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Awesome write up!Having done a trip similar to this years ago (23), and looking at your cost list, a person can save some bucks by driving. It looks like your fly-in cost was only double what ours was, surprising. Of course gas and food costs need to be figured in but the drive is part of the enjoyment if you have the time. We froze the meat in quarters and processed when we got home. We bought U-haul boxes and lined them with foam to use as coolers, still had to wait a few days to thaw enough to butcher after the two-day drive back from Anchorage. We also did a halibut trip and brought home a bunch of fish as well.
Quote from: lokidog on August 30, 2016, 12:46:07 PMAwesome write up!Having done a trip similar to this years ago (23), and looking at your cost list, a person can save some bucks by driving. It looks like your fly-in cost was only double what ours was, surprising. Of course gas and food costs need to be figured in but the drive is part of the enjoyment if you have the time. We froze the meat in quarters and processed when we got home. We bought U-haul boxes and lined them with foam to use as coolers, still had to wait a few days to thaw enough to butcher after the two-day drive back from Anchorage. We also did a halibut trip and brought home a bunch of fish as well.This is correct. We could have saved a LOT by driving, which is what we originally intended (until I found out that I had a blown head gasket). When I priced carriers, it seemed everyone was in the same price range (between $2,000 and $2,500 per person, plus an extra flight to get the meat out $800). Prices went up this year. When I first started pricing I figured I was going to pay about $2,100. When I called to book on 15 December I found that it was $2295.Most of the companies that hunt the Brooks Range were in the same price range, but the drive up to Prudhoe Bay would have been a lot longer and costlier.
Quote from: Pathfinder101 on August 30, 2016, 12:54:00 PMQuote from: lokidog on August 30, 2016, 12:46:07 PMAwesome write up!Having done a trip similar to this years ago (23), and looking at your cost list, a person can save some bucks by driving. It looks like your fly-in cost was only double what ours was, surprising. Of course gas and food costs need to be figured in but the drive is part of the enjoyment if you have the time. We froze the meat in quarters and processed when we got home. We bought U-haul boxes and lined them with foam to use as coolers, still had to wait a few days to thaw enough to butcher after the two-day drive back from Anchorage. We also did a halibut trip and brought home a bunch of fish as well.This is correct. We could have saved a LOT by driving, which is what we originally intended (until I found out that I had a blown head gasket). When I priced carriers, it seemed everyone was in the same price range (between $2,000 and $2,500 per person, plus an extra flight to get the meat out $800). Prices went up this year. When I first started pricing I figured I was going to pay about $2,100. When I called to book on 15 December I found that it was $2295.Most of the companies that hunt the Brooks Range were in the same price range, but the drive up to Prudhoe Bay would have been a lot longer and costlier.Car issues definitely suck! Back in the day, hauling the meat out was just part of the fly in/out cost, kind of like charging for a suitcase these days I guess. Although, we flew in in a float plane so only one trip, maybe that is the difference in meat transport cost. This kind of hunt is something I've been wanting to do again with my wife since she can't take time off during the school year either. Unfortunately, she says she doesn't like caribou, though the only one she has tried was one from Newfoundland. We lucked out, they had lost their velvet by the time of my hunt in early September.
