“A BEAR’S SENSE OF SMELL IS OVER TWO THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN A HUMAN’S. THEY CAN SMELL A CARCASS TWENTY MILES AWAY! MMMMM! SMELLS LIKE DINNER!”
They headed down the riverbed, keeping close to the bank. As they walked, Craig, Shoop, and Dad kept up a steady stream of brainstorming, but Buck scoped out the riverbed with his binoculars.
“There he is!” Buck exclaimed when he finally spotted it. Everyone stopped. Through the binoculars, Buck could see the bear was no longer feeding. It was pushing rocks and dirt up over what remained of the caribou carcass.
“We need to step into the woods. I don’t want it to see us,” Craig said. Everyone followed Craig up the riverbank and into the forest. “And remember, safety is number one. You guys can’t get any closer. You’ll have to stay here, way upstream. I’ll need to get a little closer to be within this gun’s range.”
“No problem. My zoom is phenomenal,” Shoop said.
“Is it safe enough to do a quick shoot with you and Buck out on the riverbed and the bear in the background?” Dad asked.
“From this distance it will be okay,” Craig answered. “If we stay close to the bank and do it quickly.”
Dad started directing. “Craig, just tell what the bear’s doing. Anything you can think of. Buck, after he’s done, I want you to add whatever comes into your head. No time to write scripts for this. Anything you need them to do, Shoop?”
“Yeah,” Shoop said. “I know you won’t shoot from here, but I want you to turn and aim your gun toward the bear. When I mix the shots, it will look like you tranquilized the bear from here.”
Buck didn’t say a word while the men were talking, but then whispered to Toni.
“What does he mean, mixing the shots?”
“It’s like cut and paste on a computer. He rearranges shots so they’re how he wants them to be.”
Toni put on the earphones and extended the shotgun mic through the trees just to the edge of the riverbed. Dad held up a whiteboard out in front of the camera. On it, he had written, Caribou Kill, Take 1.
Shoop said, “Action.”
Buck and Craig jumped down to the riverbed and looked back at the camera. A little red light was on.
“That grizzly has eaten its fill of the caribou and is now making a food cache,” Craig started, “covering it up to finish eating later. Other than a sow protecting its young, this is the most dangerous time to come across a bear. That boar will kill to protect its cache. We’re more than half a mile away. It’s not safe to get any closer.”
Shoop turned the camera toward Buck. Buck didn’t hesitate. He knew exactly what he was going to say.
“You have to remember, we’re not on top of the food chain here in Denali!” he said, looking straight at the camera’s red light. Then Craig turned and pointed the rifle in the direction of the grizzly.
“That’s a wrap,” Shoop said. The camera’s red light went out as Buck and Craig reentered the forest.
“I’ll whistle when I’m about ready to shoot,” Craig said, then slipped through the trees until he was out of sight. It wasn’t long before Buck heard Craig’s signal. It sounded like a bird calling. Dad held up the board again, this time stating, Caribou Kill, Take 2, and the camera’s red light lit up again. Dad whistled back at Craig, and Shoop got ready with the camera.
Buck looked through his binoculars. He expected to hear a gunshot, but there was no sound. Instead he saw the grizzly suddenly flinch. It immediately stood upright on its hind legs and sniffed at the air. It let out a loud roar and, dropping back to all four feet, sprang into a run toward the bank.
“Holy cow!” Buck called out. “We’d better run!”
Buck had been so intent on the bear, he hadn’t noticed Craig coming back through the woods to join them. Buck nearly jumped out of his skin when Craig reached out and took him by the arm.
“Stay still,” he said. “Never run from a bear. Running sets up the bear’s instinct to chase, and you can’t outrun a bear. But you don’t have to worry this time. The tranquilizer is taking effect.”
The grizzly went only a few steps before it staggered and stumbled. It stood up again, wobbled, and then slowly sank to the ground, lying perfectly still.
“We need to wait a few minutes,” Craig said, “before we go down.”
“How come I didn’t hear a gunshot?” Buck asked.
“It’s an air rifle. It uses compressed gas and only makes a little pop,” Craig explained as he reloaded the gun with another syringe.
“Are you going to tranquilize him again?” Toni asked.
“No. This is just a precaution. He should be completely out now, but stay here until I signal you,” Craig said, then headed across the riverbed toward the bear.
As soon as Craig waved, Buck took off running, but Toni, Shoop, and Dad walked side by side, stopping a few feet behind Buck. Buck never saw that the camera’s red light was on, the shotgun mic was aimed, and Caribou Kill, Take 3 had been written on the board.
“Man, he stinks,” Buck said. “Can I touch him?”
“Sure,” Craig said. Buck knelt down and picked up one of the bear’s paws, inspecting the claws and comparing it to the size of his own hand. Craig pulled up the bear’s lip, exposing its teeth. Buck felt their sharpness and all the while, the camera recorded. Buck was still inspecting the bear when he heard the sound of a helicopter.
“You guys need to stay back,” Craig warned. “It will kick up a lot of dust.”
They moved away as the chopper landed on the gravel next to the bear. The blades slowed to a stop, but the motor kept running as two uniformed rangers jumped out. The one who was the pilot busied himself with hooking cables to the helicopter. The other took the bear’s temperature and felt its pulse. He gave Craig a thumbs-up over the noise of the helicopter.
