Kenai Penn. Blackies?

[AK Wonderer]

I'm trying to get out black bear hunting on the Kenai Penninsula one of the next few weekends and girlfriend is dying to go out with me. Which is awsome, but she doesn't have a pack or some of the other gear needed to hike out and spend a night or two in the hills. Does anyone know of some good spots where we could hike in for the day and still have some luck? I also have a 16 ft. Lund if anyone knows of some good spots along one of the lakes.

Thanks for the help.

[fullkurl]

try....

Tustumena Lake down on the Kenai. Boat across to the hills at the end of the lake There should be some nice bruins up high.

Your time frame is short and it'll be work, but the bears are there.

Good Luck!

fk

[Blink]

Go on Kenai lake. Put in at primrose (thats where I used to atleast) and there are some nice campsites on the lake.

[Alaskacanoe]

gear

stop by my place and I have camping gear, Backpacks, bags,stoves etc if you need them, even just plain ol packframes for your bruin to ride on.. I was up at tustemena the end of August and saw 8 brown bear. The first was at Bear creek and the others all in Salmon streams along the way up to the Glacier.
At that point we saw 2 black bear. One right along the south shoreline accross from the Glacier, and the other up in the burn. The New one .. That is a great place to spend time exploring and boat rides. The bears seem to be available too. My friends go up in the berry patch's this time of year on the hills above Tustemena and had scored every time.
Good luck.
Max

[blackcat]

you could try this

right past summit lake on the right thare is a gate with a trail that will take you to tree line in about 45 min of walking. Got to be some on the moss berrys up there.

[Trapak]

Make sure you know what you're getting into, when you're out boating on Tustumena Lake. It's a "killer" lake if you get my drift. The wind can come up quickly and your Lund will be awful small, to be out in 10 ft. seas. Be well prepared and have a plan. There's lots of bear in that country, especially brownies.
Good luck.

[rimfirematt]

the hillsides along the seward highway between anchorage and girdwood have pretty good blackies on them. Not sure if your girlfreind would like climbing up that steep of a hill but there was some nice bears up there.

[AK Wonderer]

All have crossed my mind.

Alaskacanoe, thanks for the offer. I was out on Tustemena last month just boating around, but didn't make it all the way back to the hills. I would need a decent weather forecast to feel comfortable making the run all the way across the lake in my small boat but this is a spot I've been wanting to try. I had a co-worker get ran back into his boat by a brownie a few weeks back. Kenai lake is a little more sheltered from the wind.

Blackcat, I know exactly the gate you're refering too at Summit Lake. I drive from Soldotna up to Anchorage about everyother week and on every drive am watching the hills and wondering which trail would be the best.

Well my plans for camping out this weekend and hunting got shot, have to head up to Anchorage tonight. Going to take Matt's advice and try the hills along Turnagain Arm on Saturday, probably somewhere around Bird Creek. I know there are a number of trails through this area, but Bird Ridge is the only one I've been up. Has anyone been up any others?

Thanks for the tips!

[sh]

summit creek trail

is the one you're referring to with the gate, etc. i have been up that thing more times than the average person and have never seen a bear back there. it looks like decent bear habitat...but have'nt seen one. if you hike to the top and drop into east creek, i have seen them there.long hike for one day. if you're the bushwacker type, upper mills creek might be a great spot. you can drive a wheeler back to the mine site, and hike from there. pretty thick stuff, but you'd probably have it to yourself.

[blackfoot]

Time of Year

Have you been there quite a bit in the fall? Just wondering cause I've heard from a lot of people that there are a lot of black bears this time of year up high around summit lake.

[Vance in AK]

Blackcat, when you say "Just past Summit Lake & on the right", are you going from ANC to Slodotna, or the other way around?
Vance in AK.

[Brian M]

Vance - I'm assuming he means going from Anchorage south. If it were the other way around you would have to wade through some swampy stuff or at least across a small stream to get to the other hillside.

blackfoot - I'll back up what was said about no bears in Summit Pass. Well, I'm sure they're there, but in more than 10 hikes through there I've never seen one. I've seen them on the hillsides near the pass along the road, and I've also seen them in adjacent valleys, but for some odd reason I've never seen them in the Pass itself. Of course, I have terrible luck with blackies, so take that with a grain of salt. In all honesty, they really should be there.

I think I might head south tomorrow to look for bears/fish for dollies and trout. I'll post a report tomorrow night if I end up going that way.

-Brian

[sh]

yes, in the fall

and late summer also(august). that's one of the odd places i have'nt seen any bears. not sure why.

[Brian M]

I went down and looked for bears today along the Seward Highway. My biggest problem is that I wasn't able to leave Anchorage until almost 1:00, so I didn't really have much time for poking around. I finally spotted my first bear at about 5:45, but didn't end up pursuing it. There wasn't a straight approach up the mountain to it, so it would have taken me at least an hour to an hour and a half to get to him. He was also right on the edge of some thick alders, so I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to see him once I got up there. If I had more daylight and a straighter shot up/down the mountain, I would have given it a go. I just didn't want to be coming down that mountain with a headlamp given where the bear was at. Bummed to miss out on the opportunity, but being a married man, I feel the responsibility to play it safe. Besides, I've already got a caribou in the freezer, so I'm not hard up for the meat. I may go again, though, so I'll post again if I head that way.

-Brian

[fullkurl]

fall blackie

Sounds like it was a good time, Brian, even if the stalk didnt happen.
I remember your post saying you've had a tough time gettin that bruin. Some of us have been there!
Sounds like its a matter of time for you at this point.