Salmon Strut

This image was from my adventure out to McNeil River Sanctuary during the 2020 COVID summer. I was stressed for weeks on whether I'd even get to go. I kept thinking they would cancel or postpone because that was how most of 2020 went. So many trips cancelled, school remote, but this trip remained. I pulled a standby permit. There's a guided permit and a standby permit. I hadn't realized I even applied for a standby permit. My excitement somehow diminished after reading the email and realizing that a standby permit holder only gets you to the camp. With a standby permit, you have to rely on a guided permit holder not showing up or not wanting to go out that day. And let's face it, most people don't give up going out to view bears on nice days. I decided to try my luck anyway, and then the heart of COVID occurred, and everything was just in the air. I didn't stop stressing until I was literally in the air, on my way to McNeil. I learned on arrival that, because of COVID, only 10 people were coming in total. So, my standby permit actually became a guided viewing permit. I somehow won the lottery double that year! It was early in the season, but I enjoyed every day. The less quantity of bears didn't matter as the quality was perfect. This bear was one of the few that came to the McNeil River Falls when I was there. He avoided another more dominant bear by walking all the way around the cascading waterfalls to eat on the opposite bank from the other bear. I didn't mind. Watching him clasp onto that salmon in the flowing water, incredible.