Sleeping on the Beach
-John Eickert
There is never enough time to follow your dreams and wishes, even if you plan. And, sometimes, adventures can become demanding, tiring to the point of collapse and this isn’t for everyone, but then even modest plans can
change. We set off to cross from the mainland of Alaska to a large island. We waited for the tide to run out and then launched our ocean going kayaks into the calm waters of the Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska. From our experience and considering the conditions,
the crossing would take us two hours. If the seas were calm and we kept a steady pace then less time, it should have been easy.
The conditions changed from calm and sunny to a sharp wind in our faces and driving rain. The crossing took five hours and as soon as we entered the shelter of a bay on the large island, the wind stilled and the rain stopped.
It was sunny and hot within minutes. We planned to lunch on this island then paddle further to another and camp there for the night. After the difficult ocean conditions we were all tired and everyone found a spot to rest before we made our meal. I paddled
a short distance away from the others, beached my kayak, secured the boat and then walked up the gravel beach a short distance and lay down. I fell asleep so quick, I did not remember falling asleep, but woke some time later with a sharp start. When I woke,
I had the strangest feeling and shook my head, trying to remember the short dream I had. The dream came to me, I dreamt of sitting before a large meal, but not eating it. Well, the morning’s ocean passage was difficult; I was hungry. I would not sit and stare
at a meal.
The tide was now running in and had I not woken when I did the waves would have been at my feet. I sat up and listened to the waves rising and falling on the steep gravel beach, a sound that reminded me of applause. I stood
and stretched my legs and started for my kayak, now eager and ready to join the others. I stopped when something caught my eye and returned to my resting spot. There were tracks in the gravel at the head of the beach less than a body length from the spot where
my head lay. The tracks were easy to read in the soft moist surface. An Alaskan brown bear, a carnivorous animal three times the size of the largest tiger had stopped and watched me while I slept. The tracks continued along the beach in the direction of our
agreed lunch spot. I hurried to find and inform the rest of my group. This is the closest I have ever been to such a large carnivore in the wild- and I didn’t even know it. Lucky for me the bear was not as hungry as I was.
Bear tracks, courtesy http://www.dsstephens.net/
Read about a dream trip to Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (near Lucknow U.P) written by Vikrant Nath