It was mid September in the high alpine mountains of Alaska’s remote interior and I laid frozen in a blueberry patch, watching over a giant grizzly grazing across the ravine. My heart felt as though it would pound out of my chest. The excitement was not from fear, nor how close the bear was, but because I recognized the bear’s unique blonde coloration and impressive size from previous years. In the past I had only found tracks or caught glimpses of the great bruin as it slipped into the forest. Until today, I never had an opportunity to close the distance. Now the bear was upwind, distracted while intently gorging on blueberries, and in an ideal location to stalk. My only dilemma was that I had already drawn a coveted brown bear tag for Kodiak Island later that fall and was only allowed one grizzly/brown bear per year. The memory of reluctantly walking away from the big bear will forever be seared in my mind.