10 mile hike in then a float out?

[Irrelevant]

I put a little info on this thread about a similar trip I did last fall for moose in Alaska.

DIY Alaskan Moose Q&A

Alright guys, everyone knows that new experiences bring whole new levels of excitement. Something I have thought about is an Alaska hunting trip. Getting into the untapped, untouched wilderness and laying it all on the line to hopefully see and get a chance at the trophy of a lifetime seems like...

www.hunttalk.com

Definitely possible for you as long as you are very confident that the river will have enough water to float with a heavy boat and/or that it is within your skillset. Those Alpackas are pretty tough, but can puncture on rocks and sticks especially if you are loaded down with a bunch of meat. I just got off a wilderness trip on the MF of the Flathead in the Great Bear Wilderness and both of us got major tears in our packrafts. Thankfully we were at the bottom end of the Spruce Park rapids so a tyvek tape temporary repair job got us out.

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You are definitely going to want the cargo fly system so you can put most of the weight in the tubes, but I would make sure that it is cold enough that the meat won't spoil, and well bagged enough that blood doesn't leak into the interior of the tubes. The last thing I would want is my raft permanently smelling like old blood.

Not sure where you are going, but if it is in Montana then I have my suspicions. If it is, and you want some river info, shoot me a pm.

And we're going to see more photos when?

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

Did you load your tubes with all of your gear, and or where you using dry bags?

A number of people are using Alpacka Raft packrafts for hunting. We will be taking a forager and a couple of classic packrafts on our trip here in a couple of weeks.

alpackaraft_hunt on insta is a good source to get some ideas about how to use them for hunting.

There are also a number of forum members who have done similar trips, also @AlpackaRaft is always available to answer any questions or provide any tips and tricks.

It was an Alpacka raft, I forget which one I had. I had some of my gear in dry bags. My particular raft did not have the space inside the tubes to put gear. The rest just had to go on top in the front. An additional problem for me is I am 6'4" and I have to put my feet somewhere and these rafts aren't really made for taller folks.

 

[rbinhood]

It was an Alpacka raft, I forget which one I had. I had some of my gear in dry bags. My particular raft did not have the space inside the tubes to put gear. The rest just had to go on top in the front. An additional problem for me is I am 6'4" and I have to put my feet somewhere and these rafts aren't really made for taller folks.

6'4" and you weigh? 350?

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

6'4" and you weigh? 350?

Ha ha, no. I'm a thin guy. Weight wasn't the problem I was referring to. Space to put my feet is. And if you have an elk in there, the space is even more limited. I spent most of my trip with my feet hanging out the front of my raft.

 

[JAG]

Just stumbled on this thread... love the idea of hiking in difficult access areas (private, roadless, etc.) and floating out.

A quick search popped up Randy giving everybody the low down:

 

[Nidart]

Sounds creative and really like an amazing idea, only 1 way to find out if it works

 

[Deleted member 28227]

@Scott85 AK report... I think we ended up being 16 miles in with a 17 mile float out. Class II ish, the forager rides super high even with 650lbs in it, not sure which boat you would be using but I think your hunt would probably go.

 

[OntarioHunter]

The Middle Fork of the Flathead won't have much water in it this time of year. Very much a feast or famine float environment. Back in the "old days" my fishing camp was at the confluence of Challenge Creek and MF. Outfitters were just starting to fly clients in to Schaeffer Meadows and float them down to Highway 2. During July I'd see them come through with poor young wranglers dragging the rafts down river while fat dudes sat inside on their butts. Floating the South Fork out of the Bob Marshall is pretty much out of the question with Meadow Creek Gorge making the last several miles impassible.

I'm not familiar with these pack rafts. How the heck do they manage to make paddles worth a crap back packable? The paddles the outfitter gave us to float the Alagnak in Alaska must weigh fifty pounds each. Seemed like it after the first morning. Not fun in that shallow river. Probably why I'm now awaiting hernia surgery.

