Thanks much!
Footwear will vary wildly on some of these hunts, if you can ask the transporter what the country is like. for example, I've had some trips where we live in Hippers and others where we never put them on
Consider meat storage- any shade trees [doubt it], should you bring dry bags to sink the meat in a cold lake or stream?
Bugs!! Some days you will pray for wind
Nice to have a heater or something to dry clothes
Nice to have something to occupy time if stuck in your tent for a couple days at a time
I like small dia arrows and minimal fletch for trips like this
Main lesson: Check the rental tent before you load it on the plane. Ours came without stakes; fortunately I was able to cut some from nearby brush, but what if the previous hunters had burned a big hole in it and didn't tell the air service when it picked them up?
Do a lot of skull work and plan your gear carefully. Break it down to essential and optional items.
Don't think bad luck can't happen. Bears, weather, breakage, etc. Plan for it.
Have communications/emergency plan. Satellite phone, PLB, SPOT, etc.
Don't plan to eat what you can kill. Bring enough food for the entire trip.
Your sleeping bag needs to be warm enough for the coldest possible night you might face. I've seen near-zero in mid-late September.
A wrecked tent is a wrecked trip, so select this item with utmost care.
You'll have to buy your stove fuel after you arrive. Coleman liquid fuel is the easiest to find, and gas canisters are hardest.
Know way ahead of time how to cleanly butcher a caribou using the gutless method...how you will pack and carry meat...and most importantly how you will protect and care for the meat after recovery.
Having a good, accurate idea of the terrain and ground conditions is essential to choosing boots and a few other items. If trees are near, you might want a saw.
Airplanes are costly to operate, so keep your pilot in town until you really need his services. A sat phone rental is likely cheaper than having him check on you twice.
I will be doing a few Alaska trips and I really don't want to put up with a crybaby! Great thread BTW. Mike
Choose your partners wisely!! Bad partners can ruin a hunt.
If going in August plan for mosquitos as horrible as you can imagine, multiply that by 10x, then pack 100% deet bottles accordingly.
Meat care is tough, especially if you drop one early. Discuss meat haul options with the transporter mid trip if available.
Take a rented sat phone. Crap happens. Don't call home every night for 30 mins to see how everyone is doing, but having it there if you fall onto an arrow or slice off a finger could be the difference in making it home or your transporter coming back in a week to find a corpse.
Pack not only enough food, bring 2-3 days extra because weather seems to change hunting plans in alaska 50% of the time or better...
Mule Power's Link
The stuff goes on your clothes not your skin and get this.... lasts for 6 times through the washing machine of that's an indicator of how well it works. I was able to do an entire bear hunt without even turning on the Thermacell. Available at Wal Mart.
Alaska has a no hunt on fly day rule, and I would point you to http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main for the latest information and regulations. 2015, regulations come out in June 2014 and are available from the website in pdf, http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildliferegulations.hunting there are also tools on the website for looking up species specific information, types of hunts available and notices about hunt closures. Although there are many great outfitters here in Alaska, I would do a DIY hunt. Fly into Fairbanks, rent a truck and drive the Dalton highway (we call it the haul road) to Deadhorse. That is management areas 24 and 26 and runs along the pipeline. There is a five-mile buffer that is bow hunt only and one of the best areas to hunt for meat and the occasional trophy. The Alaska hunting regulation has a section about meat care and requirements for sex and if you can bone it in the field, some areas require the meat to stay on the bone. If you hunt the haul road area it is all tundra and looks but is not even close to being flat and is a pain to walk on. It can get very windy with little cover but you could wake up and find your tent surrounded by a herd. An external frame pack is a must because you will come out with more than 100 pounds of meat then your gear and there are not motor vehicles allowed off the road, but that is just for that area.
Dieter Kaboth Hunting Adventures Pierce Idaho
Just my friendly suggestion.
The haul road is a good hunt. It is not a great hunt.
A fleece sleeping bag liner gives you some flexibility in controlling your comfort level.
Muck boots and rubber gloves. (I've never had much luck with Gore-Tex boots and gloves.)
Bug dope and netting! Even if the guide says you don't need it, bring it. (A Canadian's or Alaskan's definition of "no bugs this time of year" may be very different from yours!)
Even if you have rain gear (pants and jacket), a big poncho is still a good idea. If it's really pouring, you can hunker down and use it as a "tent" for you and your pack.
2. Don't skimp (be cheap) on best clothing available. The best piece I took with me was a heavy wool shirt but I also wish I had bought Sitka/Kuiu heavy mountain pants.
3. Take a 'pee' bottle with a wide mouth...it really sucks to leave a warm sleeping bag and step out into rain/wind in the middle of the night.
4. Determine early in the hunt who in your group is the HEAVY snorer...they'll sleep in a separate tent by themselves. Don't think this is funny because after five sleepless nights there'll be some short tempers in camp.
5. Be sure to sort out what types of food you can eat and those you cannot. My gut is allergic to some foods (ie. cauliflower) and my first day in camp was not delightful after one particular meal.
6. Rent a satellite phone and call the family every other day to let them know you are okay.
7. A good quality variable (20-60x) spotting scope saved us a lot of hiking - take one and use it religiously.
8. Be sure all your equipment is in working shape before you leave. On a rifle hunt in grizzly country I found out that the magazine follower in my Marlin was not properly cycling ammo.
9. Be prepared by having a meat processor lined up before you leave home. Give yourself at least 48-hours after you get back to town (Fairbanks, Anchorage, etc.) for them to process your meat. By arranging our processing before we left Colorado AND meeting him before we flew out he moved us to the top of his list and had everything finished when promised. It was really easy to pick up the boxed meat on the way to the airport.
10. Be prepared to split, wrap and box your antlers before you head to the bush. It took us a full day to do this before we left to the airport. Frontier Airlines treated us extremely well at the front and rear of the hunt.
11. If taking a firearm with you, TSA was extremely courteous to us coming and going. They did search our gear (randomly selected) so don't be freaked if your bags look like they've been searched when you get home.
12. Originally we gave ourselves 2 days after the hunt to prepare for the flight home. Because we came out a day earlier than expected we had 3 days - we were grateful to have time to do some shopping, packing and taking our friends out to dinner. My point is that you need extra time at the front and end of your hunt to pick up anything you find you need (or left at home).
13. Tip your transporter (generously!) - don't forget that he/she's the one responsible for bringing you out safely.
14. Take extra (fully charged) fully charged batteries for your camera and at least 2-16 gig cards...and take LOTS of pictures.
Until they are without them, they may not even realize that they are.
Others (like me) enjoy creature comforts (beer, toilet paper, and bacon) but seem to "switch on" when away and cut off from civilization.
I wish I could afford more of that. Some day....
DJ
Do you suppose maybe Rick was referring to the waitress at Big Daddy's BBQ in Fairbanks?
Pete
Bring a fat wallet everything in AK is expensive.
Good rain gear isn't a luxury. I like the KUIU Chugach stuff.
Go have fun!
Kurt
I should have said great partners can make a great hunt even better!!
I even heard of one group who had to make a sat call to get the videographer out of the bush:)
Good thing that we did not stop at Big Daddy's before the hunt or we may have had one more in camp, not that it would have been a bad thing:)
I am on seeing you in NJ. Next year. Becky and the kids said hello.
Sorry for the thread hijack.