thanks guys. Don't know if I am able to go this year, but I think I will start planning a trip for 2012. Coho, this sounds like exactly the hunt I am looking for. I appreciate the advice.
I've got dropped off on the Ivashak then floated down the river and hunted along the way. IMO this is the way to do it. Advantages of this is you can be mobile which is necessary when hunting a migrating animal and its easy to move your base camp so you can be nice and comfy and eat good too! Caribou move a lot so you need to be able to move easily, raft allows you to accomplish this.
Good luck
Sounds great AK, but how do I get the boat, and how do I get "dropped off"?
You canr ent a nice 4 man raft plus gear in Anchorage at a number of different places. U haul would work great to carry everything in on the way up there. rent a pickup in Anchorage so you can carry 10 gallons or so of gas and all your gear, there are places to purchase gas up there so its really not as big a deal as most people make it sound. You can fill up in Coldfoot before heading up over the pass and still have more than enough gas to get to the river and back. You'll have to do a little research to find the guy who will take you in and "drop you off" up river. Its a one way charge since you will float back down to your truck. Rough costs for a 7 day hunt would be:
$500 airfare to Anchorage
$400 Food
$700 NR caribou tag ($350 ea.I think that is what it is but need to double check)
$700 Raft rental
$600 Truck rental
$200 UHaul rental
$500 Airboat ride
$250 airlines charge to get trophy/meat back to Seattle
$500 Gas round trip from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay
There will be other costs as well but it is safe to say you could do a week long hunt up there for less than $6K. Remember it is 850 miles from Anchorage to Prudhoe ONE WAY so plan on spending 2 days driving each direction so four days driving to and from.
