September, 2007 This was my first trip to Brooks Camp in September (though I did visit the Katmai Coast with Alaska Photo tours and stayed at the Katmai Wilderness Lodge in September 2004).

Used my Alaska Air miles to fly to King Salmon and then flew on Katmai Air into Brooks Camp. We landed at Brooks lake due to some high winds. On the flight I met three Italians who were going to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes and try to do some skiing.

We took a van from Brooks Lake about a mile to the lower platform where we had to wait a while as the bridge was closed, too much bear activity. Walking up the platform I ran into three photographers I had met in July, John, Gottfried and Chuck. After an hour or so the bridge opened and we crossed and the Italians and I went to the ranger station for bear training.

After the orientation I wanted to go to the campground, but the bridge had closed again and our bags were still on the other side. They finally arrived and I was able to go to the campground and set up my tent.

The bears are different than July. There is a salmon run, but they spawn in the river; they're not jumping the falls to get up to Brooks lake. There are a few who try to make the jump, but very few - most of the bears are hanging around the river eating the bodies of fish that spawned in the lake and have floated downstream and the salmon swimming around in the river.

The bears have put on several hundred pounds since July and waddled around the shore and in the river. Their winter fur coats are growning and rather than sometimes looking like old bear rugs that had too much wear, they looked beautiful and fluffy. And their brown fur against the grass that is turning golden brown made for some beautiful shots.

T he Weather: While it was cooler and there was more rain and wind than in July, the weather was not a problem. I brought a warmer sleeping bag than the one I use in July and dressed in layers. I also had better 'raincoats' for my cameras and lenses to help.

R ather than go though each day I was there, some of the highlights were:

Beautiful Sunrises: Several of the days we had beautiful sunrises, and given that sunrise was a couple of hours later than in July I got up in time to see them.

Beaver, Sandhill Cranes and Lynx: I saw my first beaver at Brooks camp on this trip. With all of the bears there, probably not the best place to build a beaver den. We also had three groups of sandhill cranes fly over, squawking all of the way south. While unfortunately I missed seeing the lynx in person, some of my new friends I met there were able to get photos of it sitting by the side of the road, just looking at them and then walking away.

Skiing: About half way through the week there was an emergency in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes that required a helicopter rescue. The Italians who had gone up there to ski had a problem, but not on the slopes. After hiking through the valley for two days, one of them fell out of a bunk bed in a hut and broke four ribs. There was no way he could have walked out. Fortunately a couple who was there had a satellite phone and was able to call in the accident. The big question around the camp was what were they going to tell their friends on how he was injured - falling out of a bunk bed isn't very exciting!

Bear Jams: They were not as bad as in July, but then I usually stayed around the lower platform most of the time so I was there when the bridge opened up and could cross if I needed to get back.

Carrot or Stick: Iams, one of the bear techs, needed to move a bear and her cubs after they had taken a long nap near the end of the bridge and had caused a jam of several hours. Rather than try to chase her away, he got a stick and walked half-way across the bridge and used the stick to splash in the water which sounded like a salmon splashing. After a minute or two he got her attention and she started swimming across the river towards us with the cubs following. They ended up coming ashore right in front of the platform and we didn't mind the jam, we were too busy taking photos. I think this is a far better alternative than to try to scare the bears away from the bridge.

While shooting the mother and cubs I met Florian Schulz, the photographer for the book "Yellowstone to Yukon." He was very nice and I heard good things about the book which I ordered from Amazon when I got home (and have enjoyed very much). I just saw that Florian will be doing a talk at National Geographic HQ in Washington, DC but Jackie and I will be in Brazil at the time. Too bad.

All in All it was a great trip and I think I will try to go back in both July and September next year! If you haven't been there you should definitely go!