"A Woman's Bear"

by Rhonda Overman

I couldn't believe the wind could blow so strong and steady for so long. For nearly a week it had not dropped below 35 or 40 mph and the sheets of rain that occasionally came through with the wind hit my face like bb's. My outfitter, Larry Rivers, had been telling me for a couple of years that the weather would be horrible but I really hadn't imagined that it could be so bad for so long. Somehow though it didn't seem to matter, the country was so beautiful and primitive that the wind and rain seemed to be in order. It was now about 8:15 p.m. and my guide, Bob Meals, and I were intent on looking over the mountain side for a very large bear that we had spotted the night before. It had been late in the evening when we had spotted the large bear chasing a sow and two cubs up the valley wall, a chase that had ended with a 15 minute battle on the skyline. The wind had been blowing rain and snow, often obscuring our view and the darkness descended so rapidly that there wasn't any time to pursue the big bear. We had gone back to our tents, gotten a few hours sleep, and climbed back to our lookout early in the morning.

For a change the weather was exceptionally nice. The wind and snow flurries had stopped and we had spent the entire day basking in the sun under blue sky. In spite of the beautiful day we had seen nothing and now that the evening was coming on we were preparing to return to camp. On most days we would have been back in camp by now but tonight we had eaten early and returned to our glassing point in hopes that the bear would return. I was scanning the beach and the mountainside for the two hundredth time when Bob touched my arm. I hadn't even heard him approach from the other side of the hill. "Rhonda, the big boar is coming down the mountain headed straight for us! You have got to move quick!" I crawled the few remaining feet to the top of the knob and as I parted the salt grass at the top I could see the bear just 200 yds. away slowly working his way toward us. It was unbelievable, he was so big and the color appeared almost red. I was sure this wasn't the bear we had seen the previous night, as he had been so dark and large, but this wasn't the time to be wondering. I pushed my .375 into position and rested it across my pack. The bear was already moving broadside, angling away from my position. It was all happening so fast that there was hardly time to get excited. I placed the cross hair just ahead of his shoulder and prepared to fire…..

I had arrived in camp 9 days before, the conclusion of over two years of planning that had included delaying the hunt for one year due to unexpected knee surgery. Now the time for the hunt had arrived and on the 9th of May I had been picked up by Larry and flown to main camp. There I sorted out my gear and the following morning was flown into spike camp.

When I arrived in the field Bob was busy "digging in ", placing the tents into protected holes cut into the mountainside. We had been told to expect high winds of 60 to 80 knots in the next few hours and he had a lot to do to prepare the camp. We had finally gotten to bed around 10:30 p.m. and I had spent a fitful first night. The next two days had been extremely windy and cold, and though we glassed all-day we saw only a few caribou. The valley we were in was still locked in winter and the snow reached from the valley floor to the rim rock on the skyline. So far the bears were all in their dens and not even a set of tracks could be found on the mountainside. Larry had told us to watch the upper mountainside for freshly opened dens, but no matter how hard we looked nothing appeared. On the third day we had awoke to snow and more wind but still maintained our vigil at the edge of the valley. This day we were rewarded with the sight of a small 7 to 8' blonde bear chasing caribou and wandering around the valley. At one point he had come within 300 yds. of us and we were a little concerned that he would get into our camp. Fortunately this is an event that never happened. The following two days were uneventful with the exception of more wind and cold. The westerly winds known as the Siberian express were blowing in off of the ice pack and with them came unseasonable cold weather. I was sure my toes would never warm up again. On the sixth day we had been out only a short while when a large white wolf appeared just about 300 yds. away. He didn't see us as he was intent on stalking the caribou that inhabited the valley and at one point he walked within 25 yds. of us. It was extremely interesting to watch. This lone wolf worked within 35 yds. of the caribou then made a quick dash. The caribou bolted and quickly out ran him but the wolf stayed behind them until all had left the valley.

