Booked twice with Above and Beyond Alaska. Company is excellent: organized, prompt, friendly, and professional.
My first trip was kayaking with whales, which was AMAZING!!! (I left a review.)
This bear trip was Ok. That is based on my expectations, and how the day played out. Of course, animals are unpredictable.
This was a kayak trip, too, but I learned when I artived that day that kayaking was cancelled. Heard a couple reasons why, though still unsure. I conveyed that such info should have been provided much sooner.
Met at their location, geared up, and headed to the float plane. Kristan, pleasant, personable and knowledgeable, was our fearless leader, another member, Mallory, joining us.
First time on a tiny float plane, the ride was pretty cool. Flight about 25 minutes. Arrived on Admiralty Island. As everywhere in Alaska the scenery is stunning. A short hike to Pack Creek. There is a viewing area, with some logs to sit. Either a park ranger or someone from fish and wildlife there to make sure humans behave, and not lure the bears closer with peanut butter.
Across the way, bears. No fence or barrier. We saw a mom and 2 cubs, each initially napping. An older female also arrived and caught a salmon, so saw her in action. The other 3 bears ultimately awoke, stirring a bit. Possibly a fifth bear far down the creek, but by then it could have been the older female, as grass is high and she could have made her way there. (Some thought it a male. Dunno.)
We returned to the beach to lunch, then a 3 mile roundtrip, ankle-breaking (lots of rocks, roots, branches) moderate hike to another creek with a twenty foot viewing platform. Great view. No bears.
My expectations were different and probably unrealistic, expecting to see active bears fairly up close, and maybe wrestling one :-) At Pack Creek the mother and cubs were at least 100 yards away, the older female a bit closer when fishing for salmon. At the other creek with the tower, if Yogi and Boo Boo strolled by they would be closer. Unfortunately, they were prowling another area for picnic baskets that day.
At other places such as Brooks Falls and Lake Clark, bears can stroll right by folks (insert frightened emoji). That is more of what I expected.
Depending upon what is important for guests, many may find this trip a treat overall. Wasn’t quite the adventure for me, and of course it is very pricey.
Réponse de l'hôte
Sep 2021
Thank you Greg for taking the time to write a review. We appreciate you leaving this feedback and providing us an opportunity to respond. We apologize that this tour did not meet your expectations.
The kayak portion of this tour was cancelled due to weather. The forecast for this date was calling for deteriorating marine conditions. The time that would have been spent kayaking was replaced with additional bear viewing time at Pack Creek. We assess weather on every trip and this weather decision was made the day prior to the tour, all guests received the notification. Safety is our number one priority with our company.
We are happy to hear you enjoyed the scenery and the floatplane experience. Pack Creek Brown Bear Sanctuary is a regulated bear viewing area and the Forest Service only allows a limited number of visitors per day. There are designated viewing platforms in the sanctuary in order to limit our impact and presence while in their habitat. Most of the bear viewing happens from the safety of the viewing areas, at a distance. However, on occasion we can get closer views of bears while we are walking along the beach or on the trail to the viewing tower. All visitors entering Pack Creek have to follow these same guidelines. Based on your description of how many bears you saw, it sounds like that was a great day in Pack Creek. Wildlife is unpredictable and it is an amazing day when you see 5 bears, especially a mom and her cubs.
Thank you for joining us for this adventure and our Paddle with Whales Kayaking Adventure. Please know that your feedback is of tremendous value as we continue to strive to offer customer service and wilderness adventures of the highest quality and caliber. Please feel free to get in touch with any other questions, comments or concerns. Thanks again for coming out with us and we hope you had a wonderful time in Juneau.