brooks range vs. north slope?
Caribou
Contributors to this thread:
Quantity and quality of Caribou herds? Cost difference due to further distance to Brooks?
Have been focusing on the 40 mile area and doing a drop camp out of Tok. What if any advantage would there be to flying up to the Brooks? More animals, more focused migration points?
Have also been conversing with Brooks Range Aviation. They use areas 26A and 23. Has anyone used this transporter before?
Have any of you hunted both?
brooks range vs. north slope? ... Tok?
Just where do you thing the north slope is?
Well I guess I dont know, LOL I thought the Brooks range was the Northern part of Alaska and the area around Tok was the the North slope. I guess I need to study up on my geography.
My question is really about how caribou hunting compares between the area around Umiat (26A/23)and area 20 near Tok. Specifically the size of the herd, quality of bulls, terrain, and logistics.
The "north slope" is anything north of the brooks to the arctic ocean. So those would be one in the same.
I've only researched the Tok area, not hunted it. I'd say big bulls can be found either place. More animals on the North Slope, but harder terrain to hunt in general than around Tok. Logistics are about the same to be honest, unless you don't want to do a fly in hunt and choose the haul road, which is a North Slope hunt.
if you want to hunt the north slope/brooks range call arrowhead outfitters for a drop camp hunt, it was a good one for us.
I sheep hunted Mount Harper which is about 100 miles N. of Tok. We saw some bou, but not a lot. One moose that only the 6 mile pack kept us from hunting.
Bou in the Tok/Chicken/Eagle area will be larger in body size by quite a bit. I killed one in the area that gave 165 pounds of lean, clean meat. You will not find that up north. The antler sizes will be larger to some degree in Tok area.
I sheep hunted Mount Harper which is about 100 miles N. of Tok. We saw some bou, but not a lot. One moose that only the 6 mile pack kept us from hunting.
Bou in the Tok/Chicken/Eagle area will be larger in body size by quite a bit. I killed one in the area that gave 165 pounds of lean, clean meat. You will not find that up north. The antler sizes will be larger to some degree in Tok area.
I've hunted out of Umiat and on the south slope of the Brooks Range. Both were great hunts and both a long time ago, 25 and 30 yrs back respectively. Arrowed two moose (one at under 3') and one caribou, saw wolves and wolverines, had grizzlies sniff the tent at night (twice). Even blunted a grizzly but that is another story. Got stranded on an island in the river for a few days when the water came up many feet over night too.
These are high adventures, not just hunts......go for it if you have the guts. Neither of the hunts in reference were guided and both involved many hours of transportation back away from roads, one by plane and the other by boat.
THAT must have been UN-NERVING Kurt! This hunt is a WILL do for me in 2015. I am as excited for it as my Elk hunt this Fall!
I'm planning on upgrading to a Hilleberg tent for Alaska. ...sure hope a Grizz doesn't add another door to it! LOL.
Still have a lot to learn about Alaska, can't wait!
Damn nerve racking when a grizzly or two are sniffing the tent at night. I got even with one 4 weeks ago in BC when I got a 13 yard shot. He did run past us at five feet with the arrow in him! Never saw us. Too exciting but that is why you hunt the big bears.
Kurt,
When I saw that email I was "grinning" for at least an hour! Awesome Man! You should consider posting the story up here :)
Kurt: I remember meeting you at Umiat in 1989! That Colville River float with Pat was my first Alaskan adventure. Hunting up there is as you say "much more than a hunt"! My eyes got much bigger after doing that float! Man I'd love to do it again! Nice to see you posting! C
I remember waking up in the middle of the night after hearing the tent "rustle" ...only to see that a grizzly/brown bear had tripped over the tent lines, and once I even saw the outline of the bear from the moonlight.......3-4 feet away.....memories of a lifetime.
I remember waking up one night after hearing a bear growling right here in Fairbanks...
But it was only Medicinemann sleeping in the back bedroom!
"memories of a lifetime."
3-4 foot is TOO close! LOL! I would have Sharted!
Pete, I heard the same thing from the back room but it turned out to be Jim and a bad case of gas:)
Had plenty of Blackies in camp but fortunately the when we had a Grizz stroll through camp we were watching him from a quarter mile away.
I remember waking up on a gravel bar along an AK river back in 1998. Something was wading in the river. It went on for a while. I don't know if it was a bear or moose. I was hoping, what ever it was, it could not hear my heart beating. It was a dark cloudy night. It was so dark that I could not see anything. I placed a hand within inches of by face and could not see it. I wonder how many heart beats I had in a 10 min period. It took a lot longer for the heart to slow enough to go back to sleep. I'm glad I didn't need a pee break. I had several more nights to sleep in that bag. I didn't dare wake my partner. I just knew he would say something and then the next thing would be something pouncing or stomping on us. Yep, memories.