Oh, yes - I owe a Brent a beer or three for suggesting the outfitter - absolutely tops.
Brent - can you believe we did not have any bugs, plus weather ranged from freezing to sunburn heat. Lots of high winds but not a lot of rain, hunted every day we wanted to. Basic plan was for the big furry guys to come to us, and they did. Nothing like two huge brown bears charging at your camp while you are minding your own business eating breakfast to get a person slightly revved-up. A few tense moments, guess that was really why I wanted to experience meeting the bear.
Lots of personal firsts for my wildife viewing list - sea otters, sea lions, seals, hump-back whales, killer whales, salmon sharks, brownies - plus dined on fresh caught halibut, rockfish (?) and the ultimate - fresh Copper River King Salmon (more like beef filet than salmon!).
Transportation included Zodiac C-4's (one had a new 55 Evenrude on it, that is a fast means of transportation...) and Cessna 206's, plus a very nice 19' aluminum boat with a cabin that kept me dry during a bit of a rough ride back to Cordova.
Can vouch for a bunch of camping equipment, particularly the new Brunton solar gear and their mini-stove and lantern. We used the newest Cabelas Alaskan outfitter tents and they were excellent in the high winds. Slept on those big cots that Cabelas sells, again they made for real comfort and mine has an organizer along the front to keep about a bazillion things in their place. Everyone wore the same hip-boots - Cabelas bog-busters seem to be the preferred model in the camps I was in. Rain gear was used but not as much as I expected. Mostly temps in the mid 50's and lots of winds out of the south. Scopes on the rifles that took the brownies were Nikons, a Monarch Gold low-powered variable and my 2.5-10 tactical. Binocs ranged from Bruntons, Zeiss, Leicas, Cabelas and Nikons. Spotting scopes were Swarovski, Nikon and Leupold. Guides rifles had Leupold and Swarovski scopes, both M-70's. These guys do not like Remingtons for dangerous game hunting - there were two in camp (375 Ultramags) and both jammed badly. New rifles and the hunters were not happy.
Super impressed with the skill of the two pilots that we flew with - superb flyers and real fine guys. Terry and his son Jarod from Cordova Air. I have flown with a lot of bush-pilots and these guys are tops. Wonderful aircraft, totally confident when with these guys.
Anybody staying in Cordoba should check out King's Chambers B&B, again a super comfortable place to overnight or stay a while.
Len, do not know if you have ever visited Cordoba but if not you better plan on doing that. Photographers mecca. Bald eagles will almost pose in flight for you, sea otters very close to shore, about every shorebird that walks the earth. Plus a couple of great roads to explore and photo from, saw some nice moose and bears are common. Glaciers are also right there, big suckers.
Got the gear put away and now its back to the grind. Got to get some writing and shooting done.
