Considering the 5 mile hike

[AspenTimber]

Hey everyone,

I’m working on planning a caribou hunt in next year or 2. Considering a transporter off one of the rivers but also like the idea of hiking past the 5 mile bow corridor (aware of how much that can suck physically)… my main question is what signs are you looking for as far as when to make your 5 mile trek inward? This is assuming you won’t have caribou in sight 5 miles out… so are you just looking for some scattered concentrations a couple miles off the road then using their presence as a sign that there will be more further in? Just would hate to walk all that way & set up camp with no caribou for a week.

Also will there theoretically be less pressure 5 mile hiked in than if dropped along one of the rivers via transporter?

Thanks so much

 

[YellCoAR]

Good questions. I am taking my first trip up in a few days. I am hoping I can get good information from exiting successfully hunters. I also did a lot of research on migration routes. Really hard to find and difficult to put the data together. I will let you know how my plan works.

 

[AspenTimber]

Good luck! Hope you get into them

 

[ANicholsDPM]

Did it opening day. I’m in better than average shape. 0/5 stars, would not do again. Glad I didn’t find one out there the pack out would’ve been an epic bastard

 

[SaltySailor]

Did it opening day. I’m in better than average shape. 0/5 stars, would not do again. Glad I didn’t find one out there the pack out would’ve been an epic bastard

Honesty is a virtue. Every time I hike a critter out on my back farther than a mile across tundra I swear I will never do it again.

 

[SaltySailor]

Hey everyone,

I’m working on planning a caribou hunt in next year or 2. Considering a transporter off one of the rivers but also like the idea of hiking past the 5 mile bow corridor (aware of how much that can suck physically)… my main question is what signs are you looking for as far as when to make your 5 mile trek inward? This is assuming you won’t have caribou in sight 5 miles out… so are you just looking for some scattered concentrations a couple miles off the road then using their presence as a sign that there will be more further in? Just would hate to walk all that way & set up camp with no caribou for a week.

Also will there theoretically be less pressure 5 mile hiked in than if dropped along one of the rivers via transporter?

Thanks so much

You can stomp off after a few scattered bands and by the time you cover 5 miles you see zero caribou for days, or you can stomp off towards a section of land completely devoid of life signs and by the time you cover the 5 miles you are surrounded by thousands of bou. Caribou are where they want to be when they want to be there, no rhyme nor reason to them. I've watched caribou meander up a mountain to the tip-top 3000 feet straight up then seemingly for no reason turn around and come all the way back down an hour later to basically where I first spotted them. There are well known travel corridors, documented on this site, get past the 'line' and wait. They move fast and can blow right through country, just because you see nothing at first doesn't mean you shouldn't keep your eyes in the glass. God speed.

 

[KJH]

If you have never hiked across tundra a mile might sound like no big deal... Once you have, you'll understand why waking 5 miles after caribou isn't very practical. Wait at the right spots no matter how motivated and adventurous you are is my recommendation. By the time you spotted some miles away and get close to where they are, they will be somewhere else. Speaking from experience, it it out at a good funnel or crossing area. You'll see them from the air. Have your pilot fly around for 10 minutes and give you a birds eye view.

 

[AspenTimber]

All very good stuff, and thanks for the reality check too! Have walked in some nasty Alaska swamp land but never strayed too far from a navigable water source that made the pack out an afterthought…plus it was just sink each stride unlike the “never know about each step “ that it sounds like tundra provides

 

[BowMan86]

I have done this hunt several times now and is honestly one of my favorite hunts up here. You could just drive until you start seeing them from the road and trek out from there. The first year I went up there with my 12 year old son and we just started out from a spot on the road that was recommended to me from a gentleman I spoke with online and by the time I got out there I was surrounded by caribou. I have since done this hunt the last 3 years in a row with two of my buddies and we have all been successful each time we go out. I have gone out to the same area each time, but this past year there were a lot fewer caribou than I normally see. We were seeing nothing at the 5 mile mark, but hiked up over another ridge and killed all of ours on a ridge 7 miles out. Yes the hike is terrible, but doable. We were all out of shape, middle aged dads, and we each made 2-3 trips out and back. Definitely physically demanding, but more mental than anything. You will swear you will never do it again while hiking but a week later you will be ready to go again! Plus you escape all the hunting pressure. I have never seen another person out that far while hunting.

 

[Broomd]

When I decided to leave AK in 2006 I elected to do the 5 mile death march. It was on the bucket list along with landing a halibut and king salmon from my raft, black bear with a bow, a final Dall ram....
Was blessed to fill my entire list!
The hardest of the bunch was the death march and that included wading across the Sag. Wife joined me and together we took a trophy bou up there. Remnants of the rack are probably still up on the tundra, it was far too big to drag outta there, couldn't eat it anyway.

Go for it, prepare mentally and physically, get quality footwear to mitigate the miles of tussocks and the rest will come together!

 

[AdamMcKinney]

I have done this hunt several times now and is honestly one of my favorite hunts up here. You could just drive until you start seeing them from the road and trek out from there. The first year I went up there with my 12 year old son and we just started out from a spot on the road that was recommended to me from a gentleman I spoke with online and by the time I got out there I was surrounded by caribou. I have since done this hunt the last 3 years in a row with two of my buddies and we have all been successful each time we go out. I have gone out to the same area each time, but this past year there were a lot fewer caribou than I normally see. We were seeing nothing at the 5 mile mark, but hiked up over another ridge and killed all of ours on a ridge 7 miles out. Yes the hike is terrible, but doable. We were all out of shape, middle aged dads, and we each made 2-3 trips out and back. Definitely physically demanding, but more mental than anything. You will swear you will never do it again while hiking but a week later you will be ready to go again! Plus you escape all the hunting pressure. I have never seen another person out that far while hunting.

