Stopped at a pullout near Girdwood and saw something weird in the mud

I was driving the Seward Highway yesterday and pulled over at that big turnout just past Bird Creek. The tide was way out, so I walked down to the flats. Right there in the gray mud, maybe twenty feet from the road gravel, was a perfect, fresh bear print. It was huge, like a dinner plate. It just hit me how close they are, even when you don't see them. Anyone else had a moment like that where you realized you were just a visitor in their space?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela3782mo ago

Had a similar chill seeing a fresh moose track right on a popular Anchorage bike trail last fall. It was big enough to put my whole boot in, and the edges were still sharp. Makes you look at the alders a little differently after that.

alex5242mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah @angela378, sharp edges mean it was real recent. Keep your head on a swivel.

brookerobinson27d ago

A bull moose and I had a close encounter near Kincaid once where I swear I could feel his breath in the cold air. Those alders go from "scenic" to "hiding a thousand-pound animal" real quick.