AK Moose/Caribou Planning and Gear Lessons Learned

[mtnbiker208]

Food in Camp.

Learn from others. There is a ton of info out there on dehydration techniques to freeze drying.
As hunters we can learn alot from the backpacking trail crowd. Many other lightweight options other than the 12.00$ dinner in a bag add water. All the info is on YouTube but one of my favorites is the The Hungry Hiker. Check her out.

Is bonecollector from eastmans going with you?
just curious.

 

[Slugz]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

Walmart sells the perfect field butcher tarp. It's woven nylon. Light, durable, inexpensive, works perfectly.

 

[LongWayAround]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

I just bought the Rab sil-nylon tarp from gohunt. It's 10x10 and about the size of a Fosters can.

 

[bmrfish]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

Tyvek


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[william schmaltz]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source/5003330935

 

[Robinhood21]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

We use these. Work as a great glassing shelter also when you want to stay out of the rain.

https://www.amazon.com/Unigear-Waterproof-Protection-Lightweight-Backpacking/dp/B071VDVR2W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=TKSXJR9ZPJV4&keywords=lightweight+tarp&qid=1689214104&sprefix=lighteeight+tarp%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-3

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[mcseal2]

Im trying to figure out the best tarp to have in the kill kit to put meat on while breaking down the moose.

Weight vs size vs durability.

Im concerned something light weight like my Caribou gear silpoly tarp may not be tough enough.

I like your plan, I am on a similar schedule. No AK trip this year but I'll be back next year.

I know caribou aren't moose, but we used the Adventure Medical 2 person space blanket from my emergency kit for a meat tarp on the caribou trip. I washed it in a pool along the river and dried it overnight at camp. I bet your silpoly would hold up. That blanket is not sturdy at all and it did the job.

I got a Onetigris 10x13 tarp (actual dimensions about 9.5'x12.8') to put over our meat on our last AK trip. It's pretty light and inexpensive for it's size. It held up on Kodiak tucked back in the brush a bit. I've made the mistake of taking to small a tarp to get all our meat spread out under on one trip. We got lucky and had good temps, no meat spoilage but I prefer a tarp that should be bigger than I need now.

I still like my Seek DST best for glassing under. We figure 1 DST for every 2 hunters. I can get by with a smaller tarp if I'll hunt by myself, but the DST has held up well to a lot of use, sets up easy, and seems to be a good blend of visibility and protection. Going to my Sheep Tarp in a blowing rain I missed the DST, I lost some visibility to get the protection I wanted compared to the DST. I bought a Hyperlite 8.5' DCF square tarp I have been taking in the lower 48, but I'm not sure I trust it as much as the DST for AK weather.

 

[mcseal2]

I will have to add the pics from my phone after typing this, but these camp shoes have become one of my favorite pieces of gear. I cut off a pair of the Tingley ultralight boots and added a thicker Dr Shoals insole. They are better than Crocs for me on a wet hunt like AK. Summertime I take them in my river camp kit and put them on at night when it cools off, or if I end up somewhere muddy and don't want to slime around in Crocs. They don't weigh much and my socks stay dry around camp. On the caribou trip I left them by the door of the big tent and whoever needed to go outside slipped them on. Around the ranch I find myself slipping them on for a lot of quick trips to do a chore.

I bought them a size big to fit the bigger insole and make them easy to slip on and off getting in or out of the tent. It can be nice to walk in these to the cook tarp to put on my waders instead of trying to finagle it in a smaller tent.

I think these are the same model boot.

https://www.amazon.com/TINGLEY-Airgo-Ultra-Lightweight-Brown/dp/B00A1B0AD0/ref=sr_1_6?adgrpid=1331510193362961&hvadid=83219642411809&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=91645&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=p&hvtargid=kwd-83220379686610%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=13197_13363700&keywords=boot+tingley&qid=1689263178&sr=8-6

 

[birwin]

For those who have hunted AK, I'm heading to North East AK for a moose hunt from 9/5 - 9/15 2024. Is there a need for a small, wood burning tent stove? Or, is it a nice to have but not a necessity? I'm limited to 150 lbs for gear.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

For those who have hunted AK, I'm heading to North East AK for a moose hunt from 9/5 - 9/15 2024. Is there a need for a small, wood burning tent stove? Or, is it a nice to have but not a necessity? I'm limited to 150 lbs for gear.

