My DIY Alaska Caribou Gear List

[Kshorthairs]

What a great post. I watched all the videos last night. Terrific footage! I did wonder though what you did with the meat from first bill to last in terms of storage around camp.

 

[Brad@Argali]

Really good list. Thanks for sharing! How much water did you have to cross and how did the waders/old sneakers work? Did you feel like taking your boots off and putting them back every time you had to cross water was a pain? I've been researching this a bit and sounds like there's no perfect solution (ie rain gear and duct tape, wiggy's, chota hippies, full waders), but curious what your thoughts are on the subject?

We only crossed water a few times, and waders were the only way to go for me. Those seemingly small creeks were sometimes 7 feet deep and 4 feet across. Other option would have been to strip down and wade that way, but washers were just as easy. Its annoying to take waders on and off but a lot better than walking in wet clothes and boots. Those patagonia waders pack down to the size of a nalgene bottle, so they dont take up much space.

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[Brad@Argali]

Take a gander at the videos. They are quite enjoyable and answer a lot of your questions.

Thanks for the vids Brad, I like 'em a lot. Although the excessive turkey calling in the last one caused my wife to revoke my YouTube privledges unless she isn't in the house.

Thanks, John. And I get the same treatment when practicing calling in the house.

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[Brad@Argali]

What a great post. I watched all the videos last night. Terrific footage! I did wonder though what you did with the meat from first bill to last in terms of storage around camp.

We set it on bushes down by the lake to get air flow all around the meat. Didnt have any spoilage or bear issues, even with some of it being there for nearly 7 days.

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[Brad@Argali]

Thanks for putting this together Brad! I too enjoyed the video and find this to be a handy starting place for anyone looking to do something like this.

I think I can glean from the list, but I assume this was for a 9-day on-site hunt, or did you take an extra ration of chow in case things got western? How much caribou did you eat in field?

We were in the field 7 days and I took a few extra days of food in case we were stranded. We ate hearts, tenderloins and some back straps in the field.

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[Brad@Argali]

Brad, your list is really thorough, albeit a little heavy on the clothes! To be fair, my first couple of trips to AK I was also heavy on clothing, have pared it back quite a bit over the years.

Apologies if I missed your post-hunt writeup somewhere (and I did NOT watch the Youtube video); I wanted to pose a few questions that first-time AK hunters might not know to ask, but which might be helpful in their planning and setting expectations –

What dates were you in the field? What were the approximate coldest and warmest temps you encountered?


How bad were the bugs? Were they a constant, or were they not around much during the cooler temps or when it was breezy?


Bears. Guys coming from states without any or many grizzles would be curious – did you run into any/many bears? If you did, when did you encounter them, and were they close or at a distance?


Was it fairly easy to find a flattish camping spot? Was the ground under the tent dry, a little spongy, or pretty wet?


How long did you keep your meat in the field?


Was there anything in the field (temps, conditions, terrain, other) that was MARKEDLY different than what you expected or were planning for?

Do check out the videos as you can get a good sense for most of those questions from them. But here is some more info

Bears--they were around us pretty much every day. They kept their distance and we never had one in camp. They were mostly down around the rivers when we were there, and I avoided going down the rivers that were about 2 miles away as well.

Time of year- We went last week of August. Temps varied from t shirt weather to hard frost at night. We had pretty mild weather, but could have turned cold and snowy.

Bugs--not horrible, but they were definitely noticeable on a couple days when it was warm. Breeze helped tremendously. I dont use bug spray much in the lower 48, and I didnt need it on the hunt.

Camp spot-this was not easy due to the tussoks. Took us a while to find a place that was relatively flat and didnt have giant tussoks. But, every place is different and this is something that is highly situation dependent.

Meat- my dads caribou sat for almost 6 days. We couldn't hang meat, but were able to set it on bushes by the lake and rotate it every day to let it dry out on the exterior. That dry rind is really key to preventing bacterial growth.

