Chapter 4

(Day 3- morning, the cabin on Neil Lake on the Deshka River)

Grif was awake before daylight, and packed his gear back into the Cessna. After the pre-flight inspection, he and the dog took off and headed to Talkeetna to refuel. It was a quick stop, grabbing some coffee while the plane was being serviced and the dog visited the local shrubbery. Shortly they were back up and climbing past Mount McKinley.

They were cruising north at 8500 feet, the better to avoid any migrating waterfowl. Barney had ridden in the planes with Grif and Tara before, and her main worry was that he would somehow open the door in flight and jump out after some geese they passed. So before he left, Grif took the precaution of putting him in the back seat with a short leash, and covering the seat with an old blanket that Tara let him use.

The previous fall, they had hunted some of the sloughs off the Yukon, and one day, on the way back nearly collided with a flock of Canada geese. That was bad enough, but Barney had wanted to go out the little passenger window and get them! Grif wasn't going to be the one to tell Tara that Barney took up skydiving without a parachute!

They continued the flight at the specified altitude until after they passed Nenana. Then Grif altered their course slightly towards Bettles, where they would again refuel.

From Bettles, Grif followed the heading to the Northwest. The hills here were higher here, and they had to maintain 8500 feet to be safe. Cloud cover was light and visibility good. Grif headed towards the cache tower where the trail hit Reed Creek for a landmark, and would follow the trail from there, back towards the starting point. At first Grif wasn't sure if he passed it, so he circled again further west.

This time Grif found the mouth of the creek on the Kobuk, and flew upstream until he found the trail. Once Grif located the trail, he trimmed the flaps slightly to maintain a slower airspeed. Grif followed along the trail towards the Northeast. He told Barney, "Watch for birds, Boy." The dog perked his ears up and started scanning the sky. Labs are smart dogs, and Barney was one of the smartest. He knew what watch for birds meant anyway. By then Grif was where they should have made camp, but saw no sign of them.

Grif had a bad feeling and turned towards the starting point at cruising speed. Grif then would back track from the drop off point. Once he reached Walker Lake, Grif set his flaps as to land, reduced his airspeed and started towards where he saw the bears the previous day. Grif then followed the trail to where the hikers were, and past. Three hills beyond where he had seen the bears previously, Grif spotted what looked like a backpack. He circled again, and this time saw what he thought was Dick or Barry's bright green Animals First windbreaker in some brush on the side of the trail. That could have been what Tara said that she saw.

On the third pass, Grif saw a dark red patch that could be blood. He would have to set down to have a closer look. First he would look further down the trail to see if there were any signs of life. About three miles past where Grif saw the abandoned pack and jacket, he thought he saw a white flash. I slowed and circled lower. It was a white arrow pointing down the trail. It looked like toilet paper.

The last thing Grif could think of an Environmentalist doing was littering, so something was very wrong. Further down the trail, he saw another white line that folded over on the end to indicate a direction. Then he saw another, and one more, and finally, one in the shape of an "X" near the junction of two other trails. Grif circled that area then continued to follow the trail they should be on. He came to an area where it looked like someone had camped. It appeared they had struck camp and moved on but for two things.

First they had left a tent bag on the site, meaning they packed in a hurry. You can't lose it if the tent has to go inside of it. Secondly there was a plastic sheet made of green camouflage material under a tree. The light green shades stood out as if it was yellow against the dark greens, browns, maroon, and rust color of the early fall landscape.

Grif circled again to see the camo cover, and this time was sure that he saw a part of a dark blue tent that looked like it had been dragged there in a hurry! It was obviously the tent that belonged to the bag at the top of the small hill! Grif didn't want to tip them off, so he circled on down the trail, and made like he hadn't seen anything.

Possibly there was a criminal element on the loose in that area, and may have done harm to the families, and was trying to hide the evidence. Grif tried to raise someone on the plane radio, but was not in range or nobody was manning the station that may receive the call. Out of sight, he headed back to investigate the scene he now feared was either a bear attack or a murder scene.

Grif set down on the lake where Rudy and he had dropped the group off two days earlier, and let Barney out. Grif then shouldered a pack with the First Aid Kit in it and the guns, the shotgun in his hands for in close, and the rifle on his shoulder for over fifty yards. Barney was going wild. He thought they were going hunting!

