What I Learned On The Haul Road 2024

[Midwest Caribou]

I wanted to do a thread since I learned so much from this forum for this hunt. I have been putting it off. I imagined some sort of organized information but I am just going to spill it out in bullet points in no order.

Our hunt was August 13-26th including travel time. If I had to do it again, I would consider going after September 1st so the Caribou were moving more. Guys I went with wanted to shoot a velvet bull. They were moving through the Slope Mountain area the week before we got there but not as heavy when we were there. We never even loaded our guns. Guys at cold foot killed them 40 more miles north. Temps were 29-60. 15 mph winds almost every day. NO BUGS though. Rained almost every night. Only rained during the day one time. Snowed twice but the snow was gone by mid morning.

Flew into Fairbanks and stayed at the River Edge resort. Little personal cabins you can drive right up to. They have an airport shuttle service but it was not running when we got there (2AM) . Uber was only $7

We rented a truck from Alaska 4x4 using the discount code from this forum. Truck was nice and we did not have any major problems. One running board was half broken off when we picked the truck up and the oil change sticker said it was 3500 miles past due. Oil looked new on the dip stick and they said their new shop doesn't change the stickers when doing the oil changes. We brought the running board to their attention and they noted it on our account and no other issues came from it. We were banking on getting bear spray, fuel cans, and an extra spare tire from Alaska 4x4. After reading post again, that is the guys personal offering and not the companies. The company did say they would send an extra spare tire along but none were available at their Fairbanks location at that time. We ended up not having any tire troubles or vehicle troubles at all. Keeping the speed under 60 mph, pulling over when passing semis, and watching out for road debris on the shoulder were they key to no trouble in our opinion. We rented a Dodge 2500 and it got around 14 mpg. The topper on the truck was super handy.

If I did it again I would not have brought extra gas. Alaska 4x4 had a list of where gas is available and it is fairly often. We got gas at Coldfoot and Deadhorse. Did not even come close to needing gas from our cans.

Bought Stove fuel at Sportsman's warehouse.

Alaska Airlines were way more helpful with lost luggage and service than American or United

You can use your frame pack as a carry on. I got on 5 different planes with my Pro 6000

Bought our tags and license at Fish and Game in Fairbanks. They told us most of Caribou kills were between Galbraith Lake and Slope Mountain. They were doing construction here and the flaggers said there had not been many through in about a week. There were some caribou along the road so we chose to walk in. We saw some bigger bulls but they were always 2 miles away. We heard many times to not chase them so we did not go after them.

The tundra lives up to its reputation. I rucked over 130 miles before the trip, lost 50 pounds, worked out at crossfit 3 days a week and ran my first 5k even. I was still sucking air and hurting. If I ever go back, I am going to mainly do the stair machine.

Going to post this now so I do not lose it.

We had never done anything like this so we packed too damn heavy going in the first time.

 

[HuntHarder]

Cool write up! On my first Alaska trip I too learned that the Tundra is no joke! I am in pretty damn good shape and it still kicked my butt. I also tore my meniscus packing out my caribou. Muck boots and Tundra sucked.. lol

 

[Viking3520]

Thanks for the information. It was a good read. I am on the plane right now flying to Fairbanks...a couple more hours to go till i get there. Plan on hunting close to where you were talking. Galbraith lake was a point of interest I was aiming for and see what I see in between. I will be up here through Septmber 17th. So maybe the hunting gods will be kind to me. Keeping it simple. I have my rifle and bow with me. My other buddies could not make it and canceled. So,...I am solo. I have hunted elk all over the back cou try of Wyoming, montana and Colorado so this will be an experience. Made it out of Iraq alive after 3 tours, let's see if I can make it out of Alaska while solo. Just needed some quiet time. Turning 45 on this hunt.

 

[Midwest Caribou]

We were ignorant and packed heavy. If we thought there was a chance we might need it, we brought it.

