Anything you wish you took?

[Ecmiller35]

Looks for a thread and could t find one so here it goes. Headed to AK next September for a DIY caribou trip, have the gear list from the outfitter and looks pretty standard for a 10 day trip in the temp range he is expecting. Wanting to know what want on your list, you now wish you would have taken? This one calls to leave the spotting scope at home but I have talked with too many guys who wished they took one and some say hip boots aren’t needed. What else would be great to have for those of you that have gone?


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[Texizona]

A battery powered boot dryer, puffy pants and lightweight hip boots.

 

[AKBorn]

Which outfitter are you going with, and do you know where you're going (i.e., dropped on a ridgetop, or along a creek or river)? If you're on a ridgetop hunt you may not need the hippers, but if you're along a creek or river you certainly may need them.

The one thing I wished I brought, was a bigger hunt partner...on the 2 hunts where I shot a caribou about 2 miles from the airstrip, my hunt partner was 5'3", about 140 pounds could have used a bigger guy to pack more.

 

[Ecmiller35]

Which outfitter are you going with, and do you know where you're going (i.e., dropped on a ridgetop, or along a creek or river)? If you're on a ridgetop hunt you may not need the hippers, but if you're along a creek or river you certainly may need them.

The one thing I wished I brought, was a bigger hunt partner...on the 2 hunts where I shot a caribou about 2 miles from the airstrip, my hunt partner was 5'3", about 140 pounds could have used a bigger guy to pack more.

We are going to be near a river/lake to my knowledge as we are going in by float plane


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[AKBorn]

We are going to be near a river/lake to my knowledge as we are going in by float plane


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Then you will likely need the hippers to deplane and unload your gear at a minimum, may also need them to hunt in. If you want to shoot the gear list to me at [email protected], happy to look it over and share a couple of other things I typically bring.

 

[soggybtmboys]

Take hip boots, float plane means water and likely there will be drainages and feeders you will have to cross. You get your boots wet, you will wish you had them until your boots dried out. Spotting scope, saved us alot of wasted walking on assessing bulls at a distance. Walking the tundra and tussocks will break you down and beat you up. Take an extra canister of fuel in case you get weathered in and are delayed on pick up. We waited an extra day and almost got pinched in for up to an extra 5 days with a nasty front that was on its way in. Be sure you have a sat phone, with an extra battery and a way to charge it up. External battery or solar charger will work well.

Someone above mentioned, puffy pants, I'll second that. We went for 10 days and the temps ranged from 22*-68*. The weather will change 4x per day on the Slope if that is where you are heading. Spend the money on really good rain gear. We got hit with 20 hours of rain the one day....not a hard rain but soft soaker to a mist. Mine held up, but my shoulders did get damp. I had Gander Mnt H20 tech rain gear. It was fine for a quick shower, but a 20 hour prolonged soak, they gave a little. Kuiu Chugach will be worth the money.

Who are you flying with and what is your weight restriction?

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Bring a book, and enough food to last a couple of extra days. I would have punched my best friend in the face for a Snickers by about day 8. If you are around water, you are around fish. I brought a 4 piece spinning rod, and another guy brought a fly rod. That combo got us enough grayling and char to make a few good meals and entertain us when we were waiting on the other guys to get back to camp, or after dinner, etc.

Bugs can be a big concern, if you have the weight, a thermacell may be a good choice. If not, the bug coils are nice for meal time and around camp.

 

[ndbuck09]

I hunted caribou in August in the interior AK. We had the wiggys lightweight hip waders that were clutch for crossing the river and larger creeks. Also, I had my spotter and 15x binos and didn't use the spotter at all. Wished i didn't bring it because it's not hard to tell a big caribou from a long ways away lol.
Above all, I wished i hadn't forgotten my book when we were weathered in for 30 hours. And make sure your whole crew has extra food so you don't have to share yours and eat 1 meal a day for 3 days

 

[william schmaltz]

Is weight an issue? If not, pack the spotter. It's light out forever and that time can be hard to fill. Just watching grizzlies or a far off fox through the spotter makes it worth bringing. Additionally, as stated above, you will want it to judge caribou if you are after something particular. 2x more deet than you think you need, backpacker thermacell and extra fuel canister for it, lightweight cot, two extra tarps, plenty of whiskey, water flavoring can be nice after a week, hot chocolate packets, lightweight chairs, wool neck warmer is always overlooked, hip waders are really nice. If weight is an issue, we leave the hip waders at home and get off plane/cross streams with rolled up pants and our camp shoes. When cutting weight, I would rather have other items than hip waders.

