We anchored Saoirse and Omega yesterday in Anan Bay with John dropping and sitting an anchor into the mouth of the stream with Omega’s bow pointing in, while Don dropped his anchor astern of us and backed up alongside to raft, this gave us two anchors in line with the tidal currents so we would not swing and drag in this anchorage which is steep too, in soft sand and silk from the creek. John and Don did adjustments to the anchors. The boats rode very securely for the two days we were there. (Make sure you check out Day 73, another adventure)
I forgot to mention that on our way over from Wrangell to Anan Bay, John said "There are 2 moose swimming across Eastern Passage. A 1 -1/2 mile swim. (our first Moose sighting)
We were joined by Paul Lutus, who’s Nordic Tug “Teacup” was also anchored and had reservations at Anan Wildlife for the next day also. He shared many interesting stories and beautiful pictures he has taken over the years. He goes solo into the Aleutians to photograph the Alaskan Brown Bear and gave us information on what we were to experience in Anan Wildlife the next day since he had been there around 5 times. Thank you Paul, for fixing my camera!!!
Anan Creek supports one of the largest pink salmon runs in Southeast Alaska. A wide variety of fish-eating animals are attracted to the seasonal abundance. Here, you may see black and brown bears, bald eagles, and sea lions.
The Forest Service built an observatory at the falls so that people may view feeding bears in relative safety and comfort. The observatory is accessed by a scenic boardwalk trail that begins at the mouth of Anan Lagoon. It is a moderately easy half mile hike along the shores of the lagoon and creek to the observatory with many steps up and down. This hike does require climbing over rocks near the beach.
Black bears are the main wildlife attraction at Anan. Black bears use the entire Anan drainage, but are most commonly seen at the falls near the observatory where they tend to congregate due to the large number of salmon. During the salmon run, from late June to late August, you may also see brown bears, bald eagles, several species of gulls, and harbor seals in the area.
Saying that… it was an absolutely breathtaking experience and recommended to anyone traveling in this area. (This black bear was walking on the board walk we used to get to the observation deck.)
The observatory opened at 8am which unfortunately was a minus 2.1 tide. John & Daleen climbed in Alpha going as far as we could by motor and then by oars, we had to get out and pulled the Alpha
to shore, as Don & Diane were also working their way to shore ahead of us in their dinghy. Then after we unloaded our stuff, we, along with the help of the forest ranger, Brita, had to haul the dinghies about 50 yards from water’s edge, across land to where the highest water level would be t
hat afternoon. The ranger had advised us to bring the dinghy higher due to the swift c
urrent coming out of the stream. There was over a 20 foot tide swing that day, exposing large quantities of soft muddy shoal. What a workout!!
Note to anyone visiting… bring a LONG anchor line and anchor for your dinghy.
After checking in with our reservation number, we started our half mile walk to the observation deck. It was a narrow board walk with many stairs going up and down, across bridges around the beautiful lagoon. Along the way we saw many eagles, ravens and areas that showed signs of bears and continued staying in a group and talking among ourselves , clapping and making noises as per instructed. They advised us to use the outhouse before starting our hike, as the outhouse by the observation deck was in the bear traffic area.
Don
and Diane ended up spending a few hours until they went back to Saoirse to check on Chrystal, while John stayed until around 2pm and then went back to check on the dinghy. John returned and walked back with Daleen around 3:00pm. What an experience. Black bears, adorable cubs, eagles, ravens and the creek was black due to the high number of salmon from shore to shore trying to get up stream. The bears would get on the rocks next to the water’s edge and watch for the right moment to lunge their mouths into the water and come out with a salmon and feast on only the brain and roe(eggs). Then they would toss it aside for the eagles and ravens to clean up later. Some would sit and eat the entire fish and go for another one.
The highlight for Don and Diane were the black bear cubs. Diane said she loves the babies. They
were 
adorable following their protective mama around. The mama would leave them on a rock, go get a fish and then return and the 3 would walk back in a cave or into the woods to eat their catch. Again and again all day. Diane says she wants take a bear cub home to hug a
nd love. Grandkids would love it too.... We don't think the mama bear would go for that. She would probably chase Saoirse home...
The highlight for John and Daleen came just as they were preparing to leave. Daleen took one last look down the creek and whispered “John there is a brown bear walking up the creek”. The brown bear (grizzly) king of the mountain forest can grow to be about 8 feet long and weight 350-500 pounds although some can reach over a thousand pounds.
