Haul Road Caribou Hunt - Here we come!

[Gr is for Greg]

Going back up to the Slope for caribou, leaving Friday evening. Any news on the condition of the road? Anybody seen caribou in the last couple days / weeks? Any news or tips for surprises will be appreciated.

Happy Hunting, folks!

-Gr

[Badfeather]

location updates dalton caribou

Anyone been up there for the rifle hunt? Any word on location, movement, etc. Planning to head up next weekend and ski/snowshoe in.
Thanks

[jockomontana]

neck hide for flies

just got back from the Dalton. not much for caribou up there this year... it seems winter still has its icy grip on the North Slope. some friend and I mushed in for 6 miles and set up camp, managed to bag two 'bou but had to work for them hard this year...

if anyone is headed up there for a hunt, shoot me a PM and I'll give you some good beta in exchange for a scrap of hide... I'd like to get a small piece of neck hide to tie some flies with... forgot to save some as we were cleaning animals in the early evening with cold wind chills and 10 miles from camp.

good luck up there.

[Badfeather]

Heading up this weekend

One of our goals is to bring out some hides. Would be glad to send you a pm or you can do likewise.

[Badfeather]

Attention Haul Rd. Truckers

Where have the caribou been getting run over lately? Can anyone give me an update on caribou locations? Anything going on near Galbraith?

[Gr is for Greg]

I know where they were...

Jocko - were you guys camped just north of the mountains on the west side of the highway, going in at Galbraith? I was part of a four-person skiing group, and we came into the area of a camp with two wall tents and a dog team. We were pretty high above you in the hills, so I don't think you would have noticed us. Glad you got some 'bou - we came back empty handed.

Badfeather - there were caribou in the 100s in Galbraith last Tuesday morning. Other than that, small groups spread out along the northern foothills of the mountains, not many out on the plains yet. At least that was the situation 5 days ago. Good luck!

-Gr

[jockomontana]

yea.. that was us down there. nice place to make a camp... had to travel far to the south to find any sign of animals. sounds like they're moving north now that the wx's warmed up.

hope you guys enjoyed the ski into the hills. we saw your tracks out there.

[Badfeather]

foothills west of Galbraith

Returned Sunday. We only had one day to spend, but covered quite a bit of ground west of Galbraith. Ski conditions were great, but the wind kicked up quite a bit and we did not see a single caribou past the five mile corridor, though they were around the road in pretty good numbers on Friday. It looked like many people tried the valley to the east. Maybe they had better luck. Great hunt, but wishing I could be spending the evening butchering. Best of luck to those heading out.

[whitewolf2025]

Last saturday a buddy of mine took me and two other friends out after he talked to a pilot that landed at the Galbraith airstrip and he told us there were caribou at the end of the Atigun River gorge, so we walked in to there and I got my very first caribou ever! I was so excited - I'm going to make alot of it into jerky to send to my husband in Iraq. We saw one other hunter and two skiers also - a little crowded but there was enough bou. There was also alot right by the road but none in the gorge till we got the end.

[jpost]

PM sent

Whitewolf2025,
I sent you a private message.

[Alaska_Lanche]

Last saturday a buddy of mine took me and two other friends out after he talked to a pilot that landed at the Galbraith airstrip and he told us there were caribou at the end of the Atigun River gorge, so we walked in to there and I got my very first caribou ever! I was so excited - I'm going to make alot of it into jerky to send to my husband in Iraq. We saw one other hunter and two skiers also - a little crowded but there was enough bou. There was also alot right by the road but none in the gorge till we got the end.

Congrats whitewolf. Just need to see some pics as proof now.

[Jerod]

I talked to some truckers and they said the bou were around Toolik, so I headed down that way last night to try and arrow one on the last day of season. Only made it a couple miles south of pump 2 and saw 8 on the side of the road. Stopped the truck to watch them and they stood there. Got out of the truck and walked off the road and they watched me, but stood there. Walked up to 30 yards, drew back and shot the biggest one in the herd. The wind blew the arrow a little back, and the bou ran down the hill quite a ways. It was a bit of a pack out, but managed to get some fresh meat for the spring.

Saw a grizzly but I was too tired to go after it and it was pretty late. I'll go looking for him tonight.