I have done this hunt several times now and is honestly one of my favorite hunts up here. You could just drive until you start seeing them from the road and trek out from there. The first year I went up there with my 12 year old son and we just started out from a spot on the road that was recommended to me from a gentleman I spoke with online and by the time I got out there I was surrounded by caribou. I have since done this hunt the last 3 years in a row with two of my buddies and we have all been successful each time we go out. I have gone out to the same area each time, but this past year there were a lot fewer caribou than I normally see. We were seeing nothing at the 5 mile mark, but hiked up over another ridge and killed all of ours on a ridge 7 miles out. Yes the hike is terrible, but doable. We were all out of shape, middle aged dads, and we each made 2-3 trips out and back. Definitely physically demanding, but more mental than anything. You will swear you will never do it again while hiking but a week later you will be ready to go again! Plus you escape all the hunting pressure. I have never seen another person out that far while hunting.

Hi, I am planning a haul rd hunt this year in August or sept you mind answering a few questions?

 

[LCoult]

Good questions. I am taking my first trip up in a few days. I am hoping I can get good information from exiting successfully hunters. I also did a lot of research on migration routes. Really hard to find and difficult to put the data together. I will let you know how my plan works.

any luck last year? I am headed up that way in about a month

 

[YellCoAR]

any luck last year? I am headed up that way in about a month

Had a great trip even though we did not fill a tag. Had a couple small bulls we chose not to shoot in close. It really is hit or miss as most of the caribou were off the road system a ways. The fishing was good. Enjoy a experience not many get to do. Take a bow if able we would have shot the smaller bulls if closer to the road, but a meat animal at 5 + miles not for me.

 

[LCoult]

Had a great trip even though we did not fill a tag. Had a couple small bulls we chose not to shoot in close. It really is hit or miss as most of the caribou were off the road system a ways. The fishing was good. Enjoy a experience not many get to do. Take a bow if able we would have shot the smaller bulls if closer to the road, but a meat animal at 5 + miles not for me.

Im glad you had a good trip! I am very much looking forward to the adventure itself. We are all bringing our bows and then 1 rifle for the group so hopefully we can fill our tags one way or another. Glad to hear the fishing was good. Were you just throwing like rooster tails for grayling?

 

[YellCoAR]

Im glad you had a good trip! I am very much looking forward to the adventure itself. We are all bringing our bows and then 1 rifle for the group so hopefully we can fill our tags one way or another. Glad to hear the fishing was good. Were you just throwing like rooster tails for grayling?

If you can buy the spinners or rooster tails with a single hook. If you get the larger rooster tails with treble hook the hook can be a little big and you miss a bunch of strikes. The small rooster tails work pretty good but it can be hard to get to the fish in swift water. Make sure to hit Jim's River 3 on your way up or back. Also I think it is Happy Valley fish the Sag. There is an old air strip there good fishing from the camp area all the way down the air strip.

 

[LCoult]

If you can buy the spinners or rooster tails with a single hook. If you get the larger rooster tails with treble hook the hook can be a little big and you miss a bunch of strikes. The small rooster tails work pretty good but it can be hard to get to the fish in swift water. Make sure to hit Jim's River 3 on your way up or back. Also I think it is Happy Valley fish the Sag. There is an old air strip there good fishing from the camp area all the way down the air strip.

Awesome man I appreciate the advice

 

[AdamMcKinney]

I have done this hunt several times now and is honestly one of my favorite hunts up here. You could just drive until you start seeing them from the road and trek out from there. The first year I went up there with my 12 year old son and we just started out from a spot on the road that was recommended to me from a gentleman I spoke with online and by the time I got out there I was surrounded by caribou. I have since done this hunt the last 3 years in a row with two of my buddies and we have all been successful each time we go out. I have gone out to the same area each time, but this past year there were a lot fewer caribou than I normally see. We were seeing nothing at the 5 mile mark, but hiked up over another ridge and killed all of ours on a ridge 7 miles out. Yes the hike is terrible, but doable. We were all out of shape, middle aged dads, and we each made 2-3 trips out and back. Definitely physically demanding, but more mental than anything. You will swear you will never do it again while hiking but a week later you will be ready to go again! Plus you escape all the hunting pressure. I have never seen another person out that far while hunting.

Headed up to Fairbanks on August 26th any chance I can ask ya a few questions. Couple 40 year old vets planning on the 5 mile hike. Potentially crossing sag on packrafts?

 

[BowMan86]

Headed up to Fairbanks on August 26th any chance I can ask ya a few questions. Couple 40 year old vets planning on the 5 mile hike. Potentially crossing sag on packrafts?

Yeah definitely, sent you a PM.

 

[Nick Muche]

Sounds awesome! Get after it fellas!

 

[LCoult]

I have done this hunt several times now and is honestly one of my favorite hunts up here. You could just drive until you start seeing them from the road and trek out from there. The first year I went up there with my 12 year old son and we just started out from a spot on the road that was recommended to me from a gentleman I spoke with online and by the time I got out there I was surrounded by caribou. I have since done this hunt the last 3 years in a row with two of my buddies and we have all been successful each time we go out. I have gone out to the same area each time, but this past year there were a lot fewer caribou than I normally see. We were seeing nothing at the 5 mile mark, but hiked up over another ridge and killed all of ours on a ridge 7 miles out. Yes the hike is terrible, but doable. We were all out of shape, middle aged dads, and we each made 2-3 trips out and back. Definitely physically demanding, but more mental than anything. You will swear you will never do it again while hiking but a week later you will be ready to go again! Plus you escape all the hunting pressure. I have never seen another person out that far while hunting.

Awesome man! Im headed up the haul road August 8-15th, is there anyway i could also ask you a couple of questions?