Today's objective was Katmai National Park and viewing the bears feeding at Brooks Falls. Definitely a bucket list day. We flew in a float plane from the Farm Lodge to Brooks Camp, the visitor center. There was a bear briefing then we hiked to the falls area. I was carting a backpack full of camera equipment because there was no way I wanted to come up short in this once in a lifetime adventure.

Even though the park is pretty far out in the boonies, there was a (relatively) large crowd. The falls viewing area had a limit of 30 minutes. You put your name on the list and waited at a place called the Riffles which was a big viewing stand. There is no lack of bear activity there. There were bears catching fish right in front of you. You could also see the falls which was maybe a hundred yards away. We shot plenty of photos there.

We finally went to the main platform and had our 30 minutes of excitement. It was quite a sight for sure. There were dozens of brown bears feeding and cavorting about. Lots of activities. Although the platform was shoulder to shoulder, I think everybody got their fill of photography. Just for the record, I was shooting my Canon 7D MkII with the 100-400 zoom telephoto. Ginny was shooting her T5i with the 70-300 zoom which worked well for her. The cameras were just right for the job.

Today's photo was taken at the falls viewing platform. The depth doesn't really give you a feeling of the proximity of the bears. The ones over Ginny's shoulder were about 75 feet away.