14-JUL-2010
July 14 - Flying into Togiak National Wildlife Refuge
Our trip into Togiak National Wildlife Refuge for the July 14-19, 2010 Walrus and Seabird Photography Base Camp, through Equinox Wilderness Expeditions, began the morning of July 14 in Anchorage, Alaska. We met our guide, Hugh Rose, a Fairbanks based Nature Photographer, at the Anchorage Airport PenAir gate. Besides Peggie and myself we had a third member, Jon, also join us on this Base Camp trip.
We were scheduled to fly on the PenAir KS#251 8:15am flight to Dillingham, however our flight was canceled due to fog and low ceilings in Dillingham. We were rebooked on PenAir KS#263 leaving Anchorage at 11:30am and arriving in Dillingham around 1:00pm.
We arrived in Dillingham a little after 1:00pm and were met by Denise from Tikchik Airventures at the airport. We were shuttled over to their house to gather the rest of our gear that had been shipped down previously, as well as repack for the upcoming float plane ride. We had a choice of landing on Sangor Lake and setting up camp near there, or landing on Nanvak Bay and setting up camp inside the bear fence surrounding the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Peirce Research Camp. Besides being closer to the cliffs and beaches, we had the added advantage of a pit toilet at the Research Camp. We opted to camp in the Research Camp.
We left the Dillingham Float Plane Pond a little after 4:00pm on a de Havilland Beaver and arrived at Nanvak Bay around 5:15pm. We unloaded our gear, stored it temporarily in a bear fence enclosure near the beach, and then made three trips to haul our gear for about a half mile from Nanvak Bay to the Research Camp located near Cabin Pond. There were also four U.S. Geological Survey researchers staying at the Research Camp, working on a Eelgrass Survey in Nanvak Bay.
Here is a photograph of what our Base Camp looked like – Three sleeping tents and a cooking shelter scattered inside the bear fence around the Research Camp.
14-JUL-2010
Map of Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Peirce Area
Here is a map (Credit: U.S. Geological Survey) of the Cape Peirce and Nanvak Bay area. The names added to the map are “unofficial” hand written names on a wall map inside the Togiak National Wilflife Refuge, Cape Peirce Research Camp.
The Research Camp is located next to the Cabin Pond.
15-JUL-2010
July 15 – Hike Along the Coast Beyond Cape Peirce
The best weather of the entire trip was July 15. We hiked from our Base Camp along the coast all the way to BrunEye Bay as shown on the map. We had some great opportunities to photograph Horned Puffins, Hoary Marmots, various other Seabirds, scenics and a few distant Brown Bears.
Here is a photograph of a Hoary Marmot that we spent almost an hour photographing near the base of Cape Peirce.
Camera equipment used: Gitzo 3540LS Tripod, Wimberly Gimbal Tripod Head, (2) Nikon D2X Camera Bodies, AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D Lens, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED Lens, AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens, AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4G ED VR Lens, Nikon AF-S Teleconvertor TC-14EII, (3) spare EN-EL4A Li-On Battery Packs, Multiple 4Gb and 8Gb Lexar Professional CompactFlash Cards
15-JUL-2010
Hoary Marmot Eating Flowers
Here is a photograph of the same Hoary Marmot that is eating a flower near the base of Cape Peirce.
15-JUL-2010
Horned Puffins at Kittiwake Arch
Here is a photograph of a pair of Horned Puffins tucked into a crevice on Kittiwake Arch.
15-JUL-2010
Horned Puffins near Odebenus Cove
Here is a photograph of a three Horned Puffins on a cliff face near Odebenus Cove. We also observied Black-Legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres on this same cliff face.
Needless to say, our first day was great, but also a major disappointment, in that we passed all the beaches (Maggy Beach, Parlier Cove, South & North Firebaugh Cove, and Odebenus Cove) that Walrus normally haul out at this time of year, and did see a single live Walrus.
We oberved over 50 dead carcasses on Maggy Beach and several additional carcasses on the beach at Parlier Cove. These Walrus probably died as a result of falling over cliffs onto the rocks below.
Although the Fish and Wildlife Service claim it is a mystery because humans have not observed the Walrus falling to their deaths, it appears the Walrus are landing at Maggy Beach, working their way up a sand chute through the dune area and congregating on the cliffs above the beach. Then they are being spooked, probably by Brown Bears, and in their haste to exit, they fall off 50-100 foot cliffs on the rocks below.
