Upcoming AK Caribou hunt

[coleslaw]

So I'm going on my first Caribou hunt in August this year and am starting to put my gear together. While starting to order some extra items I think I'll need, I've begun to wonder what I can and can't be without based on my weight limitations since this will be a fly-in DIY.
Obviously, an in-reach, medical kit, water filtration and those types of things are a no-brainer.

This will be a solo hunt (I have no friends ) and that is how I typically hunt unless my dog is with me. I have allocated up to 12 days for this hunt unless success comes sooner.

With that, this will also be my first time on the north slope and am wondering how the bugs will be in early to mid-august. Should I invest in a floor for my floorless Seek tipi?

Should I invest in snow stakes for my tent while on the tundra (to help anchor it in the spongy soil/biomass)

What should I expect for rain and temperature?

Is fire doable, or should I leave the tent stove at home?

For those of you with tundra hunting/camping experience, what are some items you feel are a must have for camp comfort and that can also be put in a bush plane without too much weight addition?

How should I keep meat separated from my camp area, or do I keep it inside the e-wire area? I am just now putting together an awesome lightweight bear- fence brought forward in a post made by @Poke 'Em a few years back.

TIA- Can't believe this hunt is only four weeks away after booking it over two years ago.

 

[Nick87]

No help. But I'm following along. Good luck!!

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

I'm no expert, but I did a DIY fly-in caribou hunt on the north slope in early-mid August of 2017. Here are my thoughts.

1) The bugs were awful. The only time I had exposed skin was when we were taking pictures. I would definitely have something to keep the bugs out of your tent.

2) We just used regular stakes for our tents in the tundra and it worked fine. The weather varied over the course of a week from sunny and 70 F to three days of whiteout blizzard with temps in the mid-20s (bugs weren't too bad then ).

3) We made a fire with some punky driftwood, but I wouldn't count on it and would definitely bring something else to to cook with and boil water.

4) I would make sure to have a camp chair... it's pretty nice after walking on tundra all day.

5) We only had one bear fence and used it to protect our meat that we had a hundred yards or so away. I would have liked a second one for our tents, as we had a grizzly in camp multiple days that wouldn't leave us alone.

6) Buy a wolf tag...I ended up getting lucky with mine.

Good luck and I hope you have a great time!!

So I'm going on my first Caribou hunt in August this year and am starting to put my gear together. While starting to order some extra items I think I'll need, I've begun to wonder what I can and can't be without based on my weight limitations since this will be a fly-in DIY.
Obviously, an in-reach, medical kit, water filtration and those types of things are a no-brainer.

This will be a solo hunt (I have no friends ) and that is how I typically hunt unless my dog is with me. I have allocated up to 12 days for this hunt unless success comes sooner.

With that, this will also be my first time on the north slope and am wondering how the bugs will be in early to mid-august. Should I invest in a floor for my floorless Seek tipi?

Should I invest in snow stakes for my tent while on the tundra (to help anchor it in the spongy soil/biomass)

What should I expect for rain and temperature?

Is fire doable, or should I leave the tent stove at home?

For those of you with tundra hunting/camping experience, what are some items you feel are a must have for camp comfort and that can also be put in a bush plane without too much weight addition?

How should I keep meat separated from my camp area, or do I keep it inside the e-wire area? I am just now putting together an awesome lightweight bear- fence brought forward in a post made by @Poke 'Em a few years back.

TIA- Can't believe this hunt is only four weeks away after booking it over two years ago.

 

[mdhunter61]

Some sort of lightweight cot so you can sleep up off the ground. Tends to be pretty soggy up there...

 

[Andouille]

I'm no expert, but I did a DIY fly-in caribou hunt on the north slope in early-mid August of 2017. Here are my thoughts.

Sage advice from Cornell Cowboy. I concur with all points based on the time I've spent working in the Arctic and camping in other challenging Alaska locales.

One more thing: bring a white(ish) scarf, buff, or rag that you can wave at caribou which sometimes brings them in if they won't come near. Looks like the white underside of a caribou's tail as they run across the tundra. A hail Mary backup play.

 

[jdf]

My wife and I did hunt in 2022. We leave and this month to do it again DIY so we will be up there. Make sure get head net. I would not worry about Stove. Hardly much wood around up there.
Good luck. PM me if you want. At least exchange Inreach #s just for safety reason.

 

[Mule Kick]

Sounds like fun! I went last year on the same hunt with arrowhead(curious which outfitter you’re going with?)
We had a great hunt.
It was unseasonably hot when we were there (80s).. bugs will be bad! Take a headnet and 100% Deet like Ben’s or Sawyer. And yeah I wouldn’t wanna be in a tent that’s not big proof.
We did take some of the cheap screw in tent stakes for key points and they worked well but not sure they were totally necessary.
I personally wouldn’t take a stove as there wasn’t really anything to burn where we were anyway.
You will want/ need Wiggys or similar lightweight waders for getting on and off the plane (at least if it’s a float plane?) and creek crossings.
With the temps we had, we put our meat in contractor bags and submerged in the lake to try to keep it cool. Pain in the hiney but kinda worked..
I would second the motion to take a lightweight chair- we spent a lot of time sitting/ glassing right from camp. Nemo, Rei, Helinox are brands to check out

Good luck and enjoy!!

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

Agree 100%. Good call on the waders... they're an absolute must. I used NEOS waders and that worked pretty well.

