Alaska Moose Pack Raft Hunt - 2020 (Long with neat photos and stuff)

Yeah the boat in the later pics is the Mule(green) Caribou (grey) which is a 1 person boat, the forager, which is the one we had on the trip is significantly larger.

At some point I will borrow my sisters drone and try and get some overhead pics :)

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Also... spent a bunch of time this weekend playing in my forager to escape the heat. My forager is 100X easy to reenter from the water than a canoe. I was able to jump out and swim with my dog and then get both of us back in the boat with minimal effort, and from the side rather then the end like you need to do with a canoe.
So I see where you had 3+dog in the forager at one point, but I also noticed another pic of someone in a smaller red raft, did you have multiple rafts? Guessing 3+dog+moose would have been too much! Seems like it could probably handle 2+moose, or would you recommend multiple rafts for two hunters in case there's the opportunity to kill 2 on same trip?
 
So I see where you had 3+dog in the forager at one point, but I also noticed another pic of someone in a smaller red raft, did you have multiple rafts? Guessing 3+dog+moose would have been too much! Seems like it could probably handle 2+moose, or would you recommend multiple rafts for two hunters in case there's the opportunity to kill 2 on same trip?
3+dog, is uncomfortable. We did it because we saw a moose we were only going about a mile down river so were trying to be as quick and efficient as possible.

We had a Forager and an Alpacka Raft - Classic packraft on the trip.

I haven't killed a moose and AK yet so I'm reluctant to speak to that, our plan was 1 moose for the boat.

You could do 2 bull elk for sure, though would need to be careful about the racks.

The other consideration is the river.

Depth; if it's too shallow and you have too much weight you will drag. A Forager has a ridiculous clearance compared to a canoe or a traditional NRS style raft, with 2 people and gear you can sneak through spots that are 4 inches deep. I'm sure if you add 600lbs that will change.

Substrate: A river with tons of rapids is going to be more difficult with lots of weight.

Speed and width: A fast moving river, or really broad river adds a new variable as fighting the current become more of an issue.

Crap in the river: It's way easier to avoid a strainer in an empty boat than one that weighs 600 lbs.

So with my limited experiences at this point I would say it's a good idea to plan for and know the river you will be paddling and plan accordingly. I'd be hesitant to go full send on a river I didn't have beta on. Typically hunting you are camping, it's late fall, you have a pile of meat and antlers, you don't want to swim. Be cautions, build in a lot of margin for error and scout everything.
 
3+dog, is uncomfortable. We did it because we saw a moose we were only going about a mile down river so were trying to be as quick and efficient as possible.

We had a Forager and an Alpacka Raft - Classic packraft on the trip.

I haven't killed a moose and AK yet so I'm reluctant to speak to that, our plan was 1 moose for the boat.

You could do 2 bull elk for sure, though would need to be careful about the racks.

The other consideration is the river.

Depth; if it's too shallow and you have too much weight you will drag. A Forager has a ridiculous clearance compared to a canoe or a traditional NRS style raft, with 2 people and gear you can sneak through spots that are 4 inches deep. I'm sure if you add 600lbs that will change.

Substrate: A river with tons of rapids is going to be more difficult with lots of weight.

Speed and width: A fast moving river, or really broad river adds a new variable as fighting the current become more of an issue.

Crap in the river: It's way easier to avoid a strainer in an empty boat than one that weighs 600 lbs.

So with my limited experiences at this point I would say it's a good idea to plan for and know the river you will be paddling and plan accordingly. I'd be hesitant to go full send on a river I didn't have beta on. Typically hunting you are camping, it's late fall, you have a pile of meat and antlers, you don't want to swim. Be cautions, build in a lot of margin for error and scout everything.
Yes I think river conditions is one of the trickiest factors of planning. So when you say you'd put the moose in the boat if you got one, did you mean moose in the forager or the classic? Then 2+dog in other boat and 1 with moose? Thanks
 
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Yes I think river conditions is one of the trickiest factors of planning. So when you say you'd put the moose in the boat if you got one, did you mean moose in the forager or the classic? Then 2+dog in other boat and 1 with moose? Thanks
I’d put as much of the moose inside the tube of the forager as possible. Probably 4 quarters + loin/brisket/neck etc. Then ribs and head on the boat.
 
Great adventure and cool pics! With Neil Young, I wouldn't get up either!
 
So spoiler alert this tale, as @Ben Lamb might phase it, is a tale of F-ing new guys... but whatever it was a blast.

I put in for a bunch of AK tags didn't draw them... my buddy missed the draw as he was floating the grand, we didn't have a ton of vacation time to work with and well Covid... but we said screw it and cobbled together a wee little adventure.

I arrived in AK, negative covid test in hand and we went straight into the field.

Trail head packing was a bit ridiculous
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The moose crew
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For all those at who want to know what a rando on the internet packs for a 5 day trip here you go. (I added a FL sweater)

In order left to right, 56.4lbs, 37lbs, and 64.8lbs
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We hiked a bunch... more than 8 miles less than 15

Around dark found the first moose
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We stalked him (theme of the trip, if we saw a moose we got up close and personal)

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Not legal so we ate food
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In the morning we glassed... re-found the same bull and that was about it, so I played around with sweet filters
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Decided to move to a new spot in a different valley, we were greeted by a welcoming party. Probably 10-12 miles possibly 8 felt like 20.

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As the light waned, we found some moose
Across the valley some bulls were duking it out…
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Cow and a calf in the river
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The next morning we glassed up a pair of bulls, one of which we thought might be legal. We waited for them to bed and made a play. Apparently the larger one peaced out during our stalk.
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Not legal... apparently the theme of the trip

We hiked back up to our glassing spot and found a couple bulls beaded on the other side of the river (bulls fighting the night before and decided to make a play. We didn’t have a ton of time left and the opposite side of the valley would make for easier pack outs anyway.
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Nice to be able to get a good look at them.
 
Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

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