You'll recall the Alaska caribou hunt we told you about last month way out in the Aleutians on Adak Island (see pages 12-13). Well, here's another remote caribou hunt that was opened only a few years ago. It's on the very end of the Alaska Peninsula and offers opportunities for B & C-class bulls in the Alaska-Yukon barren ground category. Known as the Southern Peninsula herd, these animals were closed to hunting until 1999 when the herd recovered from a population crash that occurred earlier that same decade. The area is currently being hunted only by outfitter Dick Gunlogson, who has an established lodge here and offers both lodge-based hunts via ATV's and fly-out spike camp hunts, for which he maintains three aircraft in camp. Because the terrain here is not physically demanding, Gunlogson says he has had hunters from youngsters to 80-year-olds take good bulls, and the overall success rate has been 100 percent. Some hunters here, every season since the reopening, have managed to take trophies over 400 SCI, with some of those making the cut for B & C.
The lodge lies about 700 miles southwest of Anchorage, requiring an overnight in Anchorage and a charter flight to the area. The lodge houses up to eight hunters in heated cabins with hot showers. Hunt packages run seven days, and they include all meals, accommodations, transportation during the hunt and guiding. In addition to the caribou, hunters can enjoy some salmon fishing and ptarmigan hunting. There are also some wolves here, and Gunlogson says hunters have a real possibility of shooting one.
Hunts take place from September 10 to October 10 and run $4,800 per person, with a 10 percent discount available for groups of eight. Not included are the nonresident hunting license ($85), the caribou tag ($325), the overnight in Anchorage and the air charter ($850). Only one caribou is allowed per hunter.
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