The first week of June I returned once again to MN for a weeks vacation with all my family. When I returned to King Salmon I had just a couple of days to catch up on office work and then it was off to McNeil River.
McNeil River is an Alaska State Park. It is found north of Katmai and also has a high number of brown bears. Last summer they had 72 bears in the river at one time. Pretty amazing. Unlike Katmai and other Alaskan parks, to be allowed to go to McNeil you have to win the lottery. Only 250 people a year are allowed to visit with 60% of those being Alaskan residents. The biologist of Katmai were going there on a science permit to compare notes on how they manage their bears compared to Katmai's plan.
The only way to get to McNeil is to fly and being on the coast flying in can be tricky. Luckily we had no problem except our pilot had no idea where to land. Once there you are led to the camping area. You may arrive a day or two early and stay a day or two later depending on your flight but only 10 visitors a day can go bear viewing. The camp has 16 sites for tents. It has a wonderful cook cabin complete with dishes to cook in. Better cookware than I own. It has three large tables, a small library,and a few games and puzzles for the really crappy days. It also has artwork, photos and sayings left from past visitors on the wall. And on the other end of camp there is also a little sauna where you can wash away the dirt from the long day. Two outhouses are a short walk outside of camp. I can't really say your roughing it at McNeil at all.
The camp is surrounded by willows and alder bushes. when we arrived the sun was out and the birds were singing. We set up camp and took a walk along the beach. I was told it was a great place to beach comb. But on the first day there was no treasures found.
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