Our first walk in we left at 8pm. Somewhere we heard you could get 5 miles in 2.5 hours. That was incorrect. Loaded down you are looking at 1mph walking. We got 3 miles in and a storm was coming and we were beat down. We stopped and made camp. I would not recommend camping before the 5 mile line. We had to walk 2 miles every day before we could start hunting and 2 miles back to camp every day when finished. It sucked.

We had better luck navigating with OnX vs the Gamin explore ap. Just make sure you download your maps before hand.

We hunted two days and only saw some bulls off in the distance 2 miles or more.

We decided to head back and find a new spot. We walked out and drove to Deadhorse so we could rest, scout and get see the town. We went to Brooks general store for supplies and ate a prime rib dinner (Sunday nights) at Brooks Camp

With our spirits recharged, fuel tank full we headed back south. We saw caribou and hunters several spots. At one point we saw 6 different people stalking up on a bull with bows. It was a madhouse. We drove past all that (hind sight we shouldn't have) and went back to Slope Mountain. We dumped almost all of our gear in the truck. Camp stools, spotting scope and tripod (Still had 1 between 3 of us) I left my gun at the truck (That is about how confident I was) head lamps, extra batter banks, extra clothing, camp shoes, extra food, and we hiked in 5 miles to find someone camping already. Se we went another mile in (6 miles total). We set up camp and hunted that area for 3 days. We only saw a cow and calf each day. We saw a Grizzly on each side of the road in this area and bear scat QUITE often.

You are not supposed to chase caribou they say, but in hind sight you still need to walk in where you are seeing them from the road. The guys from Texas we talked to in Coldfoot said they saw some from the road, and every rise the went over walking in, there was more and more caribou. The 5 mile hike is very time and energy consuming, so choose a spot wisely. Knowing what i know now, I feel like we could go back up there and have success.

Random Notes :

We had a floorless tipi. All the rage they say. We brought house wrap to sit on and lay on. Very light, compact and keeps you dry.

Sleeping pad vs cot was a debate of ours. We all ended up with sleeping pads and decided a cot would not be worth the weight or hassle. They would just sunk in and you would be on the ground.

Boots. I had Lathrop and Sons new, another guy had Crispi, and the third had Kenetrek. All reported dry feet, no blisters. I wore my gaiters the whole time, the other guys did no wear theirs. Their pans got more wet than mine. I always wore mine on because you never know when your going to find a deep hole. We also agreed that the gaiters helped keep your feet warmer in camp.

I had carbon fiver trekking, they had aluminum. Both worked fine. Thiers had longer spikes so they stood upright in the tundra better, I had to bend over an pick mine up each time.

I brought chap stick and was happy to have it for the dryer air

Bring some food that doesn't need water or boiling water. The Peak meals were nice and tasty, but when on the road or days were were hiking in or out, it was a hassle to stop and "make" food. The other guys in my group had more ready to eat food which lead to them eating more. We were all running at a calorie deficit. They had packaged food by day and never ate all their food. I did not each all of my food either which by calorie math I should have been short. I estimate I lost 10-12 pounds in 10 days. I was 6 pounds down when I got home still after eating the whole way home.

We saw 10 caribou from the road and though "this is it" We are assuming at this point you want to see quite a few more to consider them in the area.

The weather on the Garmin In Reach lies. Temp was accurate but the rain and wind was always forcast lower than what we got. 10 mph wind and 0.04" of rain means your tent is going to blow away almost.

I used a hand me down Gortex rain jacket and pants from my grandpa. Even though I only used it for about an hour, after getting our there I wish I had bought something newer and lighter. I worried the whole time about getting wet and cold form cheeping out on my rain gear.

We all brought dude wipes. One guy on a Facebook hunting group said to bring some dry TP too. We did not take that advice but in hind sight it would have been nice to not have a swamp ass the whole time.


