We originally had three hunters planned for this trip, and the third guy got sick. He was also the…read moreone who arranged everything with Gathering Lake Outfitters. The package we received in the mail was haphazardly assembled from multiple papers that have been photocopied many times over. 1 page ended mid-sentence and did not pick up on the next page. The instructions to get to camp told us to turn onto Camp 51 road and follow the signs. For the next 40 miles the only signs were kilometer numbers and yellow arrows. We found out later the yellow arrows were for the logging company. Lucky enough we found our way in the 60 miles on unimproved roads. We were instructed to no arrive before noon on Sunday, and when we got there the complained that if we arrived earlier, we could have hunted that day. We arrived on Sunday, and our guide departed the camp Monday and did not return until Wednesday evening so 3 of our 5 days in camp we had no guide. The Cabins are 1970 house trailers, infested with mice. The oven and furnace in our trailer were nonfunctional, but we were provided a small electric heater. With the exception of Mon and Wed we baited our own sites even though Gathering Lake outfitters website claims they do the baiting. I would guess our sites were not pre baited. My hunting partners site was never visited in 5 days all the popcorn bags were still there. Mine was never hit during the day. I know it's hunting, and you are not guaranteed a bear, it would have been nice to at least see one. I also felt like a professional outfit that they are claiming to be would have trail cams out, so they know what sites are being hit and when to ensure the best opportunity to be successful. The sites that we were on were pretty far out 12.5 and 18.5 miles out. We passed a lot of other sites to get to these on very poor roads. My hunting partners site had a stand 6' off the ground on the back side and 12 yards from the bait. Clearly a bow hunting stand and we were gun hunting. It was a poor choice to put a gun hunter in. We would have asked for a different site, but Terry the owner and guide told us don't be asking me to move, and we didn't see our sites until Monday afternoon so a change in site would mean losing another day of hunting. The stand on my site was in poor condition. their stands are plywood 2x4 and 1x3 wooden stands. Mine was very weathered, growing moss, and grown into the tree. the ladder braces were falling off and the ladder to platform braces were gone. the steps were coming apart every time I climbed up. I agree this is not a hand holding outfit. We felt very on our own for first time bear hunters. Had we gotten a bear we would have needed to drive an hour + back to camp to find any help and an hour + back out to recover the bear. The week we were there we had 4 total hunters in camp and 1 got a bear. He said he saw multiple bears. The other three of us never saw a bear. This operation has a long way to go to be the professional outfit they claim to be. Use caution and do some research there are probably better guides out there with higher success rates. I don't feel like were got the support to justify the cost of the hunt. In the end we made the best of the situation, but I would not recommend this outfitter, and I would not use them again

Great Folks Great Place Just about the most beautiful place…read morei have ever been bear hunting!