What does your pilot say?

 

[Slugz]

For those who have hunted AK, I'm heading to North East AK for a moose hunt from 9/5 - 9/15 2024. Is there a need for a small, wood burning tent stove? Or, is it a nice to have but not a necessity? I'm limited to 150 lbs for gear.

We are going that route mainly to have the option to dry things out.

 

[Robinhood21]

For those who have hunted AK, I'm heading to North East AK for a moose hunt from 9/5 - 9/15 2024. Is there a need for a small, wood burning tent stove? Or, is it a nice to have but not a necessity? I'm limited to 150 lbs for gear.

The two times I've been, we did not use an oven. Last year was VERY wet so having one would have been pretty nice but not needed.

 

[Duckhunter14]

Headed to the North Brooks in 4 weeks and got some good info from this thread. I just got a set of wiggy waders in the mail yesterday and tried them on with my hunting boots and pants and they seem like a great product. Not something I’ll be able to abuse in rocky country, but for stream crossing and marshy areas in the Brooks it seems like they’ll work great. Super lightweight and pack into a small closable bag they come with.

Bought a thermarest cot and two of the legs broke when I tried it in my living room (yes I set it up correctly). It looked like they had a weak point in the leg sections. I am returning it and going with the helinox cot, although at $300 it is a bit of an investment. Everyone has told us to have a cot though, because you’ll be sleeping in the water if not.

Planning on taking several tarps. Kifaru sheep tarp with pre tied tensioners and paracord for glassing and then a larger cheap tarp for covering meat or hanging under at camp. Then a Marsupial meat tarp for tossing meat on in the field while processing. I own one of the helinox lightweight chairs and love having it in the backcountry to relax after a long day of hiking or packing meat. Beats the heck out of sitting in the ground or on a rock.

I see several people mentioned crocs, which I always pack on backcountry trips. But I’ve heard at least in the Brooks that you’re essentially standing in water the whole time. Anyone take a light pair of like muck style boots for hanging out at camp?

 

[mcseal2]

Look at my boots above, they are perfect for that. If you want taller just don’t cut them off like I did.

 

[bmrfish]

For those who have hunted AK, I'm heading to North East AK for a moose hunt from 9/5 - 9/15 2024. Is there a need for a small, wood burning tent stove? Or, is it a nice to have but not a necessity? I'm limited to 150 lbs for gear.

150 lb is a lot. I would take one.

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[Mcseal]

Hunted AK three times now. First trip we took the stove. Last two we did not. There hasn't been a trip yet where we could find enough dry wood to justify taking the stove.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Hunted AK three times now. First trip we took the stove. Last two we did not. There hasn't been a trip yet where we could find enough dry wood to justify taking the stove.

That's typically the case, unless you're in beetle kill or a burn, and you're flying in a Stihl chainsaw and an axe.

 

[mcseal2]

Like Mcseal said, on our trips we have not found enough dry wood that we ever had a fire. On the river we camped along caribou hunting we thought if we gathered everything we could, split it to get the dryish center, and started a fire we could have a 45 minute fire after 45 minutes of prep work. That hunt was in the tundra where the river had little timber along it.

Our moose hunt was in a swamp where we lived in chest waders, no easy fires there. I have watched a lot of videos where people hunted rivers with more timber. I could see a stove being useful there, but don't have personal experience with that. Best advice is probably to ask your transporter if there will be anything to burn. It would be great to be able to dry gear even if there wasn't enough for a fire every day. Alaska hunts don't always offer a lot of sun and wind to dry stuff out.

 

[Slugz]

What's everyone's thoughts/experience on extra food ?
We are doing a river/float hunt. My plan was to bring enough for each day in the field ( B. L, D). Hoping we have heart tacos one night and tenderloins another. Plenty of grayling around for the skillet. The extra food then will be made with the fish dinners and hopefully moose meat. If no moose then still plenty of fish.