NO SIDE QUESTS. We bought fishing poles, 44 mag birdshot to try and shoot ptarmigan, wolfe tags. All that shit stayed in the truck. Just focus on shooting a damn caribou. That is why you are there.

Walking out at the end at went 6 miles in about 3 hours. We were a little lighter, a little tougher, and alot of home sick on the way out I guess.


There might be more but this is all I have for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[LoH]

Thanks for the information. It was a good read. I am on the plane right now flying to Fairbanks...a couple more hours to go till i get there. Plan on hunting close to where you were talking. Galbraith lake was a point of interest I was aiming for and see what I see in between. I will be up here through Septmber 17th. So maybe the hunting gods will be kind to me. Keeping it simple. I have my rifle and bow with me. My other buddies could not make it and canceled. So,...I am solo. I have hunted elk all over the back cou try of Wyoming, montana and Colorado so this will be an experience. Made it out of Iraq alive after 3 tours, let's see if I can make it out of Alaska while solo. Just needed some quiet time. Turning 45 on this hunt.

Good luck enjoy and happy birthday.

 

[Viking3520]

Thanks for the information. It was a good read. I am on the plane right now flying to Fairbanks...a couple more hours to go till i get there. Plan on hunting close to where you were talking. Galbraith lake was a point of interest I was aiming for and see what I see in between. I will be up here through Septmber 17th. So maybe the hunting gods will be kind to me. Keeping it simple. I have my rifle and bow with me. My other buddies could not make it and canceled. So,...I am solo. I have hunted elk all over the back cou try of Wyoming, montana and Colorado so this will be an experience. Made it out of Iraq alive after 3 tours, let's see if I can make it out of Alaska while solo. Just needed some quiet time.

Good luck enjoy and happy birthday.

Thank you. Either way..it will be an experience. I am not the best at replying sometimes. But if anyone is interested I will make an effort and do a write up afterwards on here.

 

[khunter]

We were ignorant and packed heavy. If we thought there was a chance we might need it, we brought it.

Our first walk in we left at 8pm. Somewhere we heard you could get 5 miles in 2.5 hours. That was incorrect. Loaded down you are looking at 1mph walking. We got 3 miles in and a storm was coming and we were beat down. We stopped and made camp. I would not recommend camping before the 5 mile line. We had to walk 2 miles every day before we could start hunting and 2 miles back to camp every day when finished. It sucked.

We had better luck navigating with OnX vs the Gamin explore ap. Just make sure you download your maps before hand.

We hunted two days and only saw some bulls off in the distance 2 miles or more.

We decided to head back and find a new spot. We walked out and drove to Deadhorse so we could rest, scout and get see the town. We went to Brooks general store for supplies and ate a prime rib dinner (Sunday nights) at Brooks Camp

With our spirits recharged, fuel tank full we headed back south. We saw caribou and hunters several spots. At one point we saw 6 different people stalking up on a bull with bows. It was a madhouse. We drove past all that (hind sight we shouldn't have) and went back to Slope Mountain. We dumped almost all of our gear in the truck. Camp stools, spotting scope and tripod (Still had 1 between 3 of us) I left my gun at the truck (That is about how confident I was) head lamps, extra batter banks, extra clothing, camp shoes, extra food, and we hiked in 5 miles to find someone camping already. Se we went another mile in (6 miles total). We set up camp and hunted that area for 3 days. We only saw a cow and calf each day. We saw a Grizzly on each side of the road in this area and bear scat QUITE often.

You are not supposed to chase caribou they say, but in hind sight you still need to walk in where you are seeing them from the road. The guys from Texas we talked to in Coldfoot said they saw some from the road, and every rise the went over walking in, there was more and more caribou. The 5 mile hike is very time and energy consuming, so choose a spot wisely. Knowing what i know now, I feel like we could go back up there and have success.

Random Notes :

We had a floorless tipi. All the rage they say. We brought house wrap to sit on and lay on. Very light, compact and keeps you dry.

