Since returning home, I have been reading voraciously about the bear and with each reading gain greater respect and knowledge of these great creatures. My favorite books are by Matthias Breiter: The Bears of Katmai , Bears: A Year in the Life, and Wild Alaska. He is a gifted photographer, writer, and a fountainhead of knowledge on bears. In his book The Bears of Katmai he quotes:

" What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected."

  - Sealth, Chief of the Duwamish, Suquamish, and allied Indian tribes in a letter to President Franklin Pierce in 1854  (13).

It is this awareness and understanding I took with me from Katmai. We are- all connected.

I would also like to thank Bald Mountain Air and especially Jeanne and, my guide, Gary Porter for taking such great care of me on this adventure and for showing me this pristine place on the planet.

Soon the Antarctic summer will begin, and I will envision the penguins I met last year returning to their rookeries and nests, as will I also this winter be thinking about the whereabouts and hibernation of my brown bears.