DIY Alaska Bear Hunt. The Plan- Part 1

It was early May in Southeast Alaska. We were on a once-in-a-lifetime black bear hunting trip. I was alone on the beach late in the morning. I had spread my raincoat on the damp grass and backed up against a big log. The combination of the sun beating down on me and being up since 4:00 AM was working on me. I let myself doze off and on, after all, bears are way more active in the early morning and just before dusk. On one of the occasions when I opened my eyes to glance around.... "HEY! THERE'S A BEAR!! Right there, less than 75 yards away was a big black bear. I slowly eased my borrowed rifle, a .375 Magnum, up to my knees and drew a bead, waiting for the perfect shot. The bear stopped broadside to me, facing the water. I thought to myself, "Perfect, I read somewhere that a bear will run in the direction it's facing when it's shot. It should run right to the edge of the bay and die. I can just beach the boat and load it up! Did I mention what an incurable optimist I am?"
I put my crosshairs right behind his shoulder and carefully squeeeeeeezed off a shot. The big gun roared and the bear leapt towards the shore! He took 2 steps in the right direction and then wheeled and headed straight for me! I quickly jacked another shell into the chamber, well, almost, I worked the bolt too fast and got the shell wedged crossways. "GREAT!" My gun was jammed, I'd left my pistol at the cabin and I was stiff from sitting on the ground for 2 hours.
"It's amazing how fast the mind can work. In the few seconds while the bear was charging me, I thought about all that transpired on this trip and wondered how I was going to burrow under this log to keep it from ending badly..............................."
It all started over a pitcher of margaritas one Friday night. The 3 women were at their end of the table catching up on the week's gossip. We men were in our places solving the world's problems and putting a new offensive line in place for the poorly-managed Kansas City Chiefs.
When we had quickly dispatched those two items and figured out how to get the Kansas City Royals to the World Series, I threw out an idea that had been brewing for a couple of days.
"Let's go bear hunting in Alaska!"
Warren had been on a few impromptu short trips with me and made it back unscathed, "Count me in."
Paul was a little more hesitant since he wasn't aware of how qualified I was to plan a trip of this magnitude. "How will we get there? Where will we stay? How much will a guide cost?"
I had already done lots of research ( actually I talked to a guy at Home Depot about a trip he'd taken to Alaska ) so I could easily answer Paul's questions.
"We'll fly to Seattle and change planes, then it's just a short hop to Petersburg, Alaska. From there we'll take a boat across the bay to our cabin. As for the guide, we're just hunting black bears, so Alaska Fish and Game doesn't require a guide.
Paul informed us that he hated flying and hated boats more than he hated flying. We didn't really believe him. "So, you're in, right? Do you know a fourth to bring along?"
Since he was being dragged in, he suggested an old hunting buddy, Gary.
I was put in charge of the investigation since I had started the whole thing.
Within three days I had booked four flights and reserved our cabin, no backing out now!
The following Friday I presented the plan to our adventuresome group....
"May 2 we'll leave Kansas City for the trip of a lifetime! Let's finish the plan!"