And, not to make a shameless plug for our game bags, but having a high quality AND breathable set of game bags was imperative. Cheap game bags would have been destroyed by the brush and would not have kept the bugs off. This was particularly important since we had to set our meat on the brush. We also could have put our meat beneath a tarp for shade, but the meat stayed cold enough even with mild weather we didnt need to.

And honestly the only thing I underestimated severely was the difficulty of walking on the tundra. I'm used to backpack hunting in rugged terrain, but the tundra is the single most humbling surface I have walked on. Having a high quality, waterproof, stiff soled boot with gaiters for walking around I thought was the best setup since your feet will roll and flex a lot on the tundra. That stiff sole will protect your feet, and the gaiters help to keep your boots/socks dry from the constant swamp walking. I've heard some people use muck-style boots to wall around in, and IMO that would be miserable if you are going to walk any distance.

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[HHairball]

That’s a lot of gear and NOT a lot of food- very spartan- I’ve done a lot of fly in and pack in trips- and always wish I brought less gear (clothes mostly) and more food. IMHO

 

[12noregrets]

Alaska DIY Caribout Hunting Gear List


Thank you for posting your pack list. My family really enjoyed the videos. How far were you guys walking from camp each day? Did you put your food in a canister or anything?

 

[Brad@Argali]

Alaska DIY Caribout Hunting Gear List


Thank you for posting your pack list. My family really enjoyed the videos. How far were you guys walking from camp each day? Did you put your food in a canister or anything?

We hiked anywhere from 1 to 5 miles from camp each depending on circumstances and what we saw. And we did not take bear canisters but we did put our food and smeallables in a designated spot a ways from our tents and did all our cooking and eating in that area.

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[wellerd379]

Brad,

Nice gear list you put together and it has generated a questions about waders. Did you pack your waders and sneakers with you everyday for creek crossings specifically or were they really not that needed much for the day to day hunt?

I ask because it would be ideal to where my Schnees boots for the actual hunt for better support for covering ground and trying think if i would need to pack waders everyday too.

Thank you,

 

[Brad@Argali]

Great question. I think it really depends on the specifics of where you get dropped off. The terrain varies so much, it's hard to say. Some places have a lot of water around, and others not so much. I don't think it is a bad idea to be prepared to carry waders, but by no means is it mandatory. I did not carry waders every day, and instead only did it when I was planning to go a direction I knew I needed them. I have buddies that have hunted in the Brooks range in areas with very little need for waders, and others who used them every day to cross creeks to access places. Honestly you could also just not carry waders and disrobe for creek crossings. Cold, but simple.

Where we were at, there was really only one creek that it was nice to have waders for. Other than that, tall boots or boots with gaiters would have sufficed for normal tundra walking.

I also say this with a bit of humility knowing there are many other folks that have more extensive experience than I do in the Brooks Range and may have different insights.

 

[Ratamahatta]

What chairs did everyone bring?

 

[wellerd379]

Great question. I think it really depends on the specifics of where you get dropped off. The terrain varies so much, it's hard to say. Some places have a lot of water around, and others not so much. I don't think it is a bad idea to be prepared to carry waders, but by no means is it mandatory. I did not carry waders every day, and instead only did it when I was planning to go a direction I knew I needed them. I have buddies that have hunted in the Brooks range in areas with very little need for waders, and others who used them every day to cross creeks to access places. Honestly you could also just not carry waders and disrobe for creek crossings. Cold, but simple.

Where we were at, there was really only one creek that it was nice to have waders for. Other than that, tall boots or boots with gaiters would have sufficed for normal tundra walking.

I also say this with a bit of humility knowing there are many other folks that have more extensive experience than I do in the Brooks Range and may have different insights.

Argil,

Great feedback as it confirms everything I was considering not knowing exactly where we will be dropped. We will plan for the worse so we are covered and hopefully be able to adjust the load as needed.

Thanks for confirming the boots and gators for the tundra, that sounds like what I will be living in for a 5 days.

Its only a few months out now and with COVID or not, we am going! Time to get away for a while and enjoy Alaska again! it seems like one can never get enough and every time you're there, it goes way too fast.

Cheers,