We watched breathlessly as he continued up the creek to right in front of us. We noticed as the brown bear approached; there was not a black bear in sight. They had fa
ded into the rocks not to return until the brown bear had left the area. We had been in the blind, which is almost water level and what a view we had. He was huge & beautiful!! He walked over to the water’s edge, looked for a while at the many salmon swimming by and then lunged into the water and grasped a salmon. Ate his one cat
ch and then walked back down the creek and stopped to fish at a different spot for a while. Daleen was so excited as the many black bear and cubs are amazing and beautiful we wanted to be able the check off our list as also seeing brown bear in Anan. We found out from the Forest Ranger, his name was Happy.
Anan Creek supports one of the largest pink salmon runs in Southeast Alaska. A wide variety of fish-eating animals are attracted to the seasonal abundance. Here, you may see black and brown bears, bald eagles, and sea lions.
The Forest Service built an observatory at the falls so that people may view feeding bears in relative safety and comfort. The observatory is accessed by a scenic boardwalk trail that begins at the mouth of Anan Lagoon. It is a moderately easy half mile hike along the shores of the lagoon and creek to the observatory with many steps up and down. This hike does require climbing over rocks near the beach.
Black bears are the main wildlife attraction at Anan. Black bears use the entire Anan drainage, but are most commonly seen at the falls near the observatory where they tend to congregate due to the large number of salmon. During the salmon run, from late June to late August, you may also see brown bears, bald eagles, several species of gulls, and harbor seals in the area.
Saying that… it was an absolutely breathtaking experience and recommended to anyone traveling in this area. (This black bear was walking on the board walk we used to get to the observation deck.)
The observatory opened at 8am which unfortunately was a minus 2.1 tide. John & Daleen climbed in Alpha going as far as we could by motor and then by oars, we had to get out and pulled the Alpha
to shore, as Don & Diane were also working their way to shore ahead of us in their dinghy. Then after we unloaded our stuff, we, along with the help of the forest ranger, Brita, had to haul the dinghies about 50 yards from water’s edge, across land to where the highest water level would be t
hat afternoon. The ranger had advised us to bring the dinghy higher due to the swift c
urrent coming out of the stream. There was over a 20 foot tide swing that day, exposing large quantities of soft muddy shoal. What a workout!!Note to anyone visiting… bring a LONG anchor line and anchor for your dinghy.
After checking in with our reservation number, we started our half mile walk to the observation deck. It was a narrow board walk with many stairs going up and down, across bridges around the beautiful lagoon. Along the way we saw many eagles, ravens and areas that showed signs of bears and continued staying in a group and talking among ourselves , clapping and making noises as per instructed. They advised us to use the outhouse before starting our hike, as the outhouse by the observation deck was in the bear traffic area.
Don
and Diane ended up spending a few hours until they went back to Saoirse to check on Chrystal, while John stayed until around 2pm and then went back to check on the dinghy. John returned and walked back with Daleen around 3:00pm. What an experience. Black bears, adorable cubs, eagles, ravens and the creek was black due to the high number of salmon from shore to shore trying to get up stream. The bears would get on the rocks next to the water’s edge and watch for the right moment to lunge their mouths into the water and come out with a salmon and feast on only the brain and roe(eggs). Then they would toss it aside for the eagles and ravens to clean up later. Some would sit and eat the entire fish and go for another one.The highlight for Don and Diane were the black bear cubs. Diane said she loves the babies. They
were 
adorable following their protective mama around. The mama would leave them on a rock, go get a fish and then return and the 3 would walk back in a cave or into the woods to eat their catch. Again and again all day. Diane says she wants take a bear cub home to hug a
nd love. Grandkids would love it too.... We don't think the mama bear would go for that. She would probably chase Saoirse home...The highlight for John and Daleen came just as they were preparing to leave. Daleen took one last look down the creek and whispered “John there is a brown bear walking up the creek”. The brown bear (grizzly) king of the mountain forest can grow to be about 8 feet long and weight 350-500 pounds although some can reach over a thousand pounds.
We watched breathlessly as he continued up the creek to right in front of us. We noticed as the brown bear approached; there was not a black bear in sight. They had fa
ded into the rocks not to return until the brown bear had left the area. We had been in the blind, which is almost water level and what a view we had. He was huge & beautiful!! He walked over to the water’s edge, looked for a while at the many salmon swimming by and then lunged into the water and grasped a salmon. Ate his one cat
ch and then walked back down the creek and stopped to fish at a different spot for a while. Daleen was so excited as the many black bear and cubs are amazing and beautiful we wanted to be able the check off our list as also seeing brown bear in Anan. We found out from the Forest Ranger, his name was Happy.
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