Alaskan caribou hunt turned camping trip

[scudrunner]

This year I was blessed with a caribou permit in an exclusive area along the Resurrection Trail system on the Kenai Peninsula. This trail was originally developed as a dog sled route between Seward and Anchorage for the early gold miners and has since been turned into a recreational trail with Forest Service cabins along the way.

My wife and I planned to hike into a cabin about 8 miles in and then find a way up the mountains to hunt the caribou. The weather had been very wet prior to our trip and was rainy on our hike in.



We borrowed a handy one wheeled push cart from a friend who has done this hunt several times in the past. The hike in wasn't bad for pack weight, but imagine trying to pack up to 300# of caribou back out... this cart could certainly be a lifesaver!

By the time we arrived at the cabin the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. The cabin was restored a mere 2 weeks prior to our arrival and was AWESOME!




We had a comfy time together for the night, enjoying some fine dining on Mountain House sweet and sour pork and a Snicker's bar for desert. It was great... Isn't it amazing how things always taste better in the woods?!

The next day, the day we were planning on climbing the moutnain was glorious!



We set out to find a horse trail up the mountian. We hiked for a couple of hours and indeed found the trail, but because of the wet, rainy weather the week before, we couldn't find a safe way across the river or even to the river for that matter! So, despite weather window, we decided to simply convert our hunt into a backpacking camping trip.

We stayed at the cabin one more night, only to wake up to rain and snow... it was a really good thing we didn't get stuck up on the side of the mountain! The hike out was bitter-sweet... it was tough to leave such breath taking scenery and yet the weather was no longer inviting or accomodating.

All in all it was a great trip, a great time of solitude and bonding. Certainly a time we will remember for years to come.

[worm slayer]

are those cabins ones you can reserve or are they first come first serve they are really nice looking

[scudrunner]

These cabins, like many others in the Chugach National Forest, can be reserved. They are often left unoccupied, so many folks will take a chance, wait around until evening and then move in. We reserved the cabin for our stay... it was $30 per night... not too bad in my book!

[worm slayer]

no that is about what we pay a night to camp here at a state park with bathroom/showers but there is nothing like being in the middle of nowhere

[Chinook SSSF]

I love how they can just put cabins up there and they are used only for what they should be....Thats a great price too, nice restoration work they did.

You get a new camera Ed? Those photos are great! The Fall scenery is stunning. Up at Sunrise Inn, by kenai Lake, there are some photos on the wall in the grease spoon that a pro took around the Kenai area and some of his fall enlargments are just amazing. You folks have some amazing color up there this time of year Thanks for sharing

[ryank]

Thanks for sharing that place looks amazing, alaska is on the top of my must see destinations I need to plan a trip up that way within a few years. Ryan

[worm slayer]

forget hawaii or however you spell it Alaska is the place I would love to visit also

[williesteal17]

Was this a Archery hunting trip ED??

[scudrunner]

This was a rifle hunt, but even that didn't see the light of day... it turned into a backpacking trip instead. I was planning an archery hunt up along the haul road that follows the Alyeska Pipeline to Prudhoe bay, but that trip fell through due to illness and family emergency of my partners... so I went for plan B with my wife on this hike in hunt. So, I'll have to keep practicing with the bow until next year...