DIY Alaska Bear Hunt- The Boat Ride- Part 4

The conversation at Tongass Marine about the rough water and windy conditions didn't faze me a bit. After all, I had boated in thunderstorms at Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri without any problems. Still, I didn't mention any of this to Paul, Gary or Warren. No need to concern them with minor details. Ben did offer us a VHF radio to carry in case we needed help sometime during the week. He tuned it to the Coast Guard channel. " If you're in desperate trouble just turn this on and key the mike until someone answers. They can come rescue you. Be forewarned, though, the Coast Guard charges for rescues and it won't be cheap!" I zipped the radio in my coat pocket, "We won't need it but it's here."
Ben gave me detailed directions to Portage Bay, " Turn left when you reach the ocean ( Frederick Sound ) and stay near the left bank until you see two islands with the mouth of a bay on your left. That's Portage Islands and Portage Bay. It should take a little over an hour. Good Luck!"
We grabbed our tide charts and headed down to the pier, leaving Warren behind as planned to take the float plane. We asked Paul if he wanted to fly in, too, but after seeing the size of the plane he decided to take his chances in the boat. It was an 18' Lund aluminum boat with a 50 horsepower outboard motor and a 10 horsepower trolling motor. We carried 24 gallons of boat gas and 5 gallons of diesel fuel for the cabin heater. After stowing our gear, we all put on our rain gear and life vests and began the trip to our beach front home for the next week. WE'RE OFF!
Gary rode up front with the gear and Paul took the rear seat. I was where I wanted to be, at the helm in the middle. We motored slowly the first mile or so until we cleared the no-wake buoys. Then I opened her up! We were cruising along at about 20 mph or better for 20 or 30 minutes, smooth sailing!
The wind kicked up a little in our faces, the water got a little choppy and the refreshing salt water was spraying us pretty good. I moved Gary to the back with Paul to get the bow up a little and throttled back a ways. This worked for a while until the wind got stronger and the swells got bigger, they were 2-3 feet high by now. I slowed down more but the farther we went the bigger the swells got. I turned to check on Paul and Gary, they were both hunched over holding on to the seat. I think they were trying to stay dry but I hoped they were praying, too. I was not quite so confident as I'd been earlier. I felt in my pocket for the VHF radio, it was still there.
As we continued on our way, a big aluminum boat came alongside going in the opposite direction. A man came out from inside his enclosed cabin and yelled to us, "It's pretty bad up ahead towards Portage Bay. You guys should turn back." I replied, " Thanks, but we're OK and besides our buddy flew over a while ago and is waiting for us at the Portage Bay cabin." He went back to his protected boat and took off and we slogged on ahead. I tried to stay about 100 feet offshore, far enough out so we wouldn't run aground on any rocks but close enough that we could probably swim to safety.
As the swells reached 6 feet or more, I was reminded of a scene from "The Perfect Storm". Just like George Clooney's boat would point skyward and then crash down into the troughs between the waves, we were doing the same thing. I would gun the engine a little to go up the waves and let off as we fell over the crest. We had a good rhythm going, gas it then back off, gas it then back off. I finally saw the two islands off in the distance and hollered back to Gary and Paul. They really perked up at the thought of stepping out the boat instead of capsizing!
Just when the mouth of the bay came into view and we really believed that we weren't going for a swim, THE BOAT DIED! "GARY, PAUL, WE'RE OUT OF GAS! SWITCH THE TANKS! HURRY! SQUEEZE THE BULB"
This was the first time I'd really felt out of control. The boat turned sideways to the waves, floundering helplessly, rolling side to side. They finally got the new tank hooked up and primed. I cranked the motor and it roared to life! After just a few more minutes, we could catch glimpses of Warren standing on the beach waving. I don't know who was happier, him or us. When they'd flown over earlier, the pilot told him that those guys in the boat were in big trouble. The pilot's words kept coming back to him as he sat on the beach. "Great," he thought, " they're going to drown and I'll be stuck here without even a gun."
After spending almost 3 hours making the 1 hour trip to Portage Bay, we pulled into the calm water and beached the boat. WHEW! We were sure glad to be on dry ground.
We still had to go about a mile into the bay to our cabin so we loaded everything Warren had taken on the float plane into the boat and cautiously made our way farther into the bay. We were really loaded down now and ran aground as we approached the cabin. Gary and I were already soaked to the skin so we jumped out to pull and push the boat towards the beach. I was up front in knee deep water. As we moved the boat along, I stepped off in a hole clear up to my shoulders! Seeing me go down, Gary moved like lightning, leaping back into the boat! After all, we were floating now, he didn't need to push any more! I was all right and I don't think I could have gotten any wetter anyway.
We beached the boat one more time and carried all the gear to the cabin, where we immediately fired the diesel stove as hot as we could. WHAT A DAY!

