MITCHMO
Well-known member
Hi guys and gals,
I’m currently working my way home from my first caribou trip. I figured some people might appreciate some of the info so here you go.
Day 1 we flew to anchorage and onto Kotzebue. Travel was easy and we packed two carry on and two checked bags each, our packs in a duffle and our guns. Pro tip, use the delta credit card and get at least one bag free. Once we landed in anchorage, we collected our bags and brought them Alaska airlines for the final leg. Everything went fairly smooth. Staying in Kotzebu isn’t cheap. There’s a couple places to stay and we elected to stay at an air bnb which worked out ok. The hotel is $330 a night so keep that in mind. The transporter can give you contact info and will also shuttle you. The hotel does have a walk in freezer which is super nice. Very friendly people.
Day 2 was a spare day in case of flight or luggage issues. I wish we would have done some fishing but we just walked around and checked out the sites…there’s not much. I think we walked around town three or four times before we stopped. Also, there’s no Verizon up here. Supposedly AT&T works. The internet was also very hard to come by. Have a good plan because you probably can’t use your phone like you’d hope unless at the hotel. The airport was even running on Starlink.
That night we met at the hotel for an orientation with the other hunters and transporters. It was very helpful and answered all remaining questions. Whether it was about rules, expectations, meat, or communication. It was all laid out. Needless to say, we were pretty fired up and didn’t sleep much.
Day 3 We got picked up the next morning and headed to the hanger. No one had any spots picked out so I had to use a pre downloaded low res onX map. I didn’t really need it but it was nice to have. We got into the plane and quickly took off. It took about an hour to get there and I was pretty discouraged not seeing any caribou along the way. I was even more discouraged to see us landing where there was already a camp! After a quick motivational speech from the pilot about “get that F-ing shelter up as fast as you can, he took off and was gone. We set up camp and got settled in all the while concerned about our neighbors. We were up on top of a huge ridge and realized water was about 600+ feet of vertical and about 1/2 to the bottom. I got ready to head down and couldn’t believe it, there were a couple small caribou in the flat at the bottom. We quickly got the binos out and started picking out caribou all over.
I’m currently working my way home from my first caribou trip. I figured some people might appreciate some of the info so here you go.
Day 1 we flew to anchorage and onto Kotzebue. Travel was easy and we packed two carry on and two checked bags each, our packs in a duffle and our guns. Pro tip, use the delta credit card and get at least one bag free. Once we landed in anchorage, we collected our bags and brought them Alaska airlines for the final leg. Everything went fairly smooth. Staying in Kotzebu isn’t cheap. There’s a couple places to stay and we elected to stay at an air bnb which worked out ok. The hotel is $330 a night so keep that in mind. The transporter can give you contact info and will also shuttle you. The hotel does have a walk in freezer which is super nice. Very friendly people.
Day 2 was a spare day in case of flight or luggage issues. I wish we would have done some fishing but we just walked around and checked out the sites…there’s not much. I think we walked around town three or four times before we stopped. Also, there’s no Verizon up here. Supposedly AT&T works. The internet was also very hard to come by. Have a good plan because you probably can’t use your phone like you’d hope unless at the hotel. The airport was even running on Starlink.
That night we met at the hotel for an orientation with the other hunters and transporters. It was very helpful and answered all remaining questions. Whether it was about rules, expectations, meat, or communication. It was all laid out. Needless to say, we were pretty fired up and didn’t sleep much.
Day 3 We got picked up the next morning and headed to the hanger. No one had any spots picked out so I had to use a pre downloaded low res onX map. I didn’t really need it but it was nice to have. We got into the plane and quickly took off. It took about an hour to get there and I was pretty discouraged not seeing any caribou along the way. I was even more discouraged to see us landing where there was already a camp! After a quick motivational speech from the pilot about “get that F-ing shelter up as fast as you can, he took off and was gone. We set up camp and got settled in all the while concerned about our neighbors. We were up on top of a huge ridge and realized water was about 600+ feet of vertical and about 1/2 to the bottom. I got ready to head down and couldn’t believe it, there were a couple small caribou in the flat at the bottom. We quickly got the binos out and started picking out caribou all over.