Sleeping pad vs cot was a debate of ours. We all ended up with sleeping pads and decided a cot would not be worth the weight or hassle. They would just sunk in and you would be on the ground.

Boots. I had Lathrop and Sons new, another guy had Crispi, and the third had Kenetrek. All reported dry feet, no blisters. I wore my gaiters the whole time, the other guys did no wear theirs. Their pans got more wet than mine. I always wore mine on because you never know when your going to find a deep hole. We also agreed that the gaiters helped keep your feet warmer in camp.

I had carbon fiver trekking, they had aluminum. Both worked fine. Thiers had longer spikes so they stood upright in the tundra better, I had to bend over an pick mine up each time.

I brought chap stick and was happy to have it for the dryer air

Bring some food that doesn't need water or boiling water. The Peak meals were nice and tasty, but when on the road or days were were hiking in or out, it was a hassle to stop and "make" food. The other guys in my group had more ready to eat food which lead to them eating more. We were all running at a calorie deficit. They had packaged food by day and never ate all their food. I did not each all of my food either which by calorie math I should have been short. I estimate I lost 10-12 pounds in 10 days. I was 6 pounds down when I got home still after eating the whole way home.

We saw 10 caribou from the road and though "this is it" We are assuming at this point you want to see quite a few more to consider them in the area.

The weather on the Garmin In Reach lies. Temp was accurate but the rain and wind was always forcast lower than what we got. 10 mph wind and 0.04" of rain means your tent is going to blow away almost.

I used a hand me down Gortex rain jacket and pants from my grandpa. Even though I only used it for about an hour, after getting our there I wish I had bought something newer and lighter. I worried the whole time about getting wet and cold form cheeping out on my rain gear.

We all brought dude wipes. One guy on a Facebook hunting group said to bring some dry TP too. We did not take that advice but in hind sight it would have been nice to not have a swamp ass the whole time.


NO SIDE QUESTS. We bought fishing poles, 44 mag birdshot to try and shoot ptarmigan, wolfe tags. All that shit stayed in the truck. Just focus on shooting a damn caribou. That is why you are there.

Walking out at the end at went 6 miles in about 3 hours. We were a little lighter, a little tougher, and alot of home sick on the way out I guess.


There might be more but this is all I have for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

photos?

 

[FAAFO]

We were ignorant and packed heavy. If we thought there was a chance we might need it, we brought it.

Our first walk in we left at 8pm. Somewhere we heard you could get 5 miles in 2.5 hours. That was incorrect. Loaded down you are looking at 1mph walking. We got 3 miles in and a storm was coming and we were beat down. We stopped and made camp. I would not recommend camping before the 5 mile line. We had to walk 2 miles every day before we could start hunting and 2 miles back to camp every day when finished. It sucked.

We had better luck navigating with OnX vs the Gamin explore ap. Just make sure you download your maps before hand.

We hunted two days and only saw some bulls off in the distance 2 miles or more.

We decided to head back and find a new spot. We walked out and drove to Deadhorse so we could rest, scout and get see the town. We went to Brooks general store for supplies and ate a prime rib dinner (Sunday nights) at Brooks Camp

With our spirits recharged, fuel tank full we headed back south. We saw caribou and hunters several spots. At one point we saw 6 different people stalking up on a bull with bows. It was a madhouse. We drove past all that (hind sight we shouldn't have) and went back to Slope Mountain. We dumped almost all of our gear in the truck. Camp stools, spotting scope and tripod (Still had 1 between 3 of us) I left my gun at the truck (That is about how confident I was) head lamps, extra batter banks, extra clothing, camp shoes, extra food, and we hiked in 5 miles to find someone camping already. Se we went another mile in (6 miles total). We set up camp and hunted that area for 3 days. We only saw a cow and calf each day. We saw a Grizzly on each side of the road in this area and bear scat QUITE often.

