I know exactly what you mean, hunted Browns last year on the Nushagak River about 150 miles north of Dillingham.
Those trails are spooky things, made triply so when those damned alders are involved.
Even the guides acted verrrry carefully when on them.
[I know exactly what you mean, hunted Browns last year on the Nushagak River about 150 miles north of Dillingham.]
I have been there myself. The river areas around King Salmon and Naknek are also very spooky.
Had a neighbor, who when young had married local Indian girl, had 3 kids, village gave them land across the river, built cabin; then his Indian wife went back to her people and the alcohol. The guy fell apart. Anyway, he'd take canoe across the Yukon, sit down and ponder what had happened to his life. So anyway, this guy was a pot head too and one day his dog and him went over to the cabin, walked up river bank towards cabin with his .06 and sat down burned one. When he was done,got up to walk to cabin and walked right into a sow grizz with two almost grown cubs. He shot the momma emptied the gun into her and no more ammo. The two cubs kept circlin him and he said his dog's barking is why he's here today. Cubs knew their momma was dead and didn't like it. They just didn't have to guts to charge my neighbor without their momma there. After a few hairy minutes, the cubs wondered off into the woods. True story and the neighbor says he was high as heck the entire time,nuts.
Salmon in the alders on game trail along creek often was from a week or two before, but I bet that's what happened to those kids. They probably didn't put two and two together, no joke. I see grizz playing in deep holes in creeks from time to time, bobbing up and down, splashing around, no joke.