A 20-year-old Girdwood woman working at an Alaska lodge was in good condition Wednesday, one day after she was mauled by a brown bear on the Kenai Peninsula.
Gabrielle Markel, an employee of Alaska Wildland Adventures lodge near Skilak Lake, and a co-worker were running on the Cottonwood Creek Trail less than a mile from the lodge around 4:30 p.m. when an adult grizzly emerged from thick brush and attacked Markel, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch released late Tuesday.
The co-worker, identified as 26-year-old Kaitlin Haley of California, fled to the lodge, located in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, to call for help while the bear was still on top of Markel, troopers said.
Lodge workers were headed to the scene of the attack when they spotted Markel walking back toward the lodge. The employees got the injured woman into a boat and took her across Skilak Lake, where they met responders from Central Emergency Services at the Upper Skilak Lake boat launch southeast of Sterling, troopers said.
Markel was flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for treatment of bites and scratches to her head, back and arm, according to CES captain Terry Bookey. The injuries were described as not life-threatening.
Markel was recovering at Providence Wednesday; she declined an interview request through hospital spokesperson Kirsten Schultz. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Markel's condition was listed as "good," Schultz said.
Troopers said it's unknown what prompted the grizzly to attack.
The lodge's general manager, Tom Timmel, said Wednesday that bears live in the wilderness around the business but not in a high concentration. Employees have hiked the trail where the attack happened for 15 years without incident, he said.
"We do see bears occasionally on the trail," Timmel said, "but it's not one where we're constantly on the lookout. In Alaska, there are bears."
He said Markel tried to use bear spray during the attack, but it's unclear whether she was able to actually discharge the spray or if the spray hit the bear.
Lodge employees, who hail from Alaska and Outside, undergo bear awareness training at the beginning of each season. Timmel said this summer was Markel's first official season with the lodge, but she's "been around" the company for years.
Markel's stepfather, Kirk Hoessle, is the president of the business.
Deputy refuge manager Steve Miller said park officials were traveling to the trail to determine what may have contributed to the attack. The bear attack appears to be defensive, he said.
"It appears the bear was startled for whatever reason, and it thought the best course of action was to attack," Miller said.
Cottonwood Creek Trail parallels a salmon stream, Miller said, but the refuge wants to be sure there weren't other factors that led to the mauling, such as an animal carcass attracting bears to the trail.
The refuge had temporarily closed the trail and was going to decide whether to reopen it late Wednesday, he said.