You are not supposed to chase caribou they say, but in hind sight you still need to walk in where you are seeing them from the road. The guys from Texas we talked to in Coldfoot said they saw some from the road, and every rise the went over walking in, there was more and more caribou. The 5 mile hike is very time and energy consuming, so choose a spot wisely. Knowing what i know now, I feel like we could go back up there and have success.

Random Notes :

We had a floorless tipi. All the rage they say. We brought house wrap to sit on and lay on. Very light, compact and keeps you dry.

Sleeping pad vs cot was a debate of ours. We all ended up with sleeping pads and decided a cot would not be worth the weight or hassle. They would just sunk in and you would be on the ground.

Boots. I had Lathrop and Sons new, another guy had Crispi, and the third had Kenetrek. All reported dry feet, no blisters. I wore my gaiters the whole time, the other guys did no wear theirs. Their pans got more wet than mine. I always wore mine on because you never know when your going to find a deep hole. We also agreed that the gaiters helped keep your feet warmer in camp.

I had carbon fiver trekking, they had aluminum. Both worked fine. Thiers had longer spikes so they stood upright in the tundra better, I had to bend over an pick mine up each time.

I brought chap stick and was happy to have it for the dryer air

Bring some food that doesn't need water or boiling water. The Peak meals were nice and tasty, but when on the road or days were were hiking in or out, it was a hassle to stop and "make" food. The other guys in my group had more ready to eat food which lead to them eating more. We were all running at a calorie deficit. They had packaged food by day and never ate all their food. I did not each all of my food either which by calorie math I should have been short. I estimate I lost 10-12 pounds in 10 days. I was 6 pounds down when I got home still after eating the whole way home.

We saw 10 caribou from the road and though "this is it" We are assuming at this point you want to see quite a few more to consider them in the area.

The weather on the Garmin In Reach lies. Temp was accurate but the rain and wind was always forcast lower than what we got. 10 mph wind and 0.04" of rain means your tent is going to blow away almost.

I used a hand me down Gortex rain jacket and pants from my grandpa. Even though I only used it for about an hour, after getting our there I wish I had bought something newer and lighter. I worried the whole time about getting wet and cold form cheeping out on my rain gear.

We all brought dude wipes. One guy on a Facebook hunting group said to bring some dry TP too. We did not take that advice but in hind sight it would have been nice to not have a swamp ass the whole time.


NO SIDE QUESTS. We bought fishing poles, 44 mag birdshot to try and shoot ptarmigan, wolfe tags. All that shit stayed in the truck. Just focus on shooting a damn caribou. That is why you are there.

Walking out at the end at went 6 miles in about 3 hours. We were a little lighter, a little tougher, and alot of home sick on the way out I guess.


There might be more but this is all I have for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Great summary! Sucks you were not successful. If you go again I’m sure you’ll get it done!

 

[shmcleod]

Thanks for the information. It was a good read. I am on the plane right now flying to Fairbanks...a couple more hours to go till i get there. Plan on hunting close to where you were talking. Galbraith lake was a point of interest I was aiming for and see what I see in between. I will be up here through Septmber 17th. So maybe the hunting gods will be kind to me. Keeping it simple. I have my rifle and bow with me. My other buddies could not make it and canceled. So,...I am solo. I have hunted elk all over the back cou try of Wyoming, montana and Colorado so this will be an experience. Made it out of Iraq alive after 3 tours, let's see if I can make it out of Alaska while solo. Just needed some quiet time.

Thank you. Either way..it will be an experience. I am not the best at replying sometimes. But if anyone is interested I will make an effort and do a write up afterwards on here.

