Two years ago I booked Arrowhead Outfitters LLC for a DIY caribou hunt. Arrowhead is basically a transportation service that takes you out in a float plane and puts you on a lake in the Tundra where they believe the caribou to be. Riding in a float plane over Alaska was one of the coolest experiences I've had.

The tundra is like nothing any of us experienced and way harder than I expected. It rained everyday and we put our gear to the test. At one point we were stuck in our tents 24 hours straight. No matter how much you prepare for this hunt you just can't move fast out there. The best way to describe it is like walking on squishy basketballs in water the whole time. I would Average 6-7 miles a day hiking and it felt like I was walking 1mph the whole time. It was only dark a few hours a day so we hunted over 12 hours a day. It's such open country you can see for miles. This was probably the most challenging hunt I've been on.

We had no problem finding cows and calves, bet we saw over a 150 throughout the hunt, but bulls were scarce. I stalked and passed two younger bulls within 40 yards that just weren't what I was after. I got to sit on a ridge and watch Devin make a stalk and shoot the only solid bull we saw in range throughout the hunt. We packed him out and caribou was surprisingly very good eating, possibly the best wild game I've eaten. That meal was a huge treat as we only ate dried meals for 8 days.

I wanted an adventure and I got it, with my best friends. We gave it hell. This truly is the last frontier and chasing big game in Alaska has always been my dream. It's now in my blood and I cant wait to hunt Alaska again.

You should never go to Alaska as a young man because you'll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live.

Arrowhead Outfitter Review - All of the staff is top notch and good people. The communication was good through the whole process other than the weigh in. I wanted an Alaska adventure and Arrowhead was able to help make that happen. I do not regret booking with arrowhead and appreciate everything they did for us.

Saying all that there was miscommunication on the total weight allowed, none of us still understand what the total weight needs to be, and I don't think Arrowhead does either. We weighed ourselves and gear a dozen times to make sure we were under the 650# in our original contract and at weigh in we had to drop roughly 50 pounds. This was frustrating and didn't make sense, I think they want to push that extra gear flight income.

Secondary, I read and heard in the past they will put older, out of shape, less skilled hunters in slam dunk areas. Guys that have experience hunting and look like they know what they're doing get placed in below average lakes. Both lakes we got placed at the pilot told me have not been hunted. It almost felt like we were a scouting tool for them. I know hunting is hunting but to only see one decent bull the whole hunt between 4 guys putting in the hours and miles was disappointing. We didn't need Giants but for the money we spent I expected to see more bulls. It's interesting going through their pics and seeing the success photos.

In summary, we had a great experience and I do thank arrowhead for making that happen.

POTD!!!

That's the way you OB right there!

Very cool.

That's my North American dream hunt that I haven't done yet.

Amazing pictures…thank you so much for sharing!

That's a hardcore little minivan…haha.

How close were y'all to that musk ox?

Any issues with bears?

Is it out of line to cost how much it cost?

My turo 4x4 tundra canceled on me few weeks before the hunt, stung! We rented this van and got a flat tire one hour into the trip. The rental didn't have a jack and had to wave down a ride to lend us a jack. A flat repair is 55 dollars in Coldfoot FYI.
Coldfoot is also the most northern bar in the country and we ran them out of miller lite last night

The hunt is $3900
Tags $800ish
Gear rental $200ish each
Flight $700ish (I had points so free)
Car rental plus gas - $600ish
Motels, Gear, Food - dependent on you….
I owned all my own backcountry gear and spent roughly 6k all in. My buddies without gear and reward points spent more.

How did y'all do fishing?

Fishing was very slow in our area with our limited effort. I honestly didn't fish hard across the Dalton highway. The lakes we got put on had no fish.

What an awesome trip! Caribou hunt is on my list too and hope to do it soon!

Congratulations on an awesome looking hunt!

The muscox i got within 20 yards of.

We did not have any grizzly bear experiences but another hunter with the outfit did. While he was hunting a grizz got into his tent and ate all his food and destroyed everything. The outfit brought him another tent and asked if he wanted to move. The hunter said no, next day the bear ate all his meat and napped next to his tent.

Did you fly into Fairbanks and then drive the rental to Prudhoe Bay?

I took a Van tour from Fairbanks to the arctic circle on the haul road a few years ago.

We ate lunch at the Yukon River Camp

We turned around at the arctic circle and headed back to Fairbanks

Great write up and awesome pictures thanks for sharing, a caribou hunt is most definitely on my list!

Once you go bou, you never go back

Or something like that

A pair of Maules in one photo. Very cool. One rudder pivot might need attention, typical AK bush plane...

Haven't been north of the Brooks Range in 29 years, That's too long. Thanks, OP, for stirring up some memories.

Yes we rented a Turo van in Fairbanks and drove the whole dalton highway, what an adventure and view. If I would change anything next time it's make sure you get a truck with hood tires and ground clearance. We had a flat the first hour. A truck would have made the drive much better and faster.

That Lone Star thermos is awesome!

Great thread, OP! Alaska is on the agenda next year or the year after