A little late on posting this, but just thought I would post a little recap of our Alaskan Adventure back in September. Bear with me, as there will be several posts, as there was a lot of moving parts.
Our trip to Alaska started as an idea back in late 2022/ early 2023. I have wanted to go and hunt in Alaska for as long as I can remember. Moose has always been high on my bucket list, but never knew how to make it happen financially or timing wise. Guided moose hunts go for $25k +, and that was just never going to be a possibility for me. Grizzly’s, same thing, way more than I can afford. I came across some hunting threads on here and other forums and I realized that Alaska may be a possibility. I don’t need to hire a guide to hunt them, but could go DIY. I really had no clue where to start, so I read and watched as much as I could for at least a year. When I finally got really serious in late 2022, I started talking to outfitters who offered DIY options and figured out I can probably make it work. I talked to an outfitter out of Dillingham, AK and ultimately decided that I would use him so my wife and I could hunt moose. Only bad thing, him and several other outfitters I talked to didn’t want to fly out a man and woman alone on moose hunt, strictly due to the extreme labor required to carry 100+ lbs over the most unforgiving terrain (tundra) possible for great distances, not to mention the elevation changes. After talking about it with my wife, we decided they were probably right I knew it was going to be a very physically demanding hunt if we happened to get one on the ground. So I reached out to my sister and brother-in-law, they just so happened to be Alaskan residents, living in Fairbanks. My BIL does some hunting, but not a ton, and I knew asking him to spend several thousands of dollars to come hunting with me was a pretty hard ask, but they were down in Texas for my Stepdad’s funeral late 2022, and we talked about. They told me let them think on it and see if they could make it work out financially as well. A few days later, my BIL texts me saying he is in. Fortunately for me, the outfitter was only charging my BIL half price, since he was not going to hunt moose himself, but could kill a bear if the opportunity arose. We settled on September 2024, giving us almost 2 years to iron out all the details, and collect any gear we may need. My BIL, living in Alaska, had most everything he needed already gear wise, my wife and I on the other hand, only had gear suitable for Texas hunting. We have good warm clothing already, but nothing to withstand the amount of rain we would expects. Also, now would be a good time to get a couple new guns right? I picked up a new Seekins 300 PRC and Sig 10mm, just because….
Now, my wife and I have 2 kids, a 10yo son and 9yo daughter, they were naturally going to come along as well, just not on the hunt with us, even though they would have wanted to. My sister volunteered to watch our kids for us while we were out hunting, she has 3 daughters all about the same age as our kids, so it worked out well. They would end up having their own adventures while we were out hunting as well.
September 1, 2024 arrives. We all get on a plane headed to Alaska. Lots of other hunters on our flights which was pretty cool to see. We arrive in Fairbanks and my Sister and her family pick us up and we attend church with them that morning as they had a family event day planned already. We head back to their house that afternoon and getting for our first adventure we had. Fishing out of Seward, AK.
To be continued…
Our trip to Alaska started as an idea back in late 2022/ early 2023. I have wanted to go and hunt in Alaska for as long as I can remember. Moose has always been high on my bucket list, but never knew how to make it happen financially or timing wise. Guided moose hunts go for $25k +, and that was just never going to be a possibility for me. Grizzly’s, same thing, way more than I can afford. I came across some hunting threads on here and other forums and I realized that Alaska may be a possibility. I don’t need to hire a guide to hunt them, but could go DIY. I really had no clue where to start, so I read and watched as much as I could for at least a year. When I finally got really serious in late 2022, I started talking to outfitters who offered DIY options and figured out I can probably make it work. I talked to an outfitter out of Dillingham, AK and ultimately decided that I would use him so my wife and I could hunt moose. Only bad thing, him and several other outfitters I talked to didn’t want to fly out a man and woman alone on moose hunt, strictly due to the extreme labor required to carry 100+ lbs over the most unforgiving terrain (tundra) possible for great distances, not to mention the elevation changes. After talking about it with my wife, we decided they were probably right I knew it was going to be a very physically demanding hunt if we happened to get one on the ground. So I reached out to my sister and brother-in-law, they just so happened to be Alaskan residents, living in Fairbanks. My BIL does some hunting, but not a ton, and I knew asking him to spend several thousands of dollars to come hunting with me was a pretty hard ask, but they were down in Texas for my Stepdad’s funeral late 2022, and we talked about. They told me let them think on it and see if they could make it work out financially as well. A few days later, my BIL texts me saying he is in. Fortunately for me, the outfitter was only charging my BIL half price, since he was not going to hunt moose himself, but could kill a bear if the opportunity arose. We settled on September 2024, giving us almost 2 years to iron out all the details, and collect any gear we may need. My BIL, living in Alaska, had most everything he needed already gear wise, my wife and I on the other hand, only had gear suitable for Texas hunting. We have good warm clothing already, but nothing to withstand the amount of rain we would expects. Also, now would be a good time to get a couple new guns right? I picked up a new Seekins 300 PRC and Sig 10mm, just because….
Now, my wife and I have 2 kids, a 10yo son and 9yo daughter, they were naturally going to come along as well, just not on the hunt with us, even though they would have wanted to. My sister volunteered to watch our kids for us while we were out hunting, she has 3 daughters all about the same age as our kids, so it worked out well. They would end up having their own adventures while we were out hunting as well.
September 1, 2024 arrives. We all get on a plane headed to Alaska. Lots of other hunters on our flights which was pretty cool to see. We arrive in Fairbanks and my Sister and her family pick us up and we attend church with them that morning as they had a family event day planned already. We head back to their house that afternoon and getting for our first adventure we had. Fishing out of Seward, AK.
To be continued…
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