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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 22. Heading Home

March 13, 2020

Saturday, May 11th 2019 I managed to sleep soundly despite my long nap yesterday afternoon. I jumped into the shower and finished packing my last minute items. One more of Olya’s breakfasts, with one last helping of the white cherry preserves on my granola. Add some fried eggs and bacon, all washed down with several […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 21, Last Day Hunting and a Picnic

March 11, 2020

Friday, May 10th 2019 Awake at 6:30 but managed to doze on and off until 7:30. Man, I like the late start hunting times. It is nice to sleep past daybreak. Olya had her usual yummy breakfast ready at 8:00. This was my next to last breakfast here and I took the time to relish […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 20, Dragunov SVD

March 9, 2020

We made a few more treks after lunch and I began to tire. When Igor noticed and asked about me, I confirmed I was tired. He offered me a choice of hunting the long way home or short way home. I opted for the short way home. My back was tired but not to the […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 19, “Victory Day” in the middle of nowhere.

March 6, 2020

Thursday, May 9th 2019 Today is “Victory Day” in Russia. It is the day Russians celebrate the surrender of the Nazi’s in 1945 and ending WWII. It is a day of national pride, full of parades, speeches, and military spectacle. There was none of that in hunting camp, just us and the bears. Hopefully, the […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 18, An explanation is in order.

March 4, 2020

After getting cleaned up and supplied with a sundowner, I asked Julia to call Igor and Vasili to request their presence for a few moments. When they got there I told her I needed some better information about the big bear they wanted me to pass on. It turns out there were two reasons they […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 17, Short Break and More Bears

March 2, 2020

Since we were already stopped we decided to take a break and have something to eat, something to drink, and perhaps more importantly some time to rest my back. Climbing off the snowmobile, in order to rest my back and legs, was better than good. It was downright wonderful. I poured myself a cup of […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 16. Back in the saddle

February 26, 2020

Wednesday, May 8th 2019 Woke up too darn early again. 5:30 AM was 8:30 PM yesterday. I guess it could be worse. I tried to doze off again, but that was for naught. It was 1:30 PM yesterday at home. I could send some text messages back to the folks at home, so I spent […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 15, Laid Back Look Around Day

February 24, 2020

Julia and I spent the next few hours discussing anything and everything over several more cups of coffee. It pleased me no end that she wanted to take the time to get to know me. She explained the better she knew me, the easier it would be for her to express my thoughts to the […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 14 Rough Morning

February 21, 2020

Tuesday, May 7th I desperately wanted to sleep late, but 16 time zone changes in five days, nine of them yesterday, had my internal clock completely haywire. My brain said to get up, so it did not matter it was only 6:30. What did matter was the pain I experienced upon trying to get of […]

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Kamchatka Land of 10,000 Bears, Part 13 My Bear

February 19, 2020

I had just started to cool down and let some perspiration evaporate when the guys informed me they were ready for some pictures. Back on went the coat, hat, goggles, and gloves. Out came the rifle and I headed back towards the bear. After just a few steps, fatigue hit me and I realized just […]

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