Testimonials

I had the pleasure of meeting Rick & Lori Townsend from Grizzly Expeditions at the Saint Paul, Minnesota sport show. Over the last 30 years many of my friends, family and I have been on over twenty different hunting & fishing adventures with Rick & Lori.

My brother took a 62½ Bull Moose and I a 65½ Bull. Many of my friends have taken Bull Moose with Rick and Lori in size from 52½ to 65¾. We have all shot all kinds of caribou while hunting with Rick & Lori. Some of us have also shot black & grizzly bear, wolf and wolverine.

My friends, family and I have enjoyed some of the best fishing in the world with Rick & Lori. We have floated very remote rivers and have fished on some great lakes for king, silver, red & silver salmon, as well as rainbow trout, lake trout, grayling, and Dolly Varden. We have also fished in Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound with Grizzly Expeditions for halibut, rock fish & salmon.

We have enjoyed every adventure we have ever been on with Rick & Lori and we look forward to many more outdoor adventures with Grizzly Expeditions.

A few years ago my nephew and I wanted to go on a grizzly bear and moose hunt in Alaska. We looked at the list of guides associated with ALPHA and picked out a guide that really sounded good to us and booked with him to hunt Moose and bear. We booked with him partly because he was a little cheaper at the time, but not much. We were told that no one else was going to be in the camp where we were going to hunt before us and we would be all by ourselves and he would be our guide. When we flew into camp we were greeted by the guide and another hunter that had been hunting for bear, moose and caribou prior to our arrival.( So much for no other hunters) the guide then informed us that they were out of food in the camp and he was going to fly out with the hunter and be back the next day with supplies and food for our hunt.

He left us with a guide and were told to sit in the cabin and glass this big mountain in front of the cabin for game. We did that for 3 days and saw a couple camp robber birds and one grouse. he never came back with supplies so we feasted on front leg of caribou that the other hunter had killed for eating and having the gut pile to attract bears. The leg was small and whenever we needed some there were several weasels feasting on it also but they are small and don’t eat much. We hunted another day and still no guide so we used the satellite phone and called for a plane to pick us up. we had had enough FUN!!

This is a long story just to show what can happen when choosing the wrong guide in Alaska. When we got back to Anchorage we went to a large taxidermy company and talked to them about how to find a GOOD guide and they were very helpful, they had a list of all the guides and outfitters and had the best guides circled and species each guide was known for. That was the best thing that happened to us because we love hunting in AK. and they had RICK TOWNSEND listed as one of the good guides so we booked a hunt with Rick and Lori for brown bear.

We can not say enough good things about our hunts with Rick and Lori. There were 4 of us hunting for brown bear and we all killed a great bear in 5-6 days of hunting. Their food and accommodations were second to none and we would highly recommend Rick and Lori to give you hunt that will be remembered for a long time to come and we are looking forward to doing it again soon and will look no farther than Rick and Lori for our hunting and fishing in Alaska. They will put 100% of their effort into making sure you have a successful and enjoyable hunt.

“Its my 14th birthday!!” That was the response I got from my youngest daughter, Malee, as I cam corded her while she was holding up a massive set antlers attached to the body of a caribou she had just shot. She and I were smiling ear to ear as we sat on the gorgeous red, white, brown and yellow tundra of Alaska . Rick had flown in my daughter , my good buddy, and I, on the vast, rugged lands of interior Alaska. We were on a self guided hunt. This was the first animal our group had shot. Two more big caribou would fall. Mine would not have huge antlers, but have many , many points. My good friend, Steve, would shoot an old , tall ,and almost palmated bull. What a trip for my daughter and I to share.

When I was a boy I had always dreamed of one day going to Alaska, hunting a place where no person ever had walked and shooting a giant moose . When we lost my mother to cancer, my dad , who was the one who taught me to hunt, needed a ‘ pick me up.’ I decided I would take him to Alaska hunting. I found Grizzly Expeditions and gave Rick a call. He seemed to be a good fit for the hunt we needed. I liked the way he and Lori ran the business and even though there was only a few phone calls between us , I booked a hunt. I had taught my daughters to hunt and he said I should bring one of them with. I took my older daughter on this hunt, who was 14 years old at the time and my good buddy too.

When we arrived at Rick and Lori’s we were not disappointed. They got us out in the field quickly, got us hunting and put us in a fantastic spot. The gear they sent us with was all very good quality and we had all we needed for a 7 day hunt. They flew over us and checked on us to make sure we were ok. We ended up having a great hunt. We all shot big caribou, my Dad getting a very nice caribou that still is the most symmetrical rack on a caribou I have ever seen. My daughter got the biggest one with 38 points. For some reason when we booked the hunt, she wanted to shoot a bear. She also got a black bear as a bonus. As we said good bye , I knew I would be back. And I knew it would be with Rick and Lori.

