Alaska, eh? There’s really no place like it. When it comes to the “great outdoors,” there’s no place greater than Alaska. It is home to some of the most pristine forests and bountiful populations of wildlife in the whole world.
When a person thinks of Alaska a few things come to mind. Mainly, true woodsmen, those that live in the great unknown, taking on the wild as a daily challenge and doing everything they can to survive out there. Its one of the few places a person can truly live off the land, with enough wildlife around to sustain them, and the untamed area to stay away from other people.
But being in a place this wild has its challenges. Significant challenges. Like, how does someone get to these remote areas? Modern technology allows us to speed up the process of walking or horseback and we can fly nearly anywhere now. Whether it’s a helicopter, a bush plane or a water plane, there are options to get you out there, and to do so relatively quickly.
And it’s not just the lands that are wild, so are the waters. Alaska offers world class fishing, sought after by anglers everywhere. Their rivers, lakes and coastlines are filled with activity from brown bears eating salmon, to people catching monster halibut.
Whales aren’t the first thing to mind when it comes to thinking about Alaska. But let me tell you, they are definitely there. The ocean that supports so much life gives plenty of food for these massive creatures. The bays on the coasts are perfect for whales to push schools of fish in and corner them off for an easy meal.
This bush pilot found that out quickly and probably with a scare as he tried to land his pontoon plane in an Alaskan Bay. The video shows the plane coming to land on the water, a pretty cool sight on its own. But just as the plane comes in, a whale breaches right in its path. Seeing the whale’s blowhole erupt tipped him off and the pilot reacts quickly to get the plane pulled up over the whale before setting it down for the landing.
“HOLY F**** He damn near landed on that ****** whale!”
Couldn’t have said it better myself… that was a close one. But when in Alaska you have to expect the unexpected… at any time.
