How much for a drop camp?

[Rob]

I don't have pricing for Zach, but it would not be representative of a typical trip as he came over to Dosewallops from Winthrop and hauled 4 of us in about 22 miles each way for a 10 day trip in a rainforest, in October!

[gee_unit360]

I used Chinook Pass Outfitters for exactly what you mention.  They hauled me and my buddy and our gear in, dropped us for 7 days and then came back for us and hauled our gear and elk out.

I did this in 2014 for a Peaches Bull hunt and it was a grand for the two of us.  Probably more now.  worth every penny.

https://chinookpassoutfitters.com/

Paul was GREAT.  highly recommend.   

We did something similar for the Olympic National Park Goat hunt with Zach Ferrill of Buckhorn Outfitters - I think he is out of Winthrop. 
https://www.facebook.com/BuckhornOutfitters/

Zach is outstanding - not sure what areas he services.

Photos from our Peaches hunt

That looks awesome!

[7mmfan]

Photos from the ONP goat hunt.  And you may think you are tough, but not as tough as chainsaw horse...

I certainly have no illusions of being as tough as chainsaw horse!

So here is the next question. In those you with experience doing this, will the outfitter be willing to go where we ask, provided the trail is good? I'm sure they have experience with good places to hunt but we're also fairly particular about the places we want to go.

[Rob]

My experience is, talk it out with the outfitters.  The few I have worked with were open to the idea.  When we were talking about going to Hayden pass with Zach, he was very candid that:
A:  He would get us as far as he could
B:  If river crossings swell, we would be stranded
C:  Trails needed to be mostly clear to make it in (i.e. if a 3 foot diameter tree falls across the trail, it is unlikely he can remove it and if he cannot get the team around, then that is where the ride stops.)


For our Peaches trip, Paul listened to our goals and selected a camp that met our needs.  It was only 5 miles in but we saw elk every day and I got a 300 Bull.  This worked well for us.  He wanted us to be successful as much as we wanted to be successful.  If he dropped clients in places with no Elk, word would spread.

[Rob]

More from our Hayden pass scouting trip.  The river crossing was chest deep 1.5 days earlier.  It was ankle deep when we crossed.

[Skillet]

I'm going to drop a thought in here-

Have hard plans on what the outfitter will do for you if fire closes the area you want to hunt.  That happened to us on the drop camp trip I went on.  Not only did we not get to go to the place we wanted (not outfitters fault), we got dropped in another drainage that the crew taking us in had never been to before, and they dropped us way short of the optimal areas because they thought the trail was blocked.  It wasn't, they just didn't see the new trail splitting off a few hundred yards back...

Imagine our surprise hiking in the last few miles the next morning to find two horse camps in the basin.

The earlier you have the conversation about this, the higher you will be on the list of guys to get a good "plan B" spot.  Also, ask if they will bring other camps into your area as a plan B if fire pushes other hunters around.

 

[2MANY]

Chainsaw horse is impersonating a mule.

[Rob]

Chainsaw horse is impersonating a mule.

True, true.  suspend your disbelief and chuckle - it was funny!

[Pathfinder101]

Little Pathfinder and I are going to do a drop camp in Colorado this fall for elk.  We'll let you know how it goes.  Going rate seems to be between 2k and 3k per person in Colorado.