Scatter River Cabin

Grizzly Bear Family (Grizzly Bear Wilderness Adventure Vacation)

On August 3rd. 1999, I decided to fly to Scatter River airstrip on my trapline tour and repair the cabin roof. After loading the plane with all the supplies I thought I might require, I left home for the 5 hour plane trip.

Usually when flying into this strip I circle around and check for any bear signs around the cabin or trail from airstrip to cabin. For some reason I forgot this important item on this trip. The weather was so good on this trip all I could think about was getting into the cabin and getting the roof fixed.

After landing I quickly put 2 slugs into my 12-gauge pump, and got my pack ready to travel the 1/2 mile down a steep hill, through the forest to the cabin. To save trips I also tied a new quad battery on the back of my pack. With my camera around my neck, pack on my back, a 30 pound roll of clear plastic over my right shoulder and my shotgun in my left hand I headed down hill.

As I always do on this trip between the airstrip and cabin I was singing as I quickly walked along the trapline trail. Soon the trapline cabin came into sight and I quickly saw the stovepipe was still in its position, meaning no bears had been in the cabin. With my guard slightly down I continued hurrying toward the cabin anxious to get this load off my back. As I came closer I could see the cabin door was closed, leading me to believe there was no bears in the immediate area.

It had been two years since I had been to this trapline cabin and the alders and willows had grown several feet since last there, making it very hard to see the ground around the cabin. Now only 50 ft from the cabin, the only thing on my mind was getting the load off my back.

Suddenly at only 30 feet from the cabin door a full grown Grizzly bear stood up on its hind feet right in front of the cabin door. My reaction, immediately change direction, and as I focused my gaze on the bears middle and started speaking in a low soothing voice. Trying not to alarm the bear or challenge it by making eye contact, I was now walking backward at a steady pace. Suddenly another bear of the same size stood up beside the first one. Still backing up and talking to these bears, a third bear stood up. At less than 50 feet, I now have three adult Grizzlies standing on their hind legs and trying to identify me by moving their heads from side to side and smelling the air.

As I kept backing up the bears went down on all four feet, making it impossible to see them in the willows.  Once again the bears stood up, trying to identify me, however the bears now have backed up 20 feet. Again they go down on all fours and this time I caught a glimpse of them heading toward my left, as they go behind the cabin and into the forest.

All this time I have not had time to get any of the weight off my back and I rush toward the cabin dropping everything except my shot gun. At the cabin I quickly picked up a bar and started beating on the bottom of an empty 45 gallon drum. That’s the last time I saw those bears, however I sure kept my eyes open for the rest of that trip.

After I had time to think about this encounter, I quickly decided to take the plug out of my shotgun so as to be able to load 5 shells instead of the 2 that I had. I was happy to be on the roof fixing it while keeping an ever present look out for those Grizzlies.

Those bears had dug a hole in the ground right at the door, and it was filled with water from the previous nights rain. Due to the very warm weather during the day the bears had been laying in that hole, keeping cool.

This is one bear encounter I will never forget and it sure helps to keep my attention focused on what is around me when traveling in the bush.

Trapper Ken