Katmai: Brooks Camp

Our rustic cabin for 4

View through front door over to lake where Murray saw first bear

View from our cabin looking to the left

click on photo to see snow covered mountains to the rear

View from our cabin looking to the right (see bear poop on trail)

View returning to the lodge from the river (beach & bay to the right)

Interior of our cabin showing toilet/sink. Shower is across the room

View of buffet area

Fireplace with views out to lake - wonderful sitting here of an evening with a glass of red sharing stories with others

Beach in front of lodge. Note bear with cub in background

Close-up of sow & cub seen in distance in previous photo

First bridge and platform you come to from the lodge - the fish were always jumping in this river

Trail to get to the platform - bears have paths that criss-cross here

Bear paths...

Upper falls walkway and platform - one big bear is there

Everyone busily taking photos - non-stop clicking

Especially when they caught these two bears mating across the river...

Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park was initially set up as a fly-in camp for anglers. They stayed in tents and fished salmon in the summer months. The owners soon realised the potential for attracting other visitors to see the bears and the Valley of 10,000 Smokes (see separate blogs) and so in the early 1960's they erected rustic cabins. Now they have both a campground & cabins for visitors, plus a lodge with dining hall, log fire lounge & bar. The cabins house 60 guests and the campground holds 60 tenters. The campground is booked out within hours of bookings opening in January. It is $9 pp/night for a tent site. We booked our cabin 18 months in advance. The cabins can be single, double or shared by 4 people. I believe they all hold bunk beds. No honeymoon suites here. The cabins have maintained their rustic appearance and they are definitely 'no frills'. In our cabin were 4 bunks, a toilet with no separate light, a shower with just a plastic curtain, and a heater. The beds were made up with sheets and a cotton cover, with a single, thin (like an old army blanket) folded on top. Towels were provided. No food or drink of any sort was allowed in the cabins - not even muesli bars, nuts, coffee or soda drinks. Only water. All food was to be consumed in the main lodge area. This is to minimise any temptation for the grizzly bears to forage in the cabins. The meals are all buffet style, with complimentary coffee/tea available all day. The meals are a set price, and are not included in the steep accommodation price. We were all so overwhelmed with our continuous & amazing bear experiences, that everything else (such as the rustic, shared cabin and expensive meals) sort of seemed insignificant.

The lodge has a set of trails in and around it that the bears regularly use, so you have to be alert for bears at all times; even when walking to meals. Rangers are at strategic lookout points along the trail and around the lodge from 7.30am until 7.30pm each evening, and they monitor bear & people movements to prevent any unexpected confrontations. The bears always have the right of way, so when a bear is moving into the lodge area, the visitors are asked to back away until the bear has passed. Obviously if a bear decides to take a nap right in the main thoroughfare of the lodge precinct, I am sure the rangers would coax it away.

Most of the bear activity occurs around the water areas - the river, the lakes and the waterfall. As soon as you leave the main lodge area you cross a sway bridge and immediately on arriving at the opposite bank, there is a viewing platform. All the bridges & platforms have heavy gates to keep the people safe from the bears. Once you cross the bridge and pass the first platform area, there is a short walk before the start of the 0.6 mile trail through the bush to the main attraction: the Falls, where there are two platforms. One is called the lower falls, where, after you register your name, you wait at this location until there is enough room on the best viewing spot, the upper falls platform. Once you arrive at the upper falls, you can only stay one hour watching the bears, to allow others to have a chance. If you are lucky and there aren't too many folk around, you can stay as long as you like. Also, the rangers are off duty at 7.30pm, so you are on your own and can stay until they lock the area at 10pm. Remember it is still broad daylight until midnight, so no need for flashlights/torches.

However, walking along the bush trail is better done with a small group for safety. Murray & Eric had gone out early to see the bears on the last day, and Marie & I headed out an hour later. We hoped to meet up with others on the way, but no one else was around at that time, so we kept going. We were on our own, but had our bear bells with us, and we kept them moving so that our noise alerted the bears of our presence so we didn't startle them. Most deaths caused by bears are the result of surprising a bear, who then simply defends their territory or their cubs. We walked briskly and kept looking all around us, when all of a sudden Marie noticed a large bear moving in front and to the left of us. We started slowly backing back as advised, and then it seemed the bear was heading on the trail straight for us. Our mouths were dry and our hearts were hammering in our chests. Thankfully right at that point a guy on his own came up behind us, so we felt a bit better that there were 3 of us, but we were still slowly retreating. Finally the bear veered to its left and headed through the trees to the river which was on our right. Phew! We were very, very glad to reach the gate and enter into the platform area. Apparently Marie & Eric had a similar experience the day before. After her two scary encounters, she was so thrilled to get out unscathed, that in gratitude, she bought a bottle of champagne to have with our dinner tonight. We will celebrate surviving our bear adventure!

Our time at Katmai with the bears will be fondly remembered for as long as we have our mental faculties. It really is a trip worth saving up for, and I daresay it will remain one of the most amazing experiences of my lifetime - up there with having my 3 beautiful children!