What the guns were for, Grif hoped, he wouldn't be trying to retrieve. He carried the shotgun at ready in case he was charged at close range. Having marked the distance in his mind, Grif knew that even at his fast pace, it would be close to forty minutes before he reached the scene. Still he plodded on with urgency knowing he was heading into danger.

At times like this, Grif recalled something that fit the situation, the 23^rd Psalm:

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."

That verse seemed most appropriate, especially since he was walking into the "valley of the shadow of death". Armed or not, Grif knew he was probably dealing with three good-sized bears. If Grif had to kill one, then by law he have to skin it and bring out the hide and head and take them to Fish and Game, where he would probably still have to pay a fine. Of course that would be a moot point if the other two got him. It was not something Grif wanted to do, but if the victim were still alive, Grif would be his only chance of survival.

As Grif neared the area he had seen the pack and jacket, Barney stopped, and his hair bristled. He emitted a low growl. "Hush, Barney," Grif scolded. Sometimes a dog is one of the worst things you can have in a bear encounter. He quieted, and Grif stroked his ear and whispered, "Heel." They started to approach slowly. Then Barney perked up, and moved behind Grif, who looked and saw the first bear about five hundred yards away. That is a good distance to see a bear from he thought. Grif loaded a duck load into the chamber of the Remington 870, and fired into the air in his direction hoping the gunshot would scare it off.

The one that Grif saw stood, and looked for him, sniffing the air. He fired another shot. This time the sow bear and the other cub were seen moving away at a fast trot. The curious one followed the mother and its twin. Now Grif moved faster to the scene. Grif didn't expect it to be pleasant. He'd never seen a real bear attack scene fortunately, and had in fact successfully avoided "being one" a few years earlier.

When he got there, Barney was like a growth on Grif's leg now that he knew there were bears close by. Grif was still on pins and needles. Barney whimpered and Grif said, "Where is the man, Barney?"

The dog moved slowly to the side of the hill, and started whining again. Then Grif saw the jacket, about the same time he stepped in what from the air looked like a pool of blood. It was. There was one arm sticking out of the jacket, and he could now see where it was missing the head. The jacket had the gold "Animals First!" logo on the blood stained back. Barney nudged his leg, and led Grif to the badly chewed head. It was the head of Dick Ray. "Leave it!" he told Barney who was sniffing at it.

Then Grif found a camera and five feet from it a camcorder, still on, but with now dead batteries. He picked these up, and placed them in a saddlebag type carrier he had found for Barney. Farther downhill from Dick, Grif saw another green windbreaker. This looked covered with dirt, leaves and moss. Looking around to make sure there were no more bears close by, shotgun at ready, he started towards it. It was another victim, and as he walked a few steps closer, Grif saw it was Barry.

He was grayish looking and his mouth agape and one eye half-open. Grif nudged him with the shotgun, and he didn't move. He reached for his neck to detect a pulse. Grif did not expect one. He was cold. Grif had seen horrible death before in Nam, but you never truly get used to it. Then Grif found the second camcorder, and a compass that had been ripped from around his neck during the attack. He added these to the saddlebag.

Grif looked further, and found the packs of the two men. Each compartment had been systematically opened and emptied out. The bears wouldn't do that. He concluded that the family had come back to check on them or it was human scavengers, who opened them and dumped the contents, and then left the area. Grif looked a few more minutes and had Barney span out some, but the two bodies were all they found. He did find some leaves disturbed by a bear and a pool of blood on a tree. Grif now knew the others had escaped, and at least one was wounded.

Grif told Barney, "Let's go boy!" and the dog heeled close behind. Grif fixed the saddlebag with the camera gear inside and left the rest for the State Troopers and Game wardens to clean up. Before he started back Grif noted the position on his hand held GPS, and wrote it down. They were considerably more hurried going back. Grif didn't bother to snap Barney back in, and took off right away to head for the Bettles Airport. There, he would be able to contact ADFG to get the game wardens in to recover the bodies and initiate a search for the others. After reporting it to the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO), and giving him the paper with the GPS location, Grif called Nenana to see where Rudy was.