Sounds like fun! I went last year on the same hunt with arrowhead(curious which outfitter you’re going with?)
We had a great hunt.
It was unseasonably hot when we were there (80s).. bugs will be bad! Take a headnet and 100% Deet like Ben’s or Sawyer. And yeah I wouldn’t wanna be in a tent that’s not big proof.
We did take some of the cheap screw in tent stakes for key points and they worked well but not sure they were totally necessary.
I personally wouldn’t take a stove as there wasn’t really anything to burn where we were anyway.
You will want/ need Wiggys or similar lightweight waders for getting on and off the plane (at least if it’s a float plane?) and creek crossings.
With the temps we had, we put our meat in contractor bags and submerged in the lake to try to keep it cool. Pain in the hiney but kinda worked..
I would second the motion to take a lightweight chair- we spent a lot of time sitting/ glassing right from camp. Nemo, Rei, Helinox are brands to check out

Good luck and enjoy!!

 

[coleslaw]

Sage advice from Cornell Cowboy. I concur with all points based on the time I've spent working in the Arctic and camping in other challenging Alaska locales.

One more thing: bring a white(ish) scarf, buff, or rag that you can wave at caribou which sometimes brings them in if they won't come near. Looks like the white underside of a caribou's tail as they run across the tundra. A hail Mary backup play.

Yeah, I've heard of that and am actually interested to try it.

 

[coleslaw]

Some sort of lightweight cot so you can sleep up off the ground. Tends to be pretty soggy up there...

Definitely bringing a chair. A cot if I can swing it on the pack list.

 

[coleslaw]

My wife and I did hunt in 2022. We leave and this month to do it again DIY so we will be up there. Make sure get head net. I would not worry about Stove. Hardly much wood around up there.
Good luck. PM me if you want. At least exchange Inreach #s just for safety reason.

I'll be renting an in-reach, and I'll be up near Prudhoe as far as I know. Can IM you when I get to Fairbanks and pick it up.

 

[coleslaw]

Sounds like fun! I went last year on the same hunt with arrowhead(curious which outfitter you’re going with?)
We had a great hunt.
It was unseasonably hot when we were there (80s).. bugs will be bad! Take a headnet and 100% Deet like Ben’s or Sawyer. And yeah I wouldn’t wanna be in a tent that’s not big proof.
We did take some of the cheap screw in tent stakes for key points and they worked well but not sure they were totally necessary.
I personally wouldn’t take a stove as there wasn’t really anything to burn where we were anyway.
You will want/ need Wiggys or similar lightweight waders for getting on and off the plane (at least if it’s a float plane?) and creek crossings.
With the temps we had, we put our meat in contractor bags and submerged in the lake to try to keep it cool. Pain in the hiney but kinda worked..
I would second the motion to take a lightweight chair- we spent a lot of time sitting/ glassing right from camp. Nemo, Rei, Helinox are brands to check out

Good luck and enjoy!!

I will also be with Arrowhead. They are under new ownership, but I'm assuming your previous hunt with them went well?

I am for sure shopping for a headnet right now and I did just buy the nest attachment for my Seek tipi. Hopefully it gets here in the next 3 weeks. Based on other input, I did order some snow stakes for the tent and bear fence as well. Only another pound or so.

I'll definitely consider waders. And I have done the submerged bag hack before, so that's a plan already. Thanks!

 

[crock239]

I will also be with Arrowhead. They are under new ownership, but I'm assuming your previous hunt with them went well?

I am for sure shopping for a headnet right now and I did just buy the nest attachment for my Seek tipi. Hopefully it gets here in the next 3 weeks. Based on other input, I did order some snow stakes for the tent and bear fence as well. Only another pound or so.

I'll definitely consider waders. And I have done the submerged bag hack before, so that's a plan already. Thanks!

Shoot me a PM if you want. I went w Arrowhead in Aug 2023...I'll send you my gear list / packing list if you're interested.

100% you'll want a floor for tent...and a bug-proof tent I would highly recommend.

 

[Mule Kick]

Yes I think Steve is the new owner? He was already part owner last year I believe? He was there and was a great guy, as was the whole crew we had a blast, here are a few pics to get you excited

 

[PRO MO]

here were my ramblings about that hunt last year.

Alaska Caribou adventure 8/24

Here's my day by day adventure of a trip we booked with Arrowhead Outfitters. Sorry if it's wordy, had quite a bit of time up there to write down daily thoughts. Recap of the lead-in to the start, we landed in Fairbanks, picked up a Turo Truck, grabbed our rental camp gear (tents, cots...

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Sheltowee]

I have literally nothing of value to contribute but following along regardless. Good luck!

 

[Bluffgruff]

Test your bear tent voltage at home and when you set it up, and watch for arcing between your electric wire/tape to the poles, especially if you have metal connectors.

 

[brownbear932008]

Bugs will be a problem if you have the typical weather, woodstove is wasted space most likely. Floored tent it's the tundra. Definitely some light waders. Having said all that it can all change based on your drop location. Be well prepared for anything. It's the North slope and things can change quickly. We had rain/sleet/snow for most of the trip. It was hard to dry out gear after a day or two.

 

[Pahoundsman]

Definitely be prepared for the bugs. Both times I hunted caribou the bugs were terrible. Have a great hunt.

 

[kansasdad]

Permethrin spray before you go on anything external—no added weight but deter some of the bugs.

Thermacell….I became a believer in Canada. Only good while stationary

Walking sticks but probably need a blunt tip to prevent sinking in too far in soupy tundra.