40 Mile Caribou Backpacking Hunt

[elkandsheep]

I am going up to Alaska in May and staying until September for work. I am hoping to spend my free time hunting and fishing, doing the 40 Mile caribou hunt in August, and making a few trips to different parts of the state for salmon. It seems a bit late to book an air taxi, but I am in great physical condition and looking to backpack in a couple days before the season starts and then hunt.

For the 40 Mile hunt off the Steese Highway, everything I've read seems to say it’s a zoo and having a ATV seems to be important. I have a lot of time to camp in the area and scout pre-season, but I assume this will be more important closer to when the Caribou are migrating. I am looking to get away from the crowds and am willing to backpack in far. I’m not looking for spots, but I would appreciate some information on a general strategy to take, either for scouting or the actual hunt.

I talked to fish and game, and they said the White Mountains federal land is non-motorized and may have some good opportunities to get away from the crowds. There also may be other non-motorized areas announced. I see a few trails like the McKay creek that lead into here from the highway. I have read that the 40 Mile Herd does not usually come through that area but there is a White Mountains Caribou Herd that is resident. I have not heard too many good things about hunting the White Mountains Herd. Most information I’ve found online seems to point to the Eagle Summit, but it’s very crowded and has many ATV trails. I am looking to get away from this.

 

[VernAK]

"Getting away from it" is not that easy on foot especially since you won't know the proximity of the herd until just prior to your hunt. Keep in touch with ADFG in Tok for ideas.

 

[Confluentus]

As Vern said, you can’t predict where the animals will be in the fall. They could be near the Steese, or they could be near the Taylor highway. Or somewhere in-between, in which case they will not likely be accessible to the road based hunter.

There are plenty of places to hike off the road on both the Steese and Taylor highways. Several areas are closed to wheeler use, and others are just not really accessible to wheelers for various reasons. Wheelers (generally) need a trail, you don’t. Don’t limit yourself to parking with the rest of the zoo at popular spots, there can be caribou all over.

What the quota will be remains to be seen. Their area has very deep snow right now and they may be experiencing high winter mortality. If the quota is low, it can be met in only a couple of days after the opener.

 

[VernAK]

IMO that the harvest quota and the harsh winter have reduced the herd to management goals or very close. The harvest will then go back to one caribou but seasons may be adjusted or area quotas adjusted.

 

[elkandsheep]

If anyone is interested, I have complied some statistics on success rates over the last 10 years for the two main road accessible units.

 

[fishermaster]

I Looked at the stats , thanks for sharing , interesting .
Good luck with everything figuring out your hunt. Ill be following .

 

[VernAK]

High success rates indicate easy accessibility by motorized vehicles.

 

[Michael Dow]

If you are up there at the right time everyone is successful because the caribou come through by the thousands. It is usually a zoo though at least in the beginning of season and sometimes later in the season if there are reports that the herd is moving through an area.

 

[elkandsheep]

Just got up to Alaska. Tok adfg had alot of info. I am going to be backpacking the non-motorized areas in the coming months to find some locations.

 

[DLIP]

Following

 

[dmdude]

curious to what you find out

 

[VernAK]

The 40 Mile Herd is currently in Yukon Territory of Canada which may mean hunting along the Taylor Highway may be better than the Steese Highway. It's good that the herd is moving back into some of the traditional areas and resting other habitat areas.

Weather conditions permitted an aerial digital survey the first time since 2017. It will be fall before results are tabulated.

Biologists think the cows and young stock came through our rugged winter better than expected.

 

[YellCoAR]

That is some good news. For the DIY hunter. During my research I liked the Taylor hwy area better due to limited ATV trails. I would not have use of an ATV if hunting there. Some good options for pack floating as well. Thanks for the update.

 

[chapman8523]

The 40 Mile Herd is currently in Yukon Territory of Canada which may mean hunting along the Taylor Highway may be better than the Steese Highway. It's good that the herd is moving back into some of the traditional areas and resting other habitat areas.

Weather conditions permitted an aerial digital survey the first time since 2017. It will be fall before results are tabulated.

Biologists think the cows and young stock came through our rugged winter better than expected.

I was in the area the last few weeks as they migrated through and crossed over to the Yukon. Awesome site to see. Came across a sow that had killed a caribou, when I pulled out the binos there was also a large lone grey wolf circling the grizz trying to get to the kill. When I looked further, there were two cubs about a 1/4 mile from the kill watching the showdown. One of the coolest things I've ever witnessed.

 

[VernAK]

ADFG Tok is still working the digital photos of the herd. Preliminary results indicate the hunt will open with a limit of one bull per resident or nonresident hunter. Changes may occur as data requires but preliminary data indicates the hard winter and increased harvest has reduced the herd......but numbers still appear to be near the management goals.

The herd is strung out from south of Dawson City and moving west past the Y on the Taylor Highway.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

ADFG Tok is still working the digital photos of the herd. Preliminary results indicate the hunt will open with a limit of one bull per resident or nonresident hunter. Changes may occur as data requires but preliminary data indicates the hard winter and increased harvest has reduced the herd......but numbers still appear to be near the management goals.

The herd is strung out from south of Dawson City and moving west past the Y on the Taylor Highway.

Good info .....

 

[CodyAK]

ADFG Tok is still working the digital photos of the herd. Preliminary results indicate the hunt will open with a limit of one bull per resident or nonresident hunter. Changes may occur as data requires but preliminary data indicates the hard winter and increased harvest has reduced the herd......but numbers still appear to be near the management goals.

The herd is strung out from south of Dawson City and moving west past the Y on the Taylor Highway.

Called ADFG and the fella said the photo census was done.

Didn't have much else to offer regarding caribou but did mention Delta area moose and bison were hammered this winter

 

[VernAK]

Called ADFG and the fella said the photo census was done.

Didn't have much else to offer regarding caribou but did mention Delta area moose and bison were hammered this winter

Yes, this is the first weather to allow photo census since 2017. This digital process is very interesting work but it still will require time to complete the process.

The Delta Bison Herd took a beating no doubt. The herd is scattered making a count difficult but appears to have suffered a significant impact. Moose numbers also are down but i have seen a few new twins.

 

[YellCoAR]

The hot line is stating the herd is currently located on the Western part in zone 4. This is very different than what was stated earlier in this thread.

The 40 Mile Herd is currently in Yukon Territory of Canada which may mean hunting along the Taylor Highway may be better than the Steese Highway. It's good that the herd is moving back into some of the traditional areas and resting other habitat areas.

Weather conditions permitted an aerial digital survey the first time since 2017. It will be fall before results are tabulated.

Biologists think the cows and young stock came through our rugged winter better than expected.

 

[VernAK]

The hot line is stating the herd is currently located on the Western part in zone 4. This is very different than what was stated earlier in this thread.

You now know how fast caribou travel and how unpredictable they can be as a major portion of the 40MCH is now in the Steese Highway area. The bag limit will be one bull for both resident and nonresident. Quotas will be considerably less than the past few years and will be announced shortly. I expect the opening for the Steese Highway area to be very brief. I wouldn't schedule my vacation around that Steese hunt as it won't last long.