- Grizzlies right in front of the tent when waking up
- I watch the two of them for over three hours and shoot a record-breaking 577 photos
- Pole dancing watching grizzly bears
- Slide on a catastrophic road
- A first flat tire
- Tire change with some difficulties
- Continue to the Ogilvie Mountains
What will today have in store for me, I still think to myself when opening the hatch of my roof tent. Oh no, fog. But on closer inspection, there is something else. Two massive shadows can be seen outside in the tundra. There are actually two grizzlies not thirty meters away from me. The two, obviously the mother with her practically full-grown cub, are grazing comfortably.
As the advertising slogan of a credit card company describes it so appropriately: Certain moments in life are simply priceless. It's crazy, you drive hundreds of miles without seeing a single bear and when you get up in the morning they are practically in front of the door. In between the fog clears a bit and I manage to take some great shots. Bears in this amazing autumn landscape, that's exactly what I had secretly dreamed of about the Dempster Highway. Pure Indian Summer!
When the bears withdraw a little, I can have breakfast in peace. But the two don't go too far and always stay in sight. I hope that the fog will lift a little more and wait. See there, my waiting is rewarded! The two fine specimens are approaching the car again and the weather is getting a little friendlier. I've been watching them for almost three hours now. One highlight chases the next. Sometimes they march directly past the parked car, sometimes the boy lies down playing on his back or the two continue to trot directly on the street.
The “pole dancing grizzly bears” of the Yukon
The absolute highlight is when both bears rub each other back to back on a pole. I've seen a lot of bears by now, but this encounter is probably the most special. At 1 p.m. I finally took a record-breaking 577 photos. Much will be useless in the unfavorable lighting conditions, but there are some pictures included that I would not have dreamed of. The pictures are later printed by various media such as the English daily newspapers the Sun or the Times and are known as the “pole dancing grizzly bears”.
Then I finally struggle to drive off. The road conditions are catastrophic. The nocturnal precipitation has turned the dirt road into a single slide. It's like driving on soap or fresh snow. In sections I skid myself at 20 km / h and the car turns sideways. Fortunately, the road is wide and oncoming traffic is a real rarity. Others are hit even harder: a truck camper has even slipped off the raised lane and must now be pulled out.
When I finally reach the Arctic Circle, I meet an Alaskan woman there. Obviously, I talk to her about sightings of animals and road conditions. So far she has been less fortunate than me and has already had three flat tires. I say goodbye and make my way south. Suddenly I have a bad feeling, the last stone was probably one too many. Sobering, I realize that my fear is a fact: the right rear tire is flat. But somehow that is also part of the Dempster Highway experience.
At least the sun is shining now. The car is covered in mud all over. So bring out tools, lower the spare wheel, loosen broken tires, lift the car, try to loosen tires. Then it happens: the jack sinks into the soft ground and the car slips with it. That could have ended more stupidly, because the car is close to the sloping roadside. Anyway, a stupid rookie mistake it goes through my head! Before I even have time to get out of the mess, helpful Canadians arrive, who have a hydraulic jack. With this we manage to lift the car and change the wheel. With the narrower spare tire I carefully continued my journey.
At the Eagle Plains Hotel, I learned that the tire could no longer be repaired and that they didn't have any in stock. That is of course more stupid, after all, I still have more than 400 kilometers to go to Dawson City. I have no choice but to drive on carefully. Around 8 p.m. I again reach the place with the wonderful view, where I stayed three days ago and will spend another night there.
Contribution to "The Telegraph"
One Response
Always great photos, keep it up! Have fun and enjoyment!