The tides bring their bodies out into the Berring Sea and then wash them back up on Maggy Beach and Parlier Cove.
16-JUL-2010
July 16 – Foggy Weather and a Brown Bear on Maggy Beach
The morning of July 16 started out with fog and drizzle. It looked like it was going to start clearing, but the fog layer would start to rise, ony to return back to less than a hundred feet. We hiked the Sand Dunes and Maggy Beach up onto the cliffs overlooking Maggy Beach and Parlier Cove, and then part way up Soapstone Mountain.
We were able to photograph a Brown Bear that made its way down to Maggy Beach to eat on the Walrus Carcasses, and later exit through the Sand Dune Area.
16-JUL-2010
Wildflowers around Cabin Pond
I also spent some time photographing wild flowers around our Base Camp next to Cabin Pond - Cotton Grass, Northern Geranium, Jacobs Ladder, Beach Daisy and Iris.
Here is a photograph of an Iris.
17-JUL-2010
July 17 – Crossing Nanvak Bay to the North Spit
The weather for July 17 was occasional sprinkles and drizzle, but we crossed Nanvak Bay using a boat to hike along the North Spit. We saw a lot of Bear Tracks along the beach as well as whale bones and a few Walrus Carcasses.
We discovered one Walrus Carcass with very large tusks, as shown in the photograph. Again we were disappointed as we walked a long way down the North Spit and did not observe for the second day any live Walrus.
17-JUL-2010
Brown Bears near Cabin Pond
We crossed back over Nanvak Bay by boat from the North Spit and returned to our Base Camp. Later that evening we were entertained with several Brown Bears near Cabin Pond.
Here is one the Brown Bears walking along Cabin Pond in front of our camp.
18-JUL-2010
July 18 – A Second Try to Hike Along the Coast
The morning again showed promise of gradually clearing, so we hiked along the coast up above Soapstone Hill. We were able to see a Brown Bear Sow with two COY down on Firebaugh Cove.
Heavy fog and drizzle soon moved in and were unable to see, so we turned around and headed back to camp.
Here is a photograph from Soapstone Hill showing Kittiwake Arch, the North Spit and Nanvak Bay with the fog ceiling closing in.
18-JUL-2010
More Brown Bears Entertain Us and July 19 Departure
Two USGS researchers who were performing a study in Nanvak Bay were supposed to depart during the day by Float Plane back to Dillingham. However, due to the low fog ceilings, they were not able to leave the Reseach Camp and had to stay another night.
We also saw a very wet Red Fox pass by our camp during the early evening hours, looking for Voles.
Here is a photograph of two Brown Bears wrestling near Cabin Pond. These two bears were part of a “pack” of three juvenile bears that hung around Maggy Beach and the Research Camp area. We had been warned by the Togiak NWR staff that these bears could be a problem since they would approach humans. We saw them every day in our camp area and they provided us with plenty of photo opportunities.
July 19 – Departure from Togiak NWR
We had rain most of the night and early mornng. We had an 11:00am planned departure, however both Dillingham and Nanvak Bay had fog ceilings almost down to the water surface. We did some light packing in the morning, but left our tents and food shelter up in case we had to spend another day.
Around 1:00pm the ceiling started to lift and we were told that they would bring two planes into Nanvak Bay. One plane would fly out the two USGS researchers and a second plane would fly us out. The first plane from Tikchik Airventures arrived at 3:00pm and loaded up the two USGS researchers. Our plane from Bay Air Alaska arrived around 3:15pm and loaded us up.
Peggie and I were able to catch our PenAir #KS256 5:35pm flight back to Anchorage with about 15 minutes to spare. Both Hugh and Jon delayed their departure to a later flight since they had to repack their personal luggage and camp gear.
Despite not seeing “Live” Walrus and the tough weather, it was a great trip! The landscape, scenery, Horned Puffins, Hoary Marmots, other Seabirds and the Brown Bear activity provided us plenty of photographic opportunities. We knew going in, having spent time in the Aleutians, that the Bering Sea weather would be a challenge. Thanks to Equinox Wildernes Expeditions and Hugh Rose for another safe and adventurous trip into the Alaskan wilderness.
Enjoy the rest of the photographs in the gallery.