DIY Alaska Bear Hunt. Getting There- Chapter 3

The months dragged by as we prepared and gathered equipment for the trip. I searched the internet for tips on hunting spring black bear and what to expect from the weather in Southeast in early May. We made the requisite trips to Dick's and Cabelas, buying raingear and the most important single item, a water purifier ( you'd think the snow melt water would be fine to drink but everything I read said to boil or purify your water ).
The day finally came and we headed for the Kansas City airport. Check-in was largely uneventful. (Note to air traveling hunters... "I will be checking firearms" creates less of a stir than "I have a gun in my suitcase.")
The flight on Southwest from KC to Seattle was pretty smooth so Paul was happy ( he really does hate to fly!)
Since there is only one flight a day from Seattle to Petersburg, we spent the night and headed for the airport early the next morning. Check-in was very easy, apparently, lots of people check firearms on Alaska Airlines. The flight itself was more interesting, though, Seattle to Juneau to Ketchikan to Petersburg with a plane change in between and the planes got smaller. We found out that Paul hates taking off and landing more than the actual flying itself. Nevertheless, we arrived safely.
Once in Petersburg, we checked in with Pacific Wing, our float plane charter service, borrowed an old van from them, and headed into town. We bought groceries and supplies for the week, working from a quickly scribbled list. High on my wish list was a package of Baby Wipes. I took a ribbing for that, but I knew that by the third or fourth day without a good washing, I'd have to share.
With all the groceries bought and hunting and fishing licenses in hand, we headed off to Tongass Marine to get our rented boat. Ben, the owner , was very helpful in all ways. He told us where we could most likely catch some fish close to our cabin. When I told him which cabin we were staying in, he strongly suggested that we try to change " You don't want to stay in that dump! There's a better place in the same bay."
I quickly got on the phone and tried to change cabins. It's not like changing rooms in a hotel but I got it done. We'd have to stay in Portage 1 for one night and move to Portage 2 the second day. Just like changing flights, I had to pay a change fee and the cabin cost $10 more per day.
As I was finishing up the rental transaction, a Petersburg resident that happened to be in the store asked where we were going. When I replied that we were going to Portage Bay he casually remarked that we might ought to wait until the next morning, "It's supposed to get a little windy this afternoon."
"We can't do that,"I replied," we're only here for a week. We're going to be on the Inside Passage, how bad could it be?"

DIY Alaska Bear Hunt. Mark Reports In- Part 2

I continued my research and called a meeting of the minds to bring everyone up to date.
Warren, Paul and I were the only ones to attend. Gary was the one true adventuresome soul, content to stake his life, for 8 days anyway, on the decisions of Paul and 2 guys he'd never met.
Following the advice of Dave ( my Alaska expert from Home Depot ), I contacted Reserve America for a list of cabins in the area we were considering hunting. The US Forest Service owns cabins all around the USA available to rent for 1 day to 1 week.
"Okay, here's what I've found so far.
My first choices as recommended by Dave were not available so I expanded my search around Petersburg. This led me to a cabin in Portage Bay. It has 4 bunks, a stove and an outhouse. It's located in a protected bay at the base of Kupreanof mountain. We'll rent the boat from Tongass Marine and get all our groceries for the week and haul them in."
Warren "Since I don't hunt, I'm going to buy a new camera and be the designated photographer. I'd like to fly in to the cabin so I can take some aerial pictures."
Paul " How will we keep our food cold for the week?"
Mark " We don't really know what the weather will be like in early May, it can be comparable to the Midwest. We can expect lots of rain and temperatures from 25F to 55F. I think we can take 1 day's worth of perishable food and whatever nonperishable items we need for the week. We can fish anywhere and get small game hunting licenses. Practically any small game is in season while we're there so we should eat like kings!"
I told a good friend, C.C., that I was going bear hunting in Alaska and his response was predictable...." What are you shooting? "
"I'll take my 30/06. I've been shooting it for over 20 years and I'm comfortable with it."
" Are you CRAZY ! That's too small. I have a 375 H&H magnum. You can take it."
I knew better than to argue with him so I thanked him and agreed to use it. It was sure big enough to stop a black bear!