2014 DIY Alaska Moose and Caribou Hunt

TexasBob · Sep 28, 2014

Looks like you had a great time, brings back memories of my time in Greenland. You can walk all day and never see or hear another soul. After a few days your have a new understanding how big the world is and how little was been touched by mans feet.

Thanks for sharing your adventure :thumbsup:

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MDHunter · Sep 30, 2014

joemac said:
Great pics. Beyond cool man. Dream hunt. My father in law has a friend who owns a place in Soldotna. He invites me every year but swear I'm going to get to Alaska one of these years. He told me in August you better come I'm going to die one of these days.

Dude - you gotta do it. Even if you don't go to hunt, I think there's some pretty good fishing in the Soldotna area.

Imagine a place more than twice the size of Texas, with less paved roads than Rhode Island and less people than Montgomery county. Great fishing and awesome scenery - don't put it off too long!

lx1x · Sep 30, 2014

nice! thanks for sharing.

j_h_smith · Sep 30, 2014

MDHunter said:
Dude - you gotta do it. Even if you don't go to hunt, I think there's some pretty good fishing in the Soldotna area.

Imagine a place more than twice the size of Texas, with less paved roads than Rhode Island and less people than Montgomery county. Great fishing and awesome scenery - don't put it off too long!

If you could move all that down to the 37th parallel I'd be there in a heartbeat. My uncle lived in Alaska and some of the winter time stories he would tell would make Chuck Norris cry.

Jim Smith

Streetgang · Sep 30, 2014

Very nice.. Thank you for sharing.
I love Alaska. I spent a winter in Kodiak training and it was spectacular.

MDHunter · Sep 30, 2014

j_h_smith said:
If you could move all that down to the 37th parallel I'd be there in a heartbeat. My uncle lived in Alaska and some of the winter time stories he would tell would make Chuck Norris cry.

Jim Smith

I'm with you - I go almost every September to visit my family, and most years to hunt. Once October hits Alaska, I'm pretty happy to be in Maryland.

Klunatic · Sep 30, 2014

If you don't mind my asking, how much does a hunt like that set you back?

MDHunter · Sep 30, 2014

Klunatic said:
If you don't mind my asking, how much does a hunt like that set you back?

I use an air transport service to fly me and my hunt partner into a remote area - that's the biggest cost (about $2k - $3K total depending if we pay for an extra gear load). I don't use a guide and all of the gear is mine, so the biggest costs are airfare into and out of the bush, roundtrip airfare to Alaska, rental car/van, and nonresident hunting license and tags.

You could do it for between $5K and $6K total, excluding any taxidermy costs if you get a mount (I don't).

Happy to shoot you a rough cost outline if you want more detailed info.

j_h_smith · Sep 30, 2014

MDHunter said:
I use an air transport service to fly me and my hunt partner into a remote area - that's the biggest cost (about $2k - $3K total depending if we pay for an extra gear load). I don't use a guide and all of the gear is mine, so the biggest costs are airfare into and out of the bush, roundtrip airfare to Alaska, rental car/van, and nonresident hunting license and tags.

You could do it for between $5K and $6K total, excluding any taxidermy costs if you get a mount (I don't).

Happy to shoot you a rough cost outline if you want more detailed info.

That's not bad, but I wouldn't know where or how to hunt, so I'm thinking I'd be throwing that money away without a guide. Would love to say that hunted Alaska.

Jim Smith

MDHunter · Sep 30, 2014

j_h_smith said:
That's not bad, but I wouldn't know where or how to hunt, so I'm thinking I'd be throwing that money away without a guide. Would love to say that hunted Alaska.

Jim Smith

I hear you. I always solicit a couple of forums for a hunting partner for future Alaska hunts, and could include this forum in that search. I likely have partners already lined up for the next couple of hunts, but will be looking for partners after that.

Derwood · Oct 7, 2014

Something like this is a dream for me. I absolutely plan to do it one day and if I can get it together before too many more years go by, I'll send you a PM to get some info if you don't mind. Thank you so much for sharing this. I watch all those Alaska shows on tv (Life Below Zero, Yukon Men and Alaska State Troopers are my favorites), but I'd rather read an account like this of a fellow east coaster going up there and living the dream any day.

There was some discussion of conditioning for hiking. I just got back from an extended trek in the Rockies where I did three multi-day backpack trips at high elevations. I've found that the heavy compound barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, presses, rows, power cleans, etc.) prepare me for rough backpack hiking better than any other exercise, other than hiking. I'd just go hiking more often but working makes that impossible. I also found that there is no way to prepare for altitude other than to go there and hang out for a few days. I got smoked so hard the first two days of the trek--we started at 7,000 feet and went up to almost 11,000. In retrospect, I stupid for thinking I could handle it. But by the third day I was good to go.

