A couple of weeks ago I did a podcast with Caleb Martin, Executive Director for the Alaska Outdoor Council. We mainly chatted about my guiding career in Alaska. His final question was, “If I had one piece of advice to give to someone who is new to hunting or new to hunting in Alaska, what would it be.” There was a long pause as my brain was trying to engage. As I sat there thinking about everything that is involved in hunting in Alaska I stammered around and finally said, “Be careful out there.” At the time I was not pleased with my answer but that was all that I could come up with for one piece of advice. Later that afternoon when my wife came home, I asked her that same question and without hesitation she said, “Find a good hunting partner.” My response was, “great answer!” Why didn’t I think of that!
The Dog Salmon River in front of the lodge during a fall flood. In normal water conditions you can cross here in hip boots.
I’ve been thinking about that question and my answer for the past two weeks and this is what I came up with. After hunting in this beautiful game rich State for 54 years I have experienced the best and the worst that it offers. Over the years I have been in a plane crash that caught fire and took the life of my brother-in-law, I have had my zodiac turned upside down in the middle of Cold Bay in 15’ seas and 50+ MPH winds, stuck in the mud in a tidal flat during a snow squall with an incoming tide, caught in a rock slide with some of the rocks as large as Volkswagens flying by me down a mountain chute, been involved in a glacier rescue of a friend, Brent Jones (later my partner in the guide business), he had broken his ankle when he slipped on the ice while hiking out with his sheep, been washed down a swollen glacier stream while trying to carry a client on my back across that stream, roped a friend across a glacier stream after the current took him down and under a log sticking out of the bank (he lost his gun and I lost my mountain boots), been in many major storms, slept out 5 or 6 times without a sleeping bag in below freezing weather and I’m sure a few of those times I came as close as I could come to hypothermia and not die. These are only the highlights of my bad experiences and I have always thought that I was being careful.
What was left of my “super cub” after the accident.
The waters on a bad day in Cold Bay. My Zodiac was turned upside down in the middle of this bay.
Me in the Zodiac during a normal crossing.
My friend Harold Spurgeon crossing Eagle River when it was only up to his knees. When we came out four days later the river was in four channels instead of five because of the warm weather and the water was just above our crouch. He lost this rifle when he was swept down the river. His dad had given it to him when he was 15 years old.
A creek in our guide area that rose to a torrent in a few hour’s time from heavy rains. My partners Brent and Dan were hunting sheep with two clients. Our horse packer, George Lockwood, was also there with the horses.
I had just made it back to our base camp after spending the night on the side of the mountain with just what I have on in this photo. No sleeping bag or anything to put over me except the back half of the wet goat skin. It snowed on me most of the night. This was my first goat with a bow. It was my second and worst night out without my sleeping bag. Since then I have always carried a space blanket to cover or wrap up in.
Besides my above experiences, I have also lost three hunting friends in plane accidents, lost one friend who was on a sheep hunt in an area that I sent him into and a giant piece of glacier ice fell on him and he has never been recovered, lost a friend to the Bore Tide in the Turnagain Arm area as he was trying to boat across to Seattle Creek to spring bear hunt, know of two different people who got stuck in the tide flats and died, know of at least two people killed in rock slides while hunting, have had three friends get mauled by brown bears and thank God they all lived. I have had so many friends lose boats, guns, you name it even their life to water and water travel, which I think is the most dangerous threat while hunting in Alaska.
Me helping the helicopter crew carry Brent to the helicopter. Now for my 20 mile hike out with a 100 pound pack.
My largest 40” ram that scored 167 B&C points. This was three days after being caught in the massive rock slide while climbing the chute in pursuit of this ram.
So, when I think about hunting in our great State with its majestic rugged mountains, and all of the many rivers, both calm and raging and the surrounding ocean and knowing we can have some of the most vicious weather, especially in the fall, the first thing I think about is, “you better be careful” because mother nature can be unforgiving. There are so many tragic stories out there. So, be careful is not the first thing I tell hunters that are new to Alaska but it is usually the last thing I say. So, I guess that’s why I came up with that answer.
Now that I have covered most of the bad things that can happen while hunting in Alaska let me say that God has blessed me with many wonderful hunting experiences. Also, I never mind sharing my information about hunting in Alaska with whoever wants to listen. All of the details about my above experiences have been posted on my blog.
Now for the good stuff! To all of you “new to Alaska hunters”, I agree with my wife, find yourself a good hunting partner. The best one is someone who has hunted here in the past for the animal that you are most interested in hunting. I was very fortunate when I met a co-worker, Chuck Berry, who started me out chasing black bears and goats. Then we moved on to sheep. Joining hunting organizations like the Alaska Wild Sheep Foundation, SCI or the Alaska Outdoor Council can also be a good place to find good hunting partners and a great source to find information about hunting in Alaska. Many of the stories above had happier endings because of having a good hunting partner.
My first ram taken September 12, 1966 in the Kenai Mountains. He was a 38 incher and I was wearing my rubber boots and blue jeans.
My younger days sheep hunting with a piece of visqueen for my shelter. Used rocks for the poles and then rocked down three of the sides.
Next, do your research using all the tools that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game provide. Use reference books, blogs and places you can listen to or talk hunting. Get in shape, especially if you plan to hunt sheep or goat. It makes a difference.
Gear? In today’s market it’s like being a kid in a candy store with so many great options. After you have your rifle or bow the next two items that I think you need are good boots specific to the animal you are hunting and a good set of rain gear. I say that even though I started out hunting sheep and goat with a pair of cheap rubber boots which were terrible but I killed my first goat and sheep while using those boots. I also had cheap plastic rain gear or used heavy rubber G.I. issue rain gear. I hunted in blue jeans, the worst, but having great gear just makes it easier to be successful. You don’t have to spend a lot of money but you should do your research and spend what can afford.
Spring black bear hunting in 1967. I was using a G.I. pack board with most of my gear hanging on my G.I. web belt.
A good pack frame is important. I however, used an old wood G.I. pack board my first couple years. Those were even worse than an old Trapper Nelsen pack board. In my opinion Barney’s Sports Chalet has the best overall pack/frame, the Frontier Gear of Alaska Freighter frame and bag. I know the younger generation likes internal frames but I’ve never been a fan. They make my back sweat which I can’t stand and I can’t get a moose hindquarter in the bag. In my 23 years of guiding with five or six packers working for me a year, that frame has never let AAA down.
Sheep hunting in 2020 at age 76. So much has changed since the above 1967 photo but I feel blessed that I can still do it.
I can talk all day about gear or the gear I prefer but that is not the purpose of this article. I just wanted to clarify what I had said in the podcast.
Being in the field for 30 to 90 days a year for 54 years like I was, using small boats, small planes and hunting in those rugged mountains bad things are going to happen. But over-all most of your experiences will be wonderful with memories that will last you a lifetime. Get out there and enjoy the great hunting that Alaska has to offer.
If you want to check-out the Alaska Outdoor Councils podcast that I did click on https://xplorealaska.org/podcast . Then check out Episode 20. For some reason I was on fast forward for most of the podcast. Sorry about that.
Good luck! Good hunting! And “be careful out there!”