Just an FYI, non resident season only goes through 9/15

 

[shmcleod]

Thanks for the information. It was a good read. I am on the plane right now flying to Fairbanks...a couple more hours to go till i get there. Plan on hunting close to where you were talking. Galbraith lake was a point of interest I was aiming for and see what I see in between. I will be up here through Septmber 17th. So maybe the hunting gods will be kind to me. Keeping it simple. I have my rifle and bow with me. My other buddies could not make it and canceled. So,...I am solo. I have hunted elk all over the back cou try of Wyoming, montana and Colorado so this will be an experience. Made it out of Iraq alive after 3 tours, let's see if I can make it out of Alaska while solo. Just needed some quiet time. Turning 45 on this hunt.

Go north! Right now the boy are closer to pump Station 2

 

[kthomas29]

Sounds like a great trip, thanks for the write up

 

[YellCoAR]

Well don't feel bad. The tundra has humbled and provided the main ingredient for tag soup for many men.
What most people don't understand about the walk in area is you have no clue what is 5 miles from where you choose to depart. I feel luck is a valuable thing to have. If a person goes into this hunt with the right attitude it will be a great experience even if the locking tag is not used.

 

[Legion5430]

We were up there 24 Aug to 1 Sep, 4 guys total no caribou killed. Just a few things to add

1. Yes the tundra sucks, we never did a straight line walk anywhere there seemed to always be a water obstacle of some kind. Would definitely bring either chest waders or at a min hip boots.

2. Weather was ok had some light snow and rain towards the end of the trip. I was using Patagonia rain gear and would upgrade before I went again.

3. Rented from GoNorth and they were awesome F350 with a topper, agree you don't need the extra gas we refueled in Deadhorse twice.

4. Pump stations have internet/cell access which we used to send the all ok texts back home.

5. We saw about 100 caribou total maybe 15 bulls, there were more camps than caribou at the gun line. We only saw two big bulls that had been killed with the other hunters we ran into. We only saw a few caribou out at the gun line so not sure the walk is worth it.

6. Ran into some guys that had hiked east of the Sag to the gun line, said they saw about 200 hunters total in three days out there. We watched an airboat head down river to drop guys in.

7. All in expenses for each of us was about $2K airfare, tags, truck rental, hotels day in and out etc.

Overall I would go again it was a great trip even without getting any caribou. Spent a week on the tundra with some of my very best friends and had a great time.

 

[cKnob01]

We were ignorant and packed heavy. If we thought there was a chance we might need it, we brought it.

Our first walk in we left at 8pm. Somewhere we heard you could get 5 miles in 2.5 hours. That was incorrect. Loaded down you are looking at 1mph walking. We got 3 miles in and a storm was coming and we were beat down. We stopped and made camp. I would not recommend camping before the 5 mile line. We had to walk 2 miles every day before we could start hunting and 2 miles back to camp every day when finished. It sucked.

We had better luck navigating with OnX vs the Gamin explore ap. Just make sure you download your maps before hand.

We hunted two days and only saw some bulls off in the distance 2 miles or more.

We decided to head back and find a new spot. We walked out and drove to Deadhorse so we could rest, scout and get see the town. We went to Brooks general store for supplies and ate a prime rib dinner (Sunday nights) at Brooks Camp

With our spirits recharged, fuel tank full we headed back south. We saw caribou and hunters several spots. At one point we saw 6 different people stalking up on a bull with bows. It was a madhouse. We drove past all that (hind sight we shouldn't have) and went back to Slope Mountain. We dumped almost all of our gear in the truck. Camp stools, spotting scope and tripod (Still had 1 between 3 of us) I left my gun at the truck (That is about how confident I was) head lamps, extra batter banks, extra clothing, camp shoes, extra food, and we hiked in 5 miles to find someone camping already. Se we went another mile in (6 miles total). We set up camp and hunted that area for 3 days. We only saw a cow and calf each day. We saw a Grizzly on each side of the road in this area and bear scat QUITE often.

You are not supposed to chase caribou they say, but in hind sight you still need to walk in where you are seeing them from the road. The guys from Texas we talked to in Coldfoot said they saw some from the road, and every rise the went over walking in, there was more and more caribou. The 5 mile hike is very time and energy consuming, so choose a spot wisely. Knowing what i know now, I feel like we could go back up there and have success.