Just bring helly hansen rain gear for a caribou or moose drop hunt where you set up a base camp and save your money and/or wear and tear on your expensive stuff IMO.

 

[snowcamoman]

If I'm doing fly out trips anywhere near water where weight isn't critical, forget the hip waders and bring the Simm's Chest waders. When the weather turns brutal, you slip into those things and you can comfortably hunt and hike out in the Tundra all day and not have to worry about filling up a hip boot. Plus, you get real ankle support wading boots with stockingfoot waders.

 

[Ecmiller35]

Thanks for the input guys, a lot of good reminders of things. Weigh limits are set at 55lbs a person minus rifle/bow.


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[Bruce Culberson]

A nice puffy coat, good rain gear, trekking poles, book or card game (we took a cribbage board to help pass the foggy/rainy weather), and single cup coffee filters!
Oh - and tough partners who don't whine, bitch or complain even when under heavy loads on a long pack out

 

[Bruce Culberson]

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[Blackfoot]

Starbucks oneshot coffee packets/2 per morning, mountain house breakfasts(you gotta have the calories for trekking on that tundra!), extra socks, boot dryer, trekking poles, small tarp or tepee to keep your pack/gear/gun out of the elements and not in your tent.

 

[Wigeon kryptonite]

Weight limit keep you bringing the stuff that’s not critical, but would definitely increase your quality of life during the hunt.

Where are you going? Brooks range? Interior?

I went to the Brooks range a year ago, and again this year. The big ticket items I brought this year that I wish I had last were:

-propane powered boot dryer made by peet. Runs off a 1 pound bottle.
-group shelter/teepee to wait out rain and eat in during crap weather.

Bring your spotter. Makes such a difference in judging game that’s a little ways off.


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[Ecmiller35]

Weight limit keep you bringing the stuff that’s not critical, but would definitely increase your quality of life during the hunt.

Where are you going? Brooks range? Interior?

I went to the Brooks range a year ago, and again this year. The big ticket items I brought this year that I wish I had last were:

-propane powered boot dryer made by peet. Runs off a 1 pound bottle.
-group shelter/teepee to wait out rain and eat in during crap weather.

Bring your spotter. Makes such a difference in judging game that’s a little ways off.


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We are headed north of the brooks range. Thanks for the input I have a KUIU 3 man tent that I was planning on taking for us to stay in and then another small tent for gear but thinking about getting a tipi big enough for gear and us. Something like a SO Redcliff or a 6- man tipi as there will be 3 of us.


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[Wigeon kryptonite]

We are headed north of the brooks range. Thanks for the input I have a KUIU 3 man tent that I was planning on taking for us to stay in and then another small tent for gear but thinking about getting a tipi big enough for gear and us. Something like a SO Redcliff or a 6- man tipi as there will be 3 of us.


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You won’t regret getting a big teepee.

We had a seek outside 6 man and it was awesome for gear and rain shelter and dinner.


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[Ecmiller35]

You won’t regret getting a big teepee.

We had a seek outside 6 man and it was awesome for gear and rain shelter and dinner.


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Were you out on the tundra? If so How did it do being floor less? That’s my only concern is it being wet/damp on the sleeping pads and bags without the floor.


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[Wigeon kryptonite]

Were you out on the tundra? If so How did it do being floor less? That’s my only concern is it being wet/damp on the sleeping pads and bags without the floor.


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We didn’t sleep in ours. We brought tents and used it for gear storage and shelter from the rain. No floor was perfect for that, not sure I’d be a fan of no floor where I was sleeping...if that was my plan I’d use a bivy inside or just to protect my bag.


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[mcseal2]

You might look at my post in the moose section on what I learned my first moose hunt. I reviewed how our tipi worked in the really wet environment and some other stuff that probably crosses over. I'll take a lot of the same gear when I get a caribou hunt lined up.

We had about 25lbs of food each for 10 days, not counting the stove or utensils. We had a 100lb weight limit including our guns, clothes worn in, but not including some transporter provided camp gear. Hopefully that 55lbs doesn't count what you wear in, if you wear your heaviest stuff like rain gear and waders that can create a little space.

I have a Thermarest cot that weighs a couple pounds I'd try hard to make fit if I was going with the tipi. It would get your pad/bag off the ground and protected. We had some similar height Cabelas cots the outfitter provided.