As we were waiting for Lori to drive us to the airport on the last day of the trip with my oldest daughter, we were looking at Lori’s Boone and Crocket Grizzly bear. My daughter was in awe. She looked at me and said , ” One day I’m going to get me one of those.” I didn’t think much of it at the time. ‘We went back to the Lower 48.’

Two years later we were back with my youngest daughter. I don’t think many girls get to shoot a big caribou on their 14th birthday. That was fantastic.

Forward 3 years. Our daughter had done a very good job in high school , both academically and in activities. My wife and I asked her what she wanted for a graduation present. She thought about it for a few days,. When she came back to us she said,”I want to go on a Grizzly bear hunt!” I think my wife was in shock, After the initial shock to me, I starting getting a big smile on my face! I think that is as good a testimony to Rick and Lori and the service they provide as any. If my daughter trusted Grizzly Expeditions with an adventure like this that should be good for any hunter.

We did go with Rick and Lori the next spring for Abby’s Griz. The weather is one thing you can’t control and unfortunately it was a very tough hunt. Abby didn’t get one. Rick said he would get her a bear though, that she should be patient.

In the meantime we had got to know Rick and Lori quite well. My wife and I went up to watch Lori in the Iditarod. They included us in the festivities and we got to ride in the sled in downtown Anchorage. Our daughters got to run the dogs and we had a very good time. During that trip , Rick and I set up my moose hunt that I had always wanted, with an option for a grizzly. We went on that trip the following fall and I bagged my moose that I had waited a lifetime for. As it ended up I got a grizzly bear also. My daughter was very let down that I had got one and she hadn’t.

The next spring I got a call from Rick. He said there was a good hunt opening up earlier than usual so the grizzlies should still be on a river during hunting. It would be a great chance for Abby to get her bear. We booked the hunt. It was a long boat ride to our prospective camp. On the boat ride up the river we were already seeing bears. I spotted one that was in the water on one side of the river. Rick beached the boat on the other side. We got out and got Abby ready. Rick told Abby to wait until he said shoot. When the bear came out of the river and stood on the shore I had the camera running and was excited as heck. I glanced at Abby , she was ready with the scope on his shoulder. We were greatly anticipating Ricks word. And what came out of his mouth? “He’s too small, don’t shoot!” I said, “WHAT? She has waited 6 years for this chance. We are 100 yards from a broadside grizzly bear that doesn’t even know we are here and you are telling her to pass it up?” I felt like rapping him upside the head with the camcorder. Abby brought me back to reality and said Rick was the guide. Rick said that as much as it is nice to get a bear the first day, we had already seen 6 bears and we weren’t even to camp yet. We went on up the river.

When we had just about got to where we were going to camp the river got very shallow. As we sat there debating what to do we saw a bear walking down the river about 1/2 mile away. Rick threw up the binoculars. After watching it for a minute or two he said it was a BIG bear. I asked him what we were going to do. His answer was short , ‘We are going to kill it.” He told Abby to grab her rifle. We started hoofing it down the opposite side of the river the bear was on trying to catch him. After you get to know Rick, when there is a big bear that he wants his client to get , he is going to to everything he can to get you that bear. So we half ran and half walked along a sometimes slippery , weedy, rocky shore. We kept going and going as the bear continued to walk . We were making some headway on him , when he made his mistake. He decided to stop and fish. That’s all we needed. Rick got us to within 150 yards. He told Abby to sit down , get comfortable, and wait for a broadside shot. When it came she took it. The bear spun around in a circle trying to bite its shoulder. I had never seen this before. It was a good shot and the bear didn’t even make it out of the river. Abby had her Griz.

Abby married John last summer. Guess where they went on their honeymoon? Sure enough back to Alaska fishing and Blacktail deer hunting with Rick and Lori.

That is my testimonial to what Rick , Lori and Grizzly Expeditions have done for us on our hunts. Along the way we have had many adventures , some trying times, many nice beautiful sunsets, and most of many , many smiles to go along with all the good times.

I made my first trip to Alaska in early 90’s and fished at Rick and Lori’s Lodge in Anvik. It was an experience I will never forget. I have since returned to Alaska several times with family and friends to fish with Rick at several Alaskan locations. Monster Salmon and Pike are a standard at his camps not an exception.The fishing has always been superb, and Ricks hunting and fishing knowledge is second to none. Lori is an excellent cook who always presents a hearty breakfast and a fishermans feast at the end of the day. I would recommend Rick and Lori Townsend to guide your next fishing or hunting trip to Alaska without reservation.

I have hunted with Rick and Lori on numerous occasions for brown bear, grizzly bear, black bear, caribou and moose. On each of these trips, both my wife and myself had a great time and really good success. I would highly recommend that hunters and fishermen look closely at the personalized service and excellent results that Rick and Lori are known for and have shown us over the years.