DIY black bear questions

[shaffe48]

Hey,

I was in Alaska for the first time last fall hunting black bear. We didn't see any other hunters. The first area we went was insane with the alders. We climbed 14 hours without reaching the treeline and gave up and headed down the next day. After we learned our lesson, we went to another area with trails and more gaps in the alders. We saw one bear but couldn't cross the mile in between before he headed out.

I'm going again in May. I was going to go to the same area with trails but I think I might have a lot of company in the spring. So I started contacting air and boat transporters. I won't have someone to move me around, just one drop and one pick up. What are the chances of me reaching the treeline from the shore assuming that the beach is close to the mountain? Has anyone tried this? Of course I'll confide with the transporter once I have one but just in general. Has anyone done a fly in for black bear above the treeline where you can glass well? Thanks!

Dan

 

[UncleRick]

What unit are you hunting in?

 

[Gary]

"Tree line" is a function of altitude + longitude. Tree line in Unit 6 would be closer to sea level than it is in Unit 1, therefore the Unit you ae planning to hunt has some bearing on a response. In Unit 6 it is doable (personal experience), depending on slope. A better plan would be to hunt flats of marsh grass (at sea level) or set up camp where you could keep an eye on some avalanche chutes.

 

[shaffe48]

Hey thanks. I posted this here and one other forum. From that forum and others I got the idea to hunt in lower elevations in the spring as you suggested. I'm hiring a pilot to drop me off in a good area and going diy from there.