Paul Corbin came to Alaska many years ago to commercially fish for salmon. The lifestyle suited him and he had many boats, caught many fish, raised a family and maintained a wilderness homestead in a remote area of southeast Alaska that would become Lisianski Inlet Lodge. Here is his story, enjoy!

The smell of gun oil and the feel of the rifle pressed against my cheek was all I could sense in what was timeless space. Stay calm, I told myself, safety is off, keep your eye on the back and front sights, whatever you do don’t move. My finger rested on the trigger waiting for what ever was going to happen. The bear stood up testing the wind, sniffing this way and then turning his huge head the other way. He dropped down on all fours and then stood up again looking straight at me. He was about 30 feet from me and could be on top of me in a leap or two. I thought to myself, “Dammit!!! don’t do it. Please bear just go away, I don’t want to shoot you”. The bear was a sleek black brown color and huge. A beautiful animal who ruled in this part of Southeastern Alaska. He stood up again sniffing the air, trying to figure out what it was standing in front of him. I believe this bear probably had never seen a human being before. Finally, the huge bear dropped down and turned sideways, moving slowly away as he looked back at this strange creature who had appeared in his territory. He crossed the muskeg and disappeared from view. After a bit, I decided it was time to return to the cabin; after all, it was almost dinner time and
we had guests to feed.