laureli ivanoff

A few years ago, on September 15, Timm’s birthday wish was to drive our four wheelers to Tom Cod, a high, proud hill north of us. After eating some blueberry lemon birthday cake, TImm, Henning, Sidney and I packed up our bags with our binoculars, tea, dried ugruk meat and some chocolate.

“Should I see if Bud and Yanni wanna come with?” he asked.

My brother and his wife, our best friends, are always ready for boat or four wheeler ride to see what we can see, so they quickly got ready and we met them at the beach for our version of a birthday party.

Bud and Yann travel the trail to Tom Cod so often they were more like guides than travel partners. Once we got to the top of the highest peak around, we glassed the hills below us.

“There’s a black bear in that green patch over there,” Fred Jay said. “You can even see it without binoculars. Looks like it’s gorging on berries.”

Soon after the four wheelers were in line, following Fred Jay to the hill where the bear was eating his dinner.

I wrote about that hunt in my latest High Country News column, “A bear hunt illuminates the complexities of a marriage.”