Thanks again for sharing and feel free to tell more stories about your Alaska hunting adventures!

MDHunter · Oct 7, 2014

Derwood said:
Something like this is a dream for me. I absolutely plan to do it one day and if I can get it together before too many more years go by, I'll send you a PM to get some info if you don't mind. Thank you so much for sharing this. I watch all those Alaska shows on tv (Life Below Zero, Yukon Men and Alaska State Troopers are my favorites), but I'd rather read an account like this of a fellow east coaster going up there and living the dream any day.

There was some discussion of conditioning for hiking. I just got back from an extended trek in the Rockies where I did three multi-day backpack trips at high elevations. I've found that the heavy compound barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, presses, rows, power cleans, etc.) prepare me for rough backpack hiking better than any other exercise, other than hiking. I'd just go hiking more often but working makes that impossible. I also found that there is no way to prepare for altitude other than to go there and hang out for a few days. I got smoked so hard the first two days of the trek--we started at 7,000 feet and went up to almost 11,000. In retrospect, I stupid for thinking I could handle it. But by the third day I was good to go.

Thanks again for sharing and feel free to tell more stories about your Alaska hunting adventures!

Glad you enjoyed the pics, and feel free to PM anytime! A lot of sheep hunters in Alaska say that squats and deadlifts are great preparation for hiking in the sheep mountains. I've relied on cycling to keep me in shape for my Alaska hunts, but think it's time to add a little weightlifting and focus on my core for general health and also for outdoor activities.

bigdaddycoolfm · Oct 7, 2014

Absolutely phenomenal !!

That has to be the most beautiful land ..I am certainly thinking that would be a wonderful way to turn 50.. :thumbsup:

platoonDaddy · Oct 8, 2014

Hey, thanks for sharing! Awesome harvest.

Dang, that tent had many, many anchored lines.

MDHunter · Oct 8, 2014

platoonDaddy said:
Hey, thanks for sharing! Awesome harvest.

Dang, that tent had many, many anchored lines.

Yea - we get some pretty strong winds on some of those ridges. We had 25-35 mph sustained winds on many days this year, but we were lucky – some of the other ridges had a few days of 50-60 mph winds, and the planes couldn’t drop people in their hunting locations for a couple of days.

MDHunter · Oct 11, 2014

bigdaddycoolfm said:
That has to be the most beautiful land ..I am certainly thinking that would be a wonderful way to turn 50..

I'll be 54 next year when I go, so you're right - it would be a GREAT way to celebrate your 50th!

I've been back in Maryland about 2 weeks now, and already having withdrawal...so, I lined up my partner for next year's caribou hunt and gotta start saving again.

joemac · Oct 13, 2014

MDHunter said:
Dude - you gotta do it. Even if you don't go to hunt, I think there's some pretty good fishing in the Soldotna area.

Imagine a place more than twice the size of Texas, with less paved roads than Rhode Island and less people than Montgomery county. Great fishing and awesome scenery - don't put it off too long!

Oh, i don't need egging on trust me. Soldotna is a fishing village yes. Near Cook Inlet I beleive. World class Halibut.

I'm going to do it just not sure when.

What kind of gear do you take out there? Food?

MDHunter · Oct 13, 2014

joemac said:
Oh, i don't need egging on trust me. Soldotna is a fishing village yes. Near Cook Inlet I beleive. World class Halibut.

I'm going to do it just not sure when.

What kind of gear do you take out there? Food?

Yep, world class halibut fishing, and also terrific for salmon and other types of fish!

I have a 5' x 5' x 9' high storage space in Anchorage, where I keep 2 tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and all of my camp gear. Probably about 150 pounds of gear, not something I want to schlep back and forth on a plane every year!

As for food, here's a typical food list for my remote hunts. I have a 2 burner Coleman stove and use the 1 pound propane canisters. Since I don't heat my tent and only use the stove to make dinner and 1-2 hot lunches, 2 canisters usually are plenty for a 10 day hunt.

Breakfast (x+2)
Breakfast Bars/ Pop Tarts
Milk (1 carton)

Lunch (x+2)
Salami
Pepperoni
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Bread (x loaves Butter Top White)
Saltines (1 box)

Dinner (x+2)
Eggs (1 dozen)
Bacon (1 pound)
Mountain House (x meals)
Potatoes (2 large)

Snacks
Chex Mix
Candy Bars
Pudding

Drinks
Crystal Light
Diet Coke (2 per day)

Miscellaneous
Salt
Pepper
Margarine
Mustard
Small Dishwashing Liquid
Pot Scrubber

2014 DIY Alaska Moose and Caribou Hunt

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