I lost, and found myself in Alaska

Living the Dream 

2016 was going to be my year that would kill the jinx of 6 years of no traveling. I had a number of places to choose from. My friends had invited me to Greece, Croatia and Eastern Europe. The usual romantic getaways, tourist destinations, blah blah… nothing excited me. 

6 months into the New Year, I began to succumb to the idea that 2016 will not be any different. Then one fine day, an early morning message on May 12, 2016 from my friend Nikhil Nagle set the ball rolling. 
“ You have 30 seconds to say yes or no, do you want to accompany me to Alaska to film the Grizzlies while they feast on salmons?” In those 30 seconds I could just imagine my favourite actor, Leonardo Di Caprio being brutally attacked by a grizzly bear in the film, ‘The Revenant.’ I was in a dilemma but I said YES. 

Adventure gives you an adrenaline rush; its therapeutic to say the least, challenges you as your weakness stares at you; ready to ruin that adventure. I was not going to let anything come in my way. A place in a faraway land, rugged, untouched by humans is what energizes me and Alaska was going to be just that. 

August 10, 2016 Delta Airlines landed in Anchorage, Alaska, the last frontier. A landmass of 1.7 million sq km with only 700,000 people. More bears than people are estimated to live in Alaska! That was exciting enough for me. Despite the 9-hour flight from New York, I was jumping around, excited like a 10-year-old. After years I was going to find myself, torturing (in a good way) my body in the pristine rugged wilderness, calming my mind and being away from the world of people, losing myself into an unknown world. 

It was 11:30 PM and we had entered 6 months of daylight zone, as bright as noon in Delhi. I was ready to be an insomniac for the next 10 days, prepared to live a life with grizzlies, Moose, Polar bears, wolverines and walruses to name a few. While Nikhil set out with innumerable cameras to capture the grizzles in all their beauty, my video camera would be my lens to this beautiful place that didn’t seem to belong to this world.

Our home for the next 10 days was going to be Bristol Bay sports fishing lodge situated on the banks of lake Iliamna, the largest in Alaska. The host and owner of the lodge, Jerry was a true gentleman who looked like Harrison Ford enough to make me blush. He knew every corner of the rugged beauty that is Alaska and we named him our captain cool. His son, Caleb, an enthusiastic, lively and friendly 16-year-old was going to be our guide for the grizzlies. For him the minor creek was a second home, where he would go to unwind. He knew where to spot the bears and understood their mannerisms and behavior.

Euphoria turns into Pain : I lost myself

We began our day at 6 am, at freezing 3 degree Celsius; wore 3 layers of warm clothes, wind proof jackets, waders and shoes to protect us from the ice cold water. Nikhil and myself carried 10 kg bags on our back and set out in a seaplane to Katmai National Park and Preserve, south of Alaska, home to more than 2000 grizzly bears.  We were ‘well-prepared’ to photograph the grizzlies enjoying a feast of Red Sockeyed Salmons. 

As the plane entered the creek, the mirror lake soaked in red colour with salmons aplenty looked surreal. There was a heavy downpour; the wind lashing at 55 kmph making it difficult for Jerry to land the seaplane in the lake. The plane landed on the angry waves and I jumped off into the ice cold water immeditely feeling severe pain in my legs. Our group of 9 people, wearing waders began crossing ice-cold lakes and streams. Is this what I had signed up for?

Jerry warned us before flying away that we may have to spend nights in the wilderness if the weather didn’t improve. The sea plane flew away, our only chance to reach civilization was gone but strangely I was calm, in a way eager to not go back, get lost in that space for the next 10 days. We were given tents (to spend the night) and grizzly sprays incase someone like me acts  adventurous and gets too close to the bears. A red bottle with a spray can read, pepper spray. “Are you sure this will make the grizzlies run away?” I doubted. Young Caleb, didn’t seem amused, “ This is your best bet.” 
I retorted, “ Well! In India we use this to protect ourselves from unscrupulous men.”