Craig called Buck over to help as the rangers brought a large net and spread it on the ground beside the bear. Together, Buck and the rangers rolled the grizzly onto the middle of the net. Then they walked downstream to the caribou carcass. They shoved it into the river and watched it float away.
Craig and Buck stood aside as the rangers climbed back into the helicopter. The blades began turning. The chopper slowly rose straight up until the net holding the sleeping bear swung above the ground. As it moved forward and upward, the camera continued capturing the helicopter until it was out of sight. Then Shoop turned the camera toward Buck. Toni had the shotgun mic aimed toward him too. They stood and waited, but Buck didn’t say a word.
“Why did you push the caribou into the river?” Shoop finally said.
Oh, I get it, Buck thought. He’s cueing me in to say something he can edit into the shot.
Buck looked at the camera’s red light. “We don’t want another bear to come in, smelling the kill.”
When the camera’s light went out, Buck went over to Toni.
“Why didn’t you come over and touch the bear?” he asked her. “Were you afraid?”
“No. Shoop taught me long ago that when you’re on a shoot, the crew has to stay on the sidelines,” she said. “I wish I could have, but that’s just part of the job.”
“That stinks,” Buck said.
They walked back upstream, Buck and Craig a little ahead of the others. As they walked, Buck reached into his pocket.
“Do you know how to use a compass?” Buck asked, pulling his compass out.
“Sure,” said Craig. He started explaining, but Buck interrupted him.
“I know how to tell which direction I’m going, but what if you’re trying to find your way back to where you started?”
“Good question. First, whenever you’re in the wilderness you must be observant and keep a constant lookout for landmarks to watch for when you return. And if it all looks pretty much the same, you can make a cairn like you did.”
Buck was surprised. He didn’t think anyone saw him pile up the rocks near the path.
“It would be pretty scary if you couldn’t find your way back, wouldn’t it?” Craig said, giving Buck a knowing look.
“Yeah, but I still don’t see what good a compass is, though. Not if you want to get to a specific spot.”
“To really use a compass, you need to have a map. It’s not that complex to learn, but it takes a little time. And it’s best to learn by actually doing it in a real situation.”
They had come to the cairn and waited for the rest to catch up.
“On Wednesday there’s a class on using a map and compass,” Craig told them as they stepped up onto the path and headed toward the campsite. “Want me to sign everybody up?”
“Sure!” Buck and Toni said in unison.
Dad wasn’t so enthused. “I don’t think we’ll have time. We’ll be doing a lot of shooting the next two days. On Wednesday we’ll have to start editing and mixing, and—”
“Toni and I could go by ourselves,” Buck interrupted. “We promise we’ll stay together, won’t we, Toni?”
Toni nodded, but Dad shook his head. “I don’t think so, not after your escapades today.” Dad sounded like his decision was final, but Craig spoke up.
“You don’t have to worry. They can take the bus to the Eielson Center. That’s where the class is. Bus drivers won’t let two kids off in the middle of nowhere by themselves, and I’ll have a volunteer go out to the bus when they get there. She’ll make sure they get on a bus to come back, too.”
Now Shoop piped up. “At least the class will give the kids something to keep them out of trouble while we’re tied up with work. And if Toni takes a camera, she might get a few shots we could use for filler.”
“Okay, I guess so,” Dad said. “But you have to promise to stay together.”
“And no going off on your own,” Craig added.
“Promise,” both Buck and Toni eagerly agreed. Back at the campsite, Craig went to his truck to radio in the reservation.
“Okay,” Craig said when he returned, “you’re all signed up. You need to catch the second bus Wednesday morning. It will be here at seven forty. You’ll be gone most of the day, so bring lunch and plenty of water, and throw a jacket into your daypacks too. Weather can change suddenly in the mountains. But now we need to make plans for tomorrow’s filming.”
They all sat down at the picnic table.
“Because I darted a bear, I’ll have to do some paperwork in the morning. So instead of me picking you up, you’ll need to take the first bus at seven twenty-five. Tell the driver to stop at the Stony Dome overlook, and I’ll meet you there. I’ll be able to escort you around the rest of the day, but I think you’ll be able to get some great shots near Stony Dome.”
Craig looked across the table at Buck and smiled. “That grizzly sow with twin cubs I told you about? Well, she’s been hanging around not too far from that area,” he continued, “and that male bear is around there too. We’ve been keeping our eye on him, concerned he may be getting too close to the cubs.”
“What difference would that make?” Toni asked.
“Male bears have been known to kill cubs,” Buck quickly answered. That fact was in one of his scripts.
“What if we see some wildlife before we get to the over look?” Shoop asked. “Can we get off the bus and film it?”
“No. The bus drivers always stop to look at wildlife and you can take pictures through the window, but nobody can get off a bus if animals can be seen nearby. They’ll let you off anywhere you want if wildlife isn’t obviously present. But for tomorrow, don’t get off someplace and wander around. You won’t have time.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dad said.
“Okay. See you guys tomorrow,” Craig said, and headed for his truck. He got in and started the engine, but before he drove away, he called out the window, “Don’t forget to bring that map with you tomorrow. We might need it.”
As Dad and Shoop looked over the scripts one last time, Toni put the camera equipment away. Buck folded the map and tucked it into a pocket of the camera bag. That evening the four of them sat around the campfire, talking excitedly about the caribou kill and the first shot of the new show. It was late when Shoop and Toni walked up the road to their RV, but when Buck finally laid his head on his pillow, he had a hard time getting to sleep in the broad daylight.