Random Notes :

We had a floorless tipi. All the rage they say. We brought house wrap to sit on and lay on. Very light, compact and keeps you dry.

Sleeping pad vs cot was a debate of ours. We all ended up with sleeping pads and decided a cot would not be worth the weight or hassle. They would just sunk in and you would be on the ground.

Boots. I had Lathrop and Sons new, another guy had Crispi, and the third had Kenetrek. All reported dry feet, no blisters. I wore my gaiters the whole time, the other guys did no wear theirs. Their pans got more wet than mine. I always wore mine on because you never know when your going to find a deep hole. We also agreed that the gaiters helped keep your feet warmer in camp.

I had carbon fiver trekking, they had aluminum. Both worked fine. Thiers had longer spikes so they stood upright in the tundra better, I had to bend over an pick mine up each time.

I brought chap stick and was happy to have it for the dryer air

Bring some food that doesn't need water or boiling water. The Peak meals were nice and tasty, but when on the road or days were were hiking in or out, it was a hassle to stop and "make" food. The other guys in my group had more ready to eat food which lead to them eating more. We were all running at a calorie deficit. They had packaged food by day and never ate all their food. I did not each all of my food either which by calorie math I should have been short. I estimate I lost 10-12 pounds in 10 days. I was 6 pounds down when I got home still after eating the whole way home.

We saw 10 caribou from the road and though "this is it" We are assuming at this point you want to see quite a few more to consider them in the area.

The weather on the Garmin In Reach lies. Temp was accurate but the rain and wind was always forcast lower than what we got. 10 mph wind and 0.04" of rain means your tent is going to blow away almost.

I used a hand me down Gortex rain jacket and pants from my grandpa. Even though I only used it for about an hour, after getting our there I wish I had bought something newer and lighter. I worried the whole time about getting wet and cold form cheeping out on my rain gear.

We all brought dude wipes. One guy on a Facebook hunting group said to bring some dry TP too. We did not take that advice but in hind sight it would have been nice to not have a swamp ass the whole time.


NO SIDE QUESTS. We bought fishing poles, 44 mag birdshot to try and shoot ptarmigan, wolfe tags. All that shit stayed in the truck. Just focus on shooting a damn caribou. That is why you are there.

Walking out at the end at went 6 miles in about 3 hours. We were a little lighter, a little tougher, and alot of home sick on the way out I guess.


There might be more but this is all I have for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Just got back from a caribou hunt myself. You have some great points that I agree with. Having snacks that don’t require water boiling is a must. Gaiters are a must when walking through shallow water or thick brush (pretty much the whole tundra). Aluminum trekking poles bend where carbon poles will just snap so I’ve heard. Regular tp AND wet wipes is a better combo. Garmin weather forecast is not worth the money at all. Almost never accurate. I do have to disagree about the side quests though. It depends on how long of a hunt you’re on I suppose. I was on a 10 day float trip so we had some down time. But eating some fresh fish and ptarmigan is great for morale and something other than mountain house meals.

 

[22lr]

Its such a great trip up there! Great summary!

If you spend alot of time on your map apps there are a few places you can walk solid road for a few miles off the highway to really cut down on the tundra trekking (I found a few that were gated but not posted, and just storage sites for road maintenance). I need to do the trip again and just count on hiking in. To avoid hunters out past the gun line, try to avoid the bigger lakes/river access points that the boat and float plane guys will be using. Caribou hunts are all about timing, you either see them or you don't, get into the general area of where the herd is and just go. Its like the stock market, time in the field beats trying to time the exact field.

For locals, its worth hauling gas if your bringing your entire requirement. I did it from Anchorage and took 45 gallons with me, was able to keep driving up and down and avoided the super high gas prices (cut my fuel bill in half). But, if your not going to reuse the tanks/cans its definitely not worth trying to buy a bunch of cans for 1 trip.