Crossing the lakes was a daunting task with all of us being pushed and swayed by the winds. With all our might we ran towards the spongy green carpet full of blueberries which seemed inviting and a much easier walk. But just 2 kms into the walk we realized walking on it was a living hell. While some of us were getting sucked into the Tundra’s spongy floor, I was worse off, my wader shoes were big for me and with the wind throwing me around, I ended up spraining my right foot right in the beginning.  And the trek to the creek had just begun.  “We are in Alaska, baby.” exclaimed Daryl Balfour (a wildlife photographer and our trip organizer). 45 minutes into the walk there was no sight of bears. My walk became a limp and eventually I sat down crying. The rain was slapping me hard; the wind had made me fall innumerable times. I was a wreck! But this was an adventure I had always wanted, I didn’t want to give up just on the first day. 

I gathered my strength, popped an energy bar given to us by Jerry and started dragging my way to the river. And voila! we spotted 2 mother bears with their 3 cubs. The limp changed into a run and I was rolling down 30 feet to reach the bears. The rain made it tough to get some good shots, but the bears were having a ball. They would catch a salmon, swing it around and throw it in the air. The babies would try to ape their mothers, play and swim with them and that made the most adorable sight. Surprisingly, they were indifferent to our presence, and we were insignificant to their world. 

But the most challenging task was yet to come, 2-hour walk back to the seaplane. Despite the waders, we were all soaked. “What was the point of being well prepared and shopping so much,” I yelled. Caleb smiled, “ In Alaska nothing is waterproof. You are never too prepared.” The day ended with a number of beautiful photos and timeless memories captured. “This was the toughest trek of my life,” said Caleb. Despite our broken bodies, we felt a sense of pride, if it was tough for him we were conquerers.

Sunshine, Blueberries, Bears, Walrus : I  found myself

After two days of torturous weather we saw the first Alaskan sunshine, (according to locals it was after one month). We trekked for one hour with no sight of the bears. Suddenly, I spotted a big brown rock next to the riverbed and then it moved, “it’s a bear,”I yelled in excitement. We all positioned ourselves and waited for the bear to wake up from its hour-long slumber with a year old cub snuggled to her body. I knew they were going to model for us.  

She woke up to start fishing with the baby cub trying to mimic her every move. It was like a movie script; the bears our actors and we the directors. Jumping in the water to catch the salmons, rejecting a few, tearing into the flesh of few and feasting on many. The baby bear trying to impress his mother but the salmons would slip away from his grip. If that was not enough they started moving towards us, ignoring us they began feasting on their dessert, the BLUEBERRIES. Every shot we had imagined, they gave it to us for 3 hours.

Then next day was our encounter with over 1000 walruses, each or them bigger than a bull, on the shores of the Bering sea in Bristol Bay. We flew in a super cub plane to see them all soaking in the sun. I was tempted to play dead with them but was discouraged by their stench, which was worse than rotten meat. In my excitement to see these big, lazy animals I forgot my bug protection hat and within a few minutes had the Alaskan bugs kissing me all over my face, the wounds of which I am still nursing. 

By the end of 10 days we had seen more than 50 bears and this Alaskan adventure was a perfect 10. The excruciating body pain had made me numb. I had experienced a whole new world, a world meant to be that way: beautiful, untouched, and surreal. The sound of waves and wind was so frightening but I felt silence around me. “ Simran are you ok? How come you haven’t spoken a word since an hour?” Nikhil said sarcastically. I was in my space, and for the first time in years I didn’t want to talk. By the end of the trip, the 12 kms walk each day felt like a stroll. The mossy grass was a balm to my sore feet and the bears had finally accepted us in their territory, eating blueberries, fishing salmon, and throwing the not so tasty salmons towards us. We saw pristine forests, breath-taking landscapes and most importantly, had an adventure of a lifetime. It felt like home. 

Sadly, you have to return to civilization and I returned to Delhi.  Now I have 20 more friends, overwhelmed with an adventure that my heart holds, a deep sense of gratification and respect towards a world we take for granted. 
And like they say, you don’t choose Alaska, it chooses you!