A Birthday Bear

My brother Larry booked our first trip to Alaska in early 2014. It was for a brown bear hunt in the spring of 2015 but due to our outfitter "selling out" we rebooked for a 12 day hunt in the spring of 2017 with Hans Baertle of Southeast Alaska Guiding and his wife Nataliia. The first 10 days were filled with a lot of good food, laughs and several bear sightings. I watched cubs 

brawling on the beach, dozens of bald eagles fishing, killer whales, seals, sea lions and humpback whales feeding. These were some of the sights I enjoyed on a daily basis. On the 11th day of the hunt (my birthday) we spotted the right bear and the chase was on. After a short stalk and a long wait I had my birthday bear with a single shot from my 375 Ruger.  Nataliia caught all the action on video. My 2 weeks on the boat was an awesome vacation and the bear was the icing on my birthday cake. 

Thanks for a great time

BENNY TOLLARD