We enjoyed another wonderful summer here at Munsey’s Bear Camp topped off by beautiful weather. The high temperatures set new records throughout much of Alaska, and while we enjoyed the sunshine, Kodiak suffered a rare drought. Due to the lack of precipitation, water levels dropped in the rivers, preventing salmon in many areas from swimming upstream to spawn. When the hillsides turned brown, we began hoping for rain.

We were thrilled to have Mary Schwarzhans back as our head chef this summer, and as a bonus, her sister, Abby, agreed to return as the all-around camp helper. These two brilliant young women take good care of us!

We began our season on July 6^th with a visit from our dear friend, Cyndi Geisen, and her friend Shirley Symns, both from Kansas. Shirley and Cyndi caught the first pink salmon of the summer, and Cyndi landed a nice halibut. They watched bears on the beach and laughed at the funny sea otters as we cruised past them. On our last afternoon with Shirley and Cyndi, to our surprise, we spotted a mountain goat walking the shoreline.

On July 15^th, we greeted Randy and Geremy Annis from New Hampshire. Geremy and Mike are distant cousins, but they had never met. On their first fishing day, Geremy caught his limit of salmon, and Randy landed four. One afternoon, Geremy spotted a bear on the beach, and we watched it reach up and pull down the limbs of an elderberry bush, gently eating the berries. On another day, the guys hiked into Brown’s Lagoon, where Randy and Geremy each caught his limit of five salmon, and they released six.

On July 20^th, we were happy to welcome back Bud Coughlin and Diane Fantini from Pennsylvania, and Joanna and Yocasta Hudson from Delaware. New members of the group were Terri McCue and her brother, Sean McCue, both from Pennsylvania. Yocasta wasted no time. On the first day, he caught a 40-lb. halibut and joined our halibut club. Two days in a row in Brown’s Lagoon, everyone in this group caught his or her limit of salmon, and on one day, we enjoyed a grilled salmon lunch on the beach.

We greeted Tom and Janet Kochman from Pennsylvania on July 25^th. Their first morning began rainy and foggy, but the weather steadily improved as their stay progressed. On their last day, they sat in the sunshine and watched a curious bear chase fish and play with a log. The bear walked up to them several times, apparently trying to figure out why they were sitting on her riverbank. Later the same day, they watched another single bear and a sow with two large cubs. The cubs ran through the river chasing fish while mom warily kept an eye on the humans.

On August 3^rd, Kirstie Knittel from Fairbanks, Brigid Verry from New Zealand, and Michael, Sharon, and Jonah Naylor, all from Illinois, arrived for a three-day stay. On their second day of bear viewing, this group watched a curious, young bear tromp through the water chasing fish. When he saw a salmon stranded in the water 30-ft. from the people, he raced, over, grabbed the fish, and chomped down on it while the cameras whirred. The sound of crushing bones impressed everyone. On their last morning, this group enjoyed seeing a huge fin whale.

On August 5^th, we were excited to greet our friends Richard, Vickie, and Alex Coffman, all from Kansas. Curt Kohlberg and Allegra Manacher from Massachusetts joined the Coffmans. This group basked in gorgeous, clear, calm weather their entire stay. On their first day of bear viewing, they watched a large bear catch and eat a fish near them. On the following day, we saw a large pod of Orcas, and several surfaced beside the boat. Halibut fishing instantly hooked Richard and Alex (pun intended). One day, Richard joined our halibut club with a 40 pounder, and Alex caught a 30 pounder.

On August 11^th, we happily welcomed back Terry and Cynthia Douglas from Anchorage. They were joined by Elena and Theresa Kokta from Washington and Diane Basile from Colorado. We enjoyed another week of sunny weather with this group. On a day of bear viewing, everyone gasped when a bear walked out onto the river close to them, and Terry immediately began snapping photos. Awhile later, another bear ran past them chasing salmon. One morning, a pod of orcas greeted us in front of our lodge, and as we idled away from our mooring, the curious whales cruised past the boat, giving us a thrill.

