WHAT’S IT LIKE LIVING ON THE BOAT? 

     Lynn Rogers says “Before I went on my first bear trip to Katmai National Park, I was worried.  Would I get seasick living on a boat?  Would the boat rock during the night and keep me awake?  Would the shower have enough hot water?  Could I eat low fat meals to keep my cholesterol down?  Would I get too hungry between meals? Would the boat be warm enough?  And could I escape from people when I wanted to read or nap?  None of these were problems.  The nice warm boat was almost always in one or another of the quiet bays of the Katmai coast so it was easy to nap after lunch and get a good nights sleep.  The water was so calm that the boat didn’t rock.  Making sure we’re happy was the crew’s top priority.  They inquired beforehand about my food preferences and stocked up on what I asked for.  They hired a gourmet cook and made some of the best meals of my life.  I wanted halibut, salmon, and scallops, and they had all I could eat.  They made special low fat portions for me.  They made vegetarian meals or kosher meals for people who wanted them.  Between meals, snacks like fruit, pie, and cookies were so handy that I didn’t fall prey to the pop and junk food that was also available.  Getting away was no problem.  I went to my double occupancy stateroom whenever I wanted to read or nap, but the crew and passengers were so interesting that I mostly wanted to stay in circulation and hear their thoughts about the bear adventures we had and about other places they’d been.  We spent as much time on shore hiking and watching as anyone wanted, and each trip ashore was a new, different adventure.  The scenery and bear activities were so different at the different places we visited, we could not get enough of watching the bears interact and go about making their livings and raising their cubs.  It was a revelation to almost everyone that the bears were timid rather than the monsters that they are usually portrayed.  Beachcombing and watching other wildlife are interesting diversions.  When we took time to relax on the boat, someone was always interrupting the moment with sightings of killer whales, dolphins, Stellar sea lions, sea otters, puffins, and other sea life near the boat.  When we're boating along the rich Katmai coastline to move to a new bay, it’s a parade of seagoing wildlife along the way.  When I’m seeing lots of wildlife and the crew is catering to our every need like they did on all my trips, it’s a pretty good life.”

[ Values of Bear-Watching along the Katmai Coast ] [ Observing Grizzlies ] [ Bear Watching ] [ Living on the Boat ] [ Coming into Bear Country ]