: Sounds like a great adventure, of course we expect a full report.

: Here's some advice to keep in mind...

: The Park Ranger from an Alaskan park is advising hikers to be alert
: for bears and to take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
: Park visitors are advised to wear little bells on their clothes
: to make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows the bears to
: hear the hiker coming from a distance and not be startled by a
: hiker accidently sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to
: charge. Hikers should also carry pepper spray in case they
: encounter a bear. Spraying the pepper in the air will irritate a
: bear's sensitive nose and it will run away. It also a good idea
: to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you'll know if there
: are bears in the area. People should be able to tell the
: difference between black bear scat and grizzly/brown bear scat.
: Black bear scat is smaller and will be fibrous, with berry seeds
: and sometimes grass in it. Grizzly/brown bear scat will have
: bells in it and smell like pepper......

: Ken

When I paddled in Glacier Bay years ago (1999) we rented boats there, in Gustavus. We went through an orientation and had free use of "bear cans" from the ranger for storing food, toiletries, and other items with smells. We paddled nine days, the first three we encountered only six other people who were all paddling. The fourth day a cruise ship passed us and dwarfed our whole existence, but it was gone as quickly as it arrived. We were in the East Arm. The place is definitely wilderness, so be prepared! We saw brown bears, wolves, humpback whales, many birds, a calving glacier (McBride, which we were able to approach without too much floating ice), and touched a (now land-locked Muir) glacier. It should be worth your while.