Alaska a year later… Part II

The Hunt That Almost Was: Part 2

Beginning of August — We got in touch with Gary for last-minute gear suggestions and possible drop-off areas. We downloaded a massive chunk of Western Alaska on OnXMaps just to be safe. Things were looking good, and excitement was at an all-time high.

August 22 — Five days until our flight, and chaos strikes. Mike gets a call from Russ at Outdoor International, calling on behalf of Gary. The message? Bail on Kotzebue and reroute to Fairbanks, AK. Apparently, monsoon-like weather had backed up hunters for over a week, and rumors swirled about local hostility toward out-of-state hunters—sabotaged planes and equipment, even National Guard rescues. The outfitters had had enough and moved operations east for more reliable weather.

Cue the scramble: cancel hotel rooms (again), rebook flights, and coordinate a new plan. The biggest concern was layovers, but we figured spending hours in Anchorage would give our gear time to catch up.

August 26 — Flight day. It was long, but all gear arrived, and we made it to our Airbnb by 10pm AKST. We got a solid night’s rest and reorganized gear, knowing we’d have to leave some behind and stick to our ~60 lbs for the field.

August 27 — Russ told us to grab breakfast in town while they sorted camp gear that had just arrived from Kotzebue. We hit Bakery Restaurant, then REI for last-minute items like isobutane for our JetBoils. By 11am, we were at the hangar meeting two official members of Unguided Alaska. After some stories and gear stashing, we piled into Russ’ truck for the 3.5-hour drive to Circle, AK—our new launch point.

4pm, Circle, Alaska — A gravel airstrip, a post office, a general store, and about 20 homes. Population: ~90. We chatted with the other hunting group in our caravan and quickly realized only one group would fly out today—and it wasn’t going to be us.

Around 7:15pm, two tundra planes arrived with a group of hunters. They’d been stuck in Kotzebue for a week but lucked out when another group bailed. In just two days, they tagged out on four bulls. Unfortunately, their route to Circle required a detour to Prudhoe Bay for fuel. Russ packed them up and drove them back to Fairbanks while our pilots silently rolled off on hoverboards.

Russ said they were over their flight hours and couldn’t fly again that day. So out came our gear, and up went camp—right on the gravel runway. We built a fire, swapped stories, and battled the most mosquitoes we’d ever seen.

August 28 — Fly-out day? Not quite. In Alaska, things happen when they happen. Circle was out of fuel, and the truck from Fairbanks hadn’t arrived. Midmorning, a float plane landed on the nearby river, sparking speculation. By noon, the pilots returned with fuel and announced our group would go out on the float plane while the other group took the tundra planes.

Our group of four had to split. Dave and I drew straws to go first so I could film Mike and Joe’s landing later. We loaded the float plane quickly, debating whether to wear waders. Mitch, our pilot, was vague, so we wore them.

Big mistake. An hour into the flight, I got sick—🤮. Thankfully, Mitch had puke bags, and we landed shortly after. Sorry, Mitch and Dave!

We unloaded fast, and Mitch headed back to Circle for Mike and Joe. Dave and I were officially one step closer to hunting in Alaska. We weren’t sure they’d make it out, but fingers were crossed.

Alaska law prohibits hunting the same day you fly, so we set up camp and fished while we waited. Around 6:30pm, we heard the plane roar—Mike and Joe had arrived.  We setup the 2nd tent and then worked on making camp our own.  But what a location!  Looked like we were gazing at a Bob Ross painting!  Alaska was gorgeous!

Tomorrow we hunt. Or do we…

Alaska a year later…

The hunt that almost wasn’t…

WOW. One year ago today, I was sitting on an airstrip in Circle, Alaska, wondering if we were going to catch a plane—or if we’d be tearing into our gear to set up camp for the night. But at least we were in Alaska.

Hard to believe it’s been a full year since that crazy-ass trip. I’ll try to summarize how it all went down, but honestly, I still can’t fully comprehend everything that happened. To really understand it, we’ve got to rewind four years.

The Dream Begins

January 2021 — We officially booked an unguided Alaska caribou hunt with Sheila and Arctic Air, Inc. The reality hit fast: we had one year to get all our gear purchased and ready, limited to just 60 lbs—including gun and ammo. Camping gear would be rented through Sheila and wouldn’t count toward our weight limit. That helped, but still… 60 lbs?

April 2021 — Rumblings began. Meetings were held about potentially closing caribou hunting due to population decline and subsistence hardships. It was all preliminary, and the general feeling was that nothing would happen quickly. But the uncertainty was there.

Momentum Builds… Then Crashes

January 2022 — The trip was 50% paid for. Flights booked. Hotel in Nullagvik reserved. Things were falling into place, and excitement was building.

March 31, 2022 — Everything changed.

FEDERAL SUBSISTENCE BOARD – WSA21-01 SEASON CLOSURE

An eight-member, non-elected board passed a special action closing caribou hunting in GMU 23 and parts of GMU 26 on federal land—mainly the Noatak National Preserve—for the 2022 season. Appeals and lawsuits were expected, but the damage was done. Arctic Air began rolling 2022 hunters to 2023 or 2024, depending on outcomes. Deposits would carry over, but new contracts and possible fuel surcharges were on the table.

If you had trip insurance, you might be covered. But as I learned the hard way, hunting season closures weren’t part of my policy. Months of back-and-forth ended in a denied claim. Meanwhile, other hunters simply cited COVID—and their claims were approved

A New Chapter with Unguided Alaska

December 2022 — Sheila and Arctic Air sold to Gary Colbath of Unguided Alaska LLC. He stepped up to take on the abandoned hunters and offered to honor deposits, charging only an additional $1,000 to cover fuel costs. At that point, what’s another grand? It was cheaper than starting over—and gave us hope for a 2024 hunt.

2023: Prep and Mule Deer

2023 became a prep year. I upgraded gear, focused on weight savings, and dialed in my packing strategy to hit the 60 lb limit. We drew tags for mule deer in Montana, and I jumped at the chance to hunt early in archery season with Dad and our Montana crew. Later, our Iowa group headed out for rifle season in eastern Montana. Both hunts were incredible—and I harvested my biggest mule deer to date.

2024: The Final Countdown

End of April — Final invoice received. Time to pay, book flights, and lock in hotels.

End of May — Flights to Kotzebue booked. Hunt paid in full.

Early June — Hotel in Kotzebue secured.

End of July — Everything was booked and paid. Tags and licenses in hand. Gear weighed in at 70 lbs. It was almost go time after such a long delay.

Or so we thought…