If camping along the road, try to avoid the larger pullouts, they are cesspits of human waste. Its not only hunters taking a dump on the side of the road and not burying it, but man, its was a problem up there for me and I'm guessing it hasn't changed much.

I did the hike in with my older dad and little brother, we took a sled for pulling back caribou meat, ended up not getting a caribou but that sled was a life saver to get my dads bag back. He made it in and out ok, but he definitely wasn't able to pack his bag across the tundra.

 

[BowMan86]

We were up there 24 Aug to 1 Sep, 4 guys total no caribou killed. Just a few things to add

1. Yes the tundra sucks, we never did a straight line walk anywhere there seemed to always be a water obstacle of some kind. Would definitely bring either chest waders or at a min hip boots.

2. Weather was ok had some light snow and rain towards the end of the trip. I was using Patagonia rain gear and would upgrade before I went again.

3. Rented from GoNorth and they were awesome F350 with a topper, agree you don't need the extra gas we refueled in Deadhorse twice.

4. Pump stations have internet/cell access which we used to send the all ok texts back home.

5. We saw about 100 caribou total maybe 15 bulls, there were more camps than caribou at the gun line. We only saw two big bulls that had been killed with the other hunters we ran into. We only saw a few caribou out at the gun line so not sure the walk is worth it.

6. Ran into some guys that had hiked east of the Sag to the gun line, said they saw about 200 hunters total in three days out there. We watched an airboat head down river to drop guys in.

7. All in expenses for each of us was about $2K airfare, tags, truck rental, hotels day in and out etc.

Overall I would go again it was a great trip even without getting any caribou. Spent a week on the tundra with some of my very best friends and had a great time.

Sucks you guys weren’t able to get one. Just curious, where did you guys hike in that you saw that many camps out at the 5 mile line? Kind of surprising to hear. The didn’t make it up this year but the past 4-5 years I have gone I have never seen another person out there. Just wonder if more people are heading out there.

 

[Legion5430]

Sucks you guys weren’t able to get one. Just curious, where did you guys hike in that you saw that many camps out at the 5 mile line? Kind of surprising to hear. The didn’t make it up this year but the past 4-5 years I have gone I have never seen another person out there. Just wonder if more people are heading out there.

We hiked in the west side of the road, we were just south of the big pull off with the toilet. We saw a bunch of tents and two guys packing a bull out. The main concentration seemed to be on the east side of the road across the Sag. We didn't go out that way just heard from some other guys that there were a lot of hunters out there. We also watched the airboats going up and down the river to drop guys off. The two big pull off areas had at least 5-7 trucks/camps set up every time we were there with guys all glassing the same area. I was actually surprised at the number of hunters in general just driving up and down the road.

 

[wyosam]

Bummer about all the waste. Hope people have thinned out a little by now- I’m heading up Wednesday for a week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jmillgreen]

Cool write up! On my first Alaska trip I too learned that the Tundra is no joke! I am in pretty damn good shape and it still kicked my butt. I also tore my meniscus packing out my caribou. Muck boots and Tundra sucked.. lol

Muck boots?!? Ouch haha!

 

[Jmillgreen]

Just got back from a caribou hunt myself. You have some great points that I agree with. Having snacks that don’t require water boiling is a must. Gaiters are a must when walking through shallow water or thick brush (pretty much the whole tundra). Aluminum trekking poles bend where carbon poles will just snap so I’ve heard. Regular tp AND wet wipes is a better combo. Garmin weather forecast is not worth the money at all. Almost never accurate. I do have to disagree about the side quests though. It depends on how long of a hunt you’re on I suppose. I was on a 10 day float trip so we had some down time. But eating some fresh fish and ptarmigan is great for morale and something other than mountain house meals.

How often do you see ptarmigan?