Self Guided 10 day Caribou Hunt/ Fishing trip Brooks Range, AK

Discussion in 'Hunting and Fishing' started by karlkortemeier, Oct 22, 2016.

  1. karlkortemeier

    karlkortemeier Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    81
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    georgia
    Here are a few pics from a recent trip my buddy and I took up in the Brooks Range Ak. We flew about 200 miles north out of Kotzebue. We both shot a caribou after a 6 mile hike out of the river drainage from our base camp. It took up about 14 hours to get the meat back to camp. We woke up the next day and floated 200 miles down the river to our pre-arranged takeout. It was physically demanding but amazing trip. I can't wait to go again. I'm working on a video, and I will post it once I'm done.

    Picture heavy. This is my first time posting pics on the new site. Hopefully its not to slow.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Espetar

    Espetar Member

    Messages:
    54
    Likes Received:
    55
    Location:
    Here
    Wow! Those are some great photos and that looks like such an awesome trip.

    Hurry up with that video!
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  3. james gormley

    james gormley Member

    Messages:
    423
    Likes Received:
    429
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    NY
    Very cool hunting trip.
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  4. Rook52

    Rook52 Member

    Messages:
    785
    Likes Received:
    1,284
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Nice looking bulls, and a great trip thanks for sharing
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  5. Mtnfolk Mike

    Mtnfolk Mike Member

    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    360
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Santa Cruz Mountains. CA.
    Wow !! Right on man. That looked like an epic trip.
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  6. C99c

    C99c Member

    Messages:
    1,345
    Likes Received:
    2,229
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Georgia
    Awesome trip.
    I hope to do one of these in the next couple of years. Everytime I find a partner to go they end up backing out.

    A few questions for you if you don't mind:
    What caliber did you use? What scope?
    Any gear you wish you had brought or left at home?
    What were the temps?
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  7. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    923
    Likes Received:
    1,562
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    TN
    That area is on my must see list. Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to the video.
     
    karlkortemeier likes this.
  8. karlkortemeier

    karlkortemeier Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    81
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    georgia

    A good partner can make a trip like this for sure. My buddy, Erik, and I have been on a lot of hunting adventures together. It really makes a difference to have someone you can trust and has a similar temperament for the types of adventures you want to make.

    Ask away on the questions. I did the same when I was trying to figure this out.

    Its a Tikka T3 stainless, 308. I painted the barrel and had the stock dipped. Its a leupold fixed length4x. I'm not interested in taking any shots over 300yds or so. My choice is shots 100yds or less. The 4x also makes the whole rifle lighter to carry.

    We were limited to 90 lbs apiece. It was surprisingly difficult to trim my gear under 90lbs with a gun, fishing gear, camera equip etcetera. I would have paid gold for my trekking poles. We had close to 200lbs of meat per person to haul out of mountains, back to the river. It was much tougher without my poles. We dealt with a lot of wind. The tepee worked, but the wind tore the bottom to shreds. I think a free standing four season tent would have worked better.

    Sunny the entire time. 50's to mid 60's during the day. Below freezing at night. The sun was brutal. We had a constant N wind. I'm not a good judge of wind speed but I bet it was 20mph during the day, then going to 30 to 40 mph at night. It was nuts.
     
    C99c and Delkancott like this.
  9. C99c

    C99c Member

    Messages:
    1,345
    Likes Received:
    2,229
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Georgia
    How was the float out? How long did it take to reach your pull out destination?

    Thanks for answering my questions, I really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll have more for you down the road.
     
  10. karlkortemeier

    karlkortemeier Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    81
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    georgia
    It took 8 days to float out. We had three different take out spots that we plotted on a map before we got flown in. After the meat haul, the river float was like a vacation. It was still hard, but the landscape passed by quicker. We had one set of falls to portage around. That was an adventure. I went the wrong way, and I ended up climbing a cliff above the falls with a 50 lb pack on. Once I dropped the first load we crossed the river and found an easier route for the boats and the rest of the gear.

    The other thing I would do is spend some time getting in shape. It would be a tough trip if you were not in reasonable shape.

    Order Larry Bartlett's book: Float Draggin Alaska. It was my bible for this style of trip. It will answer a ton of your questions. The section on long term meat care is worth the price of the book alone. I use a lot of his ideas to keep my game meat fresh, especially here in the south.
     
    C99c likes this.
  11. C99c

    C99c Member

    Messages:
    1,345
    Likes Received:
    2,229
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Georgia
    I'll add that book to those I've already bought or have on order.

    I'm in pretty good shape strength and weight wise, but have been really working on my cardio with a pack the last few months. The ridges here in North Georgia are great for that.
     
  12. karlkortemeier

    karlkortemeier Member

    Messages:
    63
    Likes Received:
    81
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    georgia
    Awesome! Part of my training is I load up my pack and hike for at least 1.5 hours. And then I throw in walking lunges or squats every 10 minutes for fun. I get this in at least once a week in addition to the other stuff I do. I mainly bike for cardio nowadays. I used to run, but its tough on my joints.
     

Share This Page