Grizzly Skins of Alaska, Inc is a family owned business that caters to discriminating and adventurous travelers wishing to experience the remoteness and beauty of the true Alaskan wilderness. We have been in business since 1983 and operate from our private 40 acre homestead, situated within a federally designated wilderness in the heart of Becharof National Wildlife Refuge. We are located 300 miles southwest of Anchorage and the nearest US highway system. Our closest human neighbors are 65 air miles away in the small village of King Salmon. All of our supplies, from fuel to toilet paper, have to be flown in by small aircraft.
Grizzly Skins of Alaska Inc.
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The Area
The remote, seldom visited Becharof refuge is one of Alaska’s best kept secrets. Tucked into a corner behind the better known Katmai National Park, it comprises over 1.2 million acres surrounding Becharof lake, the second largest lake in Alaska. The lake and the majority of the refuge drain into the famed, ecological rich Bristol Bay region of SW Alaska. Every year hundreds of million salmon return to these waters to spawn.
Following and feeding upon this bonanza are millions of oversized rainbow trout, artic char, dolly varden, pike, lake trout and artic grayling. Attracted also to this unlimited protein buffet are thousands of brown bears. They migrate in from nearby Katmai National Park and some from distances of over a hundred miles. During the salmon run the area supports the highest density of brown bears in the world.
Migrating herds of caribou, trailed by packs of wolves, travel between seasonal feeding grounds and calving areas. In the fall , prior to their rut, moose migrate from the upper reaches of isolated valleys toward the lowlands. For hunters and fishermen the area is well known as a world class destination due to it’s immense diversity of wildlife. Wildlife however is only one aspect of the area’s beauty.
Situated along the geologically active Pacific “ring-of-fire “, steaming, snow capped volcanoes tower over panoramic expanses of open tundra. Alders, dwarf birch and willows push up through a carpet of lichens, grasses and crowberries. From May through August the tundra is punctuated with bright splotches of color from a multitude of iridescent flowers like the Kamchatka rhododendron, artic forget-me-not, moss campion, cinqfoil, lousewort and fireweed.
The tundra is also prime nesting area for countless species of migratory birds. Ducks, geese, swans, cranes, eagles, godwits, sandpipers, jaegers and innumerable passerines nest in the open tundra while the steep cliffs along Shelikof straits are home to millions of nesting murres, puffins, cormorants, kittiwakes and gulls.
The remote, seldom visited Becharof refuge is one of Alaska’s best kept secrets. Tucked into a corner behind the better known Katmai National Park, it comprises over 1.2 million acres surrounding Becharof lake, the second largest lake in Alaska. The lake and the majority of the refuge drain into the famed, ecological rich Bristol Bay region of SW Alaska. Every year hundreds of million salmon return to these waters to spawn.
Following and feeding upon this bonanza are millions of oversized rainbow trout, artic char, dolly varden, pike, lake trout and artic grayling. Attracted also to this unlimited protein buffet are thousands of brown bears. They migrate in from nearby Katmai National Park and some from distances of over a hundred miles. During the salmon run the area supports the highest density of brown bears in the world.
Migrating herds of caribou, trailed by packs of wolves, travel between seasonal feeding grounds and calving areas. In the fall , prior to their rut, moose migrate from the upper reaches of isolated valleys toward the lowlands. For hunters and fishermen the area is well known as a world class destination due to it’s immense diversity of wildlife. Wildlife however is only one aspect of the area’s beauty.
Situated along the geologically active Pacific “ring-of-fire “, steaming, snow capped volcanoes tower over panoramic expanses of open tundra. Alders, dwarf birch and willows push up through a carpet of lichens, grasses and crowberries. From May through August the tundra is punctuated with bright splotches of color from a multitude of iridescent flowers like the Kamchatka rhododendron, artic forget-me-not, moss campion, cinqfoil, lousewort and fireweed.
The tundra is also prime nesting area for countless species of migratory birds. Ducks, geese, swans, cranes, eagles, godwits, sandpipers, jaegers and innumerable passerines nest in the open tundra while the steep cliffs along Shelikof straits are home to millions of nesting murres, puffins, cormorants, kittiwakes and gulls.
Phil Shoemaker, his wife Rochelle “Rocky” Harrison and their son and daughter, Taj and Tia, are your hosts. Phil is a licensed Alaskan Master guide with a degree in Wildlife management. He is a commercial pilot and flight instructor and spent the majority of his 12,000 hours “bush” flying in Alaska.
Rocky is an avid outdoors person with a degree in biology. She also is a pilot as well as state licensed fishing and hunting guide and operates as general camp manager and chef.
Both Taj and Tia are graduates from the Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks. Taj has a degree in Natural Resources Management and Tia in Therapeutic Recreation. Both are accomplished pilots and experienced hunting and fishing guides. Growing up in the area they are highly knowledgeable of the area’s game, weather and terrain.
Rocky is an avid outdoors person with a degree in biology. She also is a pilot as well as state licensed fishing and hunting guide and operates as general camp manager and chef.
Both Taj and Tia are graduates from the Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks. Taj has a degree in Natural Resources Management and Tia in Therapeutic Recreation. Both are accomplished pilots and experienced hunting and fishing guides. Growing up in the area they are highly knowledgeable of the area’s game, weather and terrain.
Your Hosts
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