The biggest drawback would seem to be limited mobility once you get in there. I kinda know about this because I used horses. Stuck in one place and with rafts that's going to be next to the river ... where all the trail traffic is. I was at least able to get my camp set up away from the river and out of the way a ways. And the horses could get me even further away during the day. With a raft you're camp is stuck in the river bottom but the elk will mostly be up at higher elevations. My experience anyway.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The Middle Fork of the Flathead won't have much water in it this time of year. Very much a feast or famine float environment. Back in the "old days" my fishing camp was at the confluence of Challenge Creek and MF. Outfitters were just starting to fly clients in to Schaeffer Meadows and float them down to Highway 2. During July I'd see them come through with poor young wranglers dragging the rafts down river while fat dudes sat inside on their butts. Floating the South Fork out of the Bob Marshall is pretty much out of the question with Meadow Creek Gorge making the last several miles impassible.

I'm not familiar with these pack rafts. How the heck do they manage to make paddles worth a crap back packable? The paddles the outfitter gave us to float the Alagnak in Alaska must weigh fifty pounds each. Seemed like it after the first morning. Not fun in that shallow river. Probably why I'm now awaiting hernia surgery.

The biggest drawback would seem to be limited mobility once you get in there. I kinda know about this because I used horses. Stuck in one place and with rafts that's going to be next to the river ... where all the trail traffic is. I was at least able to get my camp set up away from the river and out of the way a ways. And the horses could get me even further away during the day. With a raft you're camp is stuck in the river bottom but the elk will mostly be up at higher elevations. My experience anyway.

We used shred apart paddles. They can be used as two canoe paddles or 1 kayak style paddles. 3lbs, work as well as any canoe paddle I’ve used.

The boat weighs 13ish lbs. The forager has ridiculous clearance, maybe 4-5 inches with serious weight in it. That depth you cant actually paddle but the raft will clear the bottom.

You can float a significantly shallower river than a canoe and dramatically shallower than a big oar frame raft.

 

[JAG]

What's the best way to find out what rivers are good to go down? I prefer not to do anything that's more than Class 2 in fall/winter weather, but don't want to hike to creeks that aren't floatable even if they look okay on a map.

 

[westbranch]

What's the best way to find out what rivers are good to go down? I prefer not to do anything that's more than Class 2 in fall/winter weather, but don't want to hike to creeks that aren't floatable even if they look okay on a map.

This website is the best I found that has detailed info when I was searching a bit this past summer. Some good info on some smaller rivers/creeks. But still a lot that are not listed.

American Whitewater

The primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to achieve goals within our mission.

www.americanwhitewater.org

 

[Hem]

Sounds fun and adventurous. Sounds disastrous if you don't cross your t's and dot your i's.

 

[JAG]

This website is the best I found that has detailed info when I was searching a bit this past summer. Some good info on some smaller rivers/creeks. But still a lot that are not listed.

American Whitewater

The primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to achieve goals within our mission.

www.americanwhitewater.org

whoa, nice resource..

That, coupled with ONX, search your rivers to see where they are in the WY general tag and you're set. They rent those Alpacka Rafts for $50/day after three days in Jackson, WY.

Here's a vendor list: https://www.alpackaraft.com/rafting/rentals/

 

[AlpackaRaft]

@Scott85 Did you end up going out?

For an elk hunt the Mule or in this case the Forager would be ideal. You can solo paddle the Forager with a large load. Significantly more than you could humanly carry.

A cargo fly on these boats are the norm to keep your gear dry. It's also best to bring a 65L or larger old dry bag for your meat. That will ride in the front where your feet rest.

Plus @wllm1313 is right its only a few lbs. and the clearance is amazing due to surface area.

 

[Scott85]

@Scott85 Did you end up going out?

For an elk hunt the Mule or in this case the Forager would be ideal. You can solo paddle the Forager with a large load. Significantly more than you could humanly carry.

A cargo fly on these boats are the norm to keep your gear dry. It's also best to bring a 65L or larger old dry bag for your meat. That will ride in the front where your feet rest.

Plus @wllm1313 is right its only a few lbs. and the clearance is amazing due to surface area.

We are going a different route. Close to the same area.

 

[Johnny B]

I've been curious about a hunt like this. Lots if good info here. Thanks guys.