About noon that day we had a sizable earthquake. Larry stopped in to check on us on the 7th day, having been kept out of camp until now by the strong winds. He came to us with word that it appeared a bear had been working another valley and wondered if we were interested in moving camp. By now I was ready for a change of scenery so we packed up camp and moved about 20 miles south to another coastal valley.

We set up camp in a protected hollow behind several large sand dunes and prepared to hunt the following day. The 8th day started the same as those before, wind rain and blowing snow, but this day was to be different. At about 8 a.m. a saw and two cubs ran right through camp, within 20' of the tent I was sleeping in. They were obviously concerned with something besides us, as they kept looking back over their shoulder. Bob hurried to a vantage point hoping that a large boar might be chasing them. It was to no avail and so we settled in for another day of glassing. That evening we again spotted the sow and cubs but this time they were being followed by the large boar we had anticipated earlier. This chase ended with the fight on the skyline. Now the large boar was in my sights and I was squeezing the trigger.

My shot hit him in the back of the chest cavity, I hadn't led him quite enough, not realizing how fast he walked. The shot had almost no effect other than to cause the bear to stumble and change direction and speed. "Keep shooting!" Bob yelled as the boar broke into a run. I fired three more rounds from my .375 each of which turned him a little but did not stop him. By now he was out about 250 yds. and running. I had one shot remaining in my rifle but I really did not have time to think about it. I placed the cross hairs just ahead of his shoulder and squeezed. The last shot crashed through his chest and he folded in his tracks, coming to a stop piled up in a small mud hole. When we walked up to the bear I couldn't believe how big he really was! The bear was all folded up and didn't even look like a bear. His head and legs were buried in the mud.

He was so large and blond that he looked like a big mound of tundra. Only after an extensive amount of pulling and prying were we able to extract him from the mud he had fallen in, and only then did we stop to take pictures. It was a great conclusion to the hunt, especially considering the weather and the uncertainty that is involved in any bear hunt, but even that wasn't the end. The next morning Larry stopped back in camp, and as he walked in he called, "Did you get the big one that walked by camp?" Bob said, "Yes, got him yesterday afternoon and just got him packed back into camp." "How big was he?" Larry asked us. After we told him and showed him the hide hanging out of Bob's pack Larry looked up, smiled and said, "A bigger one just walked down the beach this morning, I crossed his tracks as I walked up from the plane. It looks like he probably just went through a few minutes ago." We couldn't believe it and hurried down to the beach to see. Sure enough there were a set of tracks just a little bigger than mine walking down the sand just 30 yds. from our camp! "Well Rhonda." Larry said, "There isn't any reason for you to stay out here, lets grab your gear and head back to main camp while Bob packs the gear to the beach. We will make a turn down the way and perhaps we will be able to catch a glimpse of the fellow that just went past camp." It only took a couple of minutes for me to grab my pack, sleeping bag and pad. We bundled the bear hide into the back of the plane and in a few minutes were headed down the peninsula. Sure enough, in about two miles we caught up with the bear, an extremely large old boar digging up the mountainside.

We never knew just how big my bear squared as I had it skinned out with a dorsal cut for a life size mount. But the skull measured 28 3/16" green, and Larry assured me that the hide would square well over 10'. Dinges Taxidermy Studio in Omaha later confirmed this, when they had to enlarge the largest life size form available in order to mount it. Their final estimate was that the bear measured 10'8". It was a great hunt, and really the weather was part of what made it enjoyable. I guess just realizing that I could handle the conditions and still enjoy it just made the hunt that much better.

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Title: awomans.htm Rhonda Overman's story of hunting brown bear on the Alaska Peninsula. She was successful in taking a bear measuring nearly 11 feet square. Larry Rivers
Description: awomans.htm Rhonda is one of those rare women that love to hunt, and travel the world on their own to hunt big game. She went to Alaska for a big bear, and found it on a hunt she booked with Larry Rivers on the Alaska Peninsula. An interesting story of wind, rain and big bears.
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