Preparing for your first drop in hunt?

[JTeLarkin08]

I'm planning a trip to Alaska with a buddy for next year. Hopefully gonna get air taxied way in there and be dropped off for 7-10 days. Besides being in really good physical shape what and having all the right gear, what else would you guys do to prepare? Are their any good books to read? Survival books with good info or books directly relating to Alaska drop camps? Anything else you guys can think of?

[az2tx]

I'm planning a trip to Alaska with a buddy for next year. Hopefully gonna get air taxied way in there and be dropped off for 7-10 days. Besides being in really good physical shape what and having all the right gear, what else would you guys do to prepare? Are their any good books to read? Survival books with good info or books directly relating to Alaska drop camps? Anything else you guys can think of?

It depends on what you are hunting, where you are hunting and what time of year. I used to hunt up around the Artic circle a bunch. Bring a true 4 season tent that will withstand high winds, clothing that won't absorb moisture, extra food. It is not uncommon to have a storm blow in and your pickup to be delayed for several days or even a week.

If you are hunting late Aug-Sep you can have 80 degree days and get eaten up by bugs, and in a couple of hours a storm can roll in and drop temps to below freezing and stay that way for a few days

[JTeLarkin08]

We're going for caribou and maybe moose. I haven't gotten all that worked out yet. Still in the early stages of planning

[Landrover]

Gotta love adventure bowhunting!!!!! Understand that you will be "wet" about 80% of the trip!!! Don't skimp on four season tent, clothing and understand your limitations as that next rock is MUCH further away than you truly think. 12-16 hour days hunting is normal! If you are caribou hunting get a flight service that will be willing to move you if the animals are NOT in that area. So you need a service that has tundra tire planes (and willing to fly out on day 3 to check on yall) as there may not be a lake where the herds are.
Pack foods that are SIMPLE to prepare as eating fancy is super low on the priority list as the rain/drizzle/fog is relentless. An extra tent to store gear worked great on my second trip and a tarp or two could be helpful. WEIGHT is not only seriously adhered to by the flight services but u can only deal with so much weight/gear.
I would suggest getting a moose tag as a 60 inch moose came to the lake we landed on.

[Speedgoat]

You should tune in to Naked and Afraid for a whole different skill set

[Hart8]

Reminded me of a story my buddy Jake told me...Two fellas he worked with,went on a hunt like this.Dropped em off,and said we'll pick you up in 10 days,at "such,and such" point...
"911" happened... They were at they're rendezvous point with two days worth of food,and what they had harvested in Canada..They had emergency Radios,and made contact.They were told what had happened,but were also told that they could not be reached by plane,and could not tell them when they could be picked up at all....I don't rememeber all of the details,about they're ordeal.But to hear him tell the story,as I remember they were scared to death! Jake said these boys were under the impression WWIII,was underway...They were PRCA cowboys,I know that...Maybe someone on here knows the whole story.

[Landrover]

Reminded me of a story my buddy Jake told me...Two fellas he worked with,went on a hunt like this.Dropped em off,and said we'll pick you up in 10 days,at "such,and such" point...
"911" happened... They were at they're rendezvous point with two days worth of food,and what they had harvested in Canada..They had emergency Radios,and made contact.They were told what had happened,but were also told that they could not be reached by plane,and could not tell them when they could be picked up at all....I don't rememeber all of the details,about they're ordeal.But to hear him tell the story,as I remember they were scared to death! Jake said these boys were under the impression WWIII,was underway...They were PRCA cowboys,I know that...Maybe someone on here knows the whole story.

LOL........I would agree that would freak anybody out. At least they had sat phones to communicate. (probably good idea to take one as we did not.) Plenty to eat out there if you get stuck though. My brother and I were doing a 10 day canoe trip in Canada with zero communications. When we got to the pick up point we learned that Princess Diana had died..........you would have thought the world was ending based on how folks were acting.

[Eric Pence]

There are a cpl of books that Detail what is needed for a DIY..
Hunting Hard in Alaska and
Hunting Alaska part 1&2 if you need I can get the authors name today after work
Both are Fairly recent and have some Great Tips and insight.

[Texas8point]

Remember bears are all fluffy and cute until they eat you !!!!

[CEO]

Gotta love adventure bowhunting!!!!! Understand that you will be "wet" about 80% of the trip!!! Don't skimp on four season tent, clothing and understand your limitations as that next rock is MUCH further away than you truly think. 12-16 hour days hunting is normal! If you are caribou hunting get a flight service that will be willing to move you if the animals are NOT in that area. So you need a service that has tundra tire planes (and willing to fly out on day 3 to check on yall) as there may not be a lake where the herds are.
Pack foods that are SIMPLE to prepare as eating fancy is super low on the priority list as the rain/drizzle/fog is relentless. An extra tent to store gear worked great on my second trip and a tarp or two could be helpful. WEIGHT is not only seriously adhered to by the flight services but u can only deal with so much weight/gear.
I would suggest getting a moose tag as a 60 inch moose came to the lake we landed on.

A buddy and I were planning a fly in bear hunt a few years ago that was cancelled when he decided to knock up his wife 7 months before our planned departure. The limited weight for the plane was a surprise to me but as mentioned you can only carry so much anyway. I also read everything I could find on survival and wilderness navigation. I'm hoping the trip gets taken in the next few years so all of my research wasn't a waste. You can only use so much wilderness knowledge on an east Texas deer lease

[JTeLarkin08]

A buddy and I were planning a fly in bear hunt a few years ago that was cancelled when he decided to knock up his wife 7 months before our planned departure. The limited weight for the plane was a surprise to me but as mentioned you can only carry so much anyway. I also read everything I could find on survival and wilderness navigation. I'm hoping the trip gets taken in the next few years so all of my research wasn't a waste. You can only use so much wilderness knowledge on an east Texas deer lease

Ha that's really funny. Me and my wife and my buddy and his wife are both really wanting babies right now. I told him we will just have to fake it in January and February lol

[mjhaverkamp]

Brink the best rain gear made, trust me on this one.

[TransPecos]

Brink the best rain gear made, trust me on this one.

Yup. Alaska laughs at Gore-Tex. I would also consider bringing a third solid hunter just to help pack meat, etc. and it would be helpful to have 3 people if someone gets injured.

[Kdog]

Brink the best rain gear made, trust me on this one.

Any particular brand in mind?

[thebomb6_99]

There are a cpl of books that Detail what is needed for a DIY..
Hunting Hard in Alaska and
Hunting Alaska part 1&2 if you need I can get the authors name today after work
Both are Fairly recent and have some Great Tips and insight.

Marc Taylor he owns an outdoor gear store up here