On August 16^th, we greeted Andy Erickson, one of our favorite people. This year, Andy brought his two daughters, Linda Ulrich from Pennsylvania and Beth O’Donnell from Virginia. They were joined by returning guest Gene Dragonoski and his wife, Emma Pyle, from Pennsylvania and John Eaddy from New Zealand. The orcas were still feeding on salmon in front of our lodge when this group arrived, and between the whales and the nearby nest with baby eagles, we didn’t need to go far to see spectacular wildlife. On a day of fishing, everyone caught halibut, including Gene’s 35 pounder and John’s 25 pounder. On another day, this group watched a young bear fish and play in front of them. She caught a salmon, bit down on it, and eggs shot out of the fish.
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On August 21^st, we greeted Kathie and Delana Disner from Colorado, Gail Gullo from California, and Pearon, Jean, and David Lang from South Carolina. This group watched a tolerant, young bear catch salmon and then play with the fish, whipping her head back and forth while she gripped the salmon in her mouth. When she was done with the fish, she’d throw it into the air and look for another one. Later, they saw a large sow catch several fish and take one up onto the bank to eat it. On another day, the same two bears posed for photos, and when the young bear got too close to her, the older bear turned and chased the young bear straight toward this group. For a few seconds, until the bears veered in another direction, everyone worried they were about to be caught in the middle of a bear fight. Each person in this group caught halibut, and Pearon landed three silver salmon, Kathie caught two, and David landed one.

On August 26^th, we welcomed back good friends Dan Robertson from Nevada and Gordy Sexton, Howard Hancock, Gene Fanucchi, John Mendoza, and Mike Saner, all from California. We spent a fun five days aboard the Mary Beth with these guys, fishing for halibut and salmon. Gene caught a 50 pounder on the first afternoon, but unfortunately, it got away when the harpoon line broke. Howard brought a 70 pounder to the boat, but it took one look at us, spit out the hook, and swam away. Despite losing the big ones, the guys caught lots of halibut and 17 silvers. One day on our way to Greenbanks to salmon fish, we passed near a large pod of orcas and watched from a distance as some of the whales breached, spy-hopped, and tail-slapped. Later, while we fished on a beautiful, calm, clear day, fin whales surfaced around us.

On September 5^th, Karin and Tony Ross from Pennsylvania returned to help us finish our summer season in style. This summer, Karin’s parents, Howard and Jane Taylor, joined them for a ten-day stay. Ed Matusik also accompanied the Rosses and Taylors. Ed and his wife, Jean, first visited Munsey’s Bear Camp in 1985 and have been back numerous times. It is always fun to sit and reminisce with Ed about the “old days.” Many things have changed in 35 years, but the scenery remains unparalleled, and the animals plentiful. One day, while this group watched a young bear fish, ten deer suddenly walked out onto the river, and the bear stopped fishing to chase the deer. The deer ran from him, and the bear stopped and looked over his shoulder at the people as if to say, “Did you catch that on video?” This group caught several silver salmon and halibut, and Karin’s 45 pounder landed her solidly in the halibut club. They spent three days sitting on the bank of a small stream watching bears, including several sets of sows and cubs. On their way back to the boat one afternoon, they had trouble walking past one tolerant sow with a single cub, when she wandered out of the woods and slowly meandered down the trail in front of them. One day, when Tony and Ed stayed on the Mary Beth with me to fish, Ed surprised us by catching a small halibut with a seal attached to its tail. The seal quietly came to the surface with the fish, looked at us, and then stole Ed’s halibut and swam away.

The sun shined bright on our last full day of the season, and on the final morning, fin whales surfaced near the Mary Beth, ending our summer on a high point.

This summer was like no other we can remember. While it was sunny and warm most of the summer, smoke from fires on the mainland often filled the air, obscuring visibility. Many of the trees turned brown by mid-August and began dropping their leaves, and several cottonwoods toppled from the lack of water. The absence of rain affected the vegetation, the salmon, and much more. The rise in ocean water temperature could have impacted the marine ecosystem in ways we cannot measure. We hope this summer was an anomaly, and things return to normal next year.

We enjoyed great guests and many laughs aboard the Mary Beth.  Everyone loved Abby’s toilet paper sailboats and swooned over Mary’s cooking. Thank you to all our guests. We appreciate you and hope you will return soon. Thank you, Mary and Abby, for everything you do.

I am excited to announce the release of my fourth novel, Karluk Bones. I also now have a podcast: Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Visit my website at http://robinbarefield.com for more information about my books and podcast, and be sure to read my blog about Kodiak wildlife and living in the wilderness on Kodiak Island.

–Robin