there would often be a passenger both ways, with groceries in, and we could always carry the garbage out on the way home. The trawler provides good food, good coffee and a safe bunk.
The beach landing, though done often by part 91 pilots, did not seem safe. Even the slightest prop damage from rocks, landing or taking off would constitute extreme danger during the long flight over water. Besides a catastrophic prop failure, a damaged landing gear or blown tier may leave you stranded on a very isolated shoreline. The prudent pilot on wheels would hug the shoreline and fly high enough over water to reach shore. For Hallo Bay, that is a long way around and the low ceiling may preclude a high enough altitude. The big floats over open water provide a much higher margin of safety.
From Cape Douglas south to Katmai Bay lies, some of the most beautiful land in Alaska swept by storm but warmed by the sun in summer with wild iris growing along the river.
© Copyright 2005
What really irks, is the arbitrary administrative extension of park authority into the inter tidal zone and shoreline of lakes. In addition, even more the requirement that we keep their collections and accounting for passenger visitors while we pay through the nose for the privilege of doing so. So there, I can get it off my chest in a blog what I cannot write in a book or magazine.
22 Hallo Bay
Hallo Bay was one of our main bear-viewing destinations on the Katmai Coast, the Alaska side of the Shelikof Strait across from Kodiak Island. This was about an hour and twelve minutes from Homer across open water. The Katmai Coast is part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, but totally unpopulated, and visited only occasionally by guys like us. There is a large Brown Bear population feeding on the shore grass that extends between the mountain slopes and the shoreline. A large island and the contour of the shore shelter the bay. Two streams with small slews afford tide dependent sheltered landing for a floatplane. This destination belongs to the high-end wildlife photographers. Camping here usually calls for an electric perimeter, special tents and a bit of caution. The young bear want to play, the female will try to keep her cubs at a distance, but at night the old boar becomes dangerous. Bear-proof containers keep the smell of food to a minimum, a prudent requirement; prepared foods too minimize the olfactory footprint, self-heating meals with zip locked bags for disposal work well. Avoid the smell of food on clothing sleeping bag and tent. For this reason Hallo Bay favored the day trip with refreshments only on the aircraft. Passengers cold walk the shoreline and streams for a few hours and return to Homer. The occasional charter dropped off professional photographers, well equipped for a week of camping with a perimeter and other safeguards. The tide is not as extreme in Hallo Bay as in the Cook Inlet but still enough that trips were tide dependent both for tying to a log on shoreline and for landing in the tidal pools and streams.
Hallo Bay as part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve lies far from the Park Service Station at Brooks. Park Rangers visit the Katmai coast only occasionally. The desolation strikes you immediately as does the number of Bears. Here the sable coloring and silver collar of the Kodiak bear seems more in evidence. Some strong swimmer may have ventured across the Shelikof Strait. The larger Kodiak bear differs a bit genetically from the Brown bear of the Alaskan Peninsula. This area once provided for a great population of native Aleuts. The smallpox epidemic decimated the population until none were left. If you overlook the fierce winter storms and occasional strong winds, this coastline feels warm and pastoral. It looks like the best possible ranchland with a backdrop of mountains, glaciers and meandering streams. Today this land belongs to the wolves, sheep, goats and many Brown Bear. Surprisingly the sheep and bear graze in the same field interspersed and not widely separated. One might suppose the bear knows he can’t catch the sheep, so he does not try, but it seems a curiosity. Bear-viewing here requires a circumspect attitude. Some have wandered up the hillside and up the streams, rewarded by many opportunities to photograph wild life up close. A calculated risk, assuredly but with caution and bear country behavior a rewarding experience.
After the sun goes down, however, it becomes a different matter. “What’s for supper?” Don’t look around. The electric perimeter and reinforced tent are minimum precautions. For the hiker it would be a good idea to move well out of the costal concentration of bears and even then, you may have visitors at night. Camp well away from bear trails and salmon streams. Hiking the Alaskan bush becomes a challenge for almost everyone. The thick Alder and deep soft tundra make walking difficult. You will likely share the abundant bear trails. The volcanic hillsides above tree line feel a bit easier. Native trails from long ago may run along ridgelines; these can often be seen from the air. They do not appear on the map.
Safety considerations prohibit Bear spray on the aircraft and the Park Service outlaws guns in the Park. The bear spray can be carried in the float lockers safely and the survival kit always contained a gun. Some prefer railroad flares and they may be the most effective.
Hallow Bay can be accessed by floatplane, fishing trawler or beach landing. Our service supplied the trawler, Watters in Hallo Bay on many occasions. A passenger could live in comfort onboard with trips to shore in the skiff for bear ventures. Flying in and out, there would often be a passenger both ways, with groceries in, and we could always carry the garbage out on the way home. The trawler provides good food, good coffee and a safe bunk.
The beach landing, though done often by part 91 pilots, did not seem safe. Even the slightest prop damage from rocks, landing or taking off would constitute extreme danger during the long flight over water. Besides a catastrophic prop failure, a damaged landing gear or blown tier may leave you stranded on a very isolated shoreline. The prudent pilot on wheels would hug the shoreline and fly high enough over water to reach shore. For Hallo Bay, that is a long way around and the low ceiling may preclude a high enough altitude. The big floats over open water provide a much higher margin of safety.
From Cape Douglas south to Katmai Bay lies, some of the most beautiful land in Alaska swept by storm but warmed by the sun in summer with wild iris growing along the river.
© Copyright 2005
posted by Clancy Hughes | 3/05/2005 11:28:00 AM
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