# Alaska Trip 2019



## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

Heading to P.O.W. this fall for a Blacktail hunt, August 25 - September 8!

Anyone been up there before? I assume I can push Longbow and Johnny for some answers, but I am looking for things that I need for sure (besides rain gear). Staying at a cabin, hiking to the alpine for a night or two to hunt. Most likely going to sneak some fishing and crabbing in as well.

Starting to purchase items for this trip, anything specifically that I need?


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Oh my gosh I love P.O.W.! If I didn't stay at the lodge where my son guided from, we would stay in a forest service cabin on Control Lake for $25 a night.

My first thought was rain gear but it looks like you've already thought of that. There's a lot of bogs in the lower elevations so a good set of knee boots or hip waders would be nice to have. During that time of year the bucks a generally high in the sub-alpine so you might not need to worry about sloshing through bogs.
I know you're an accomplished hunter in Utah so I'm guessing you're set up to spend a couple nights spike camping. Any gear you use in Utah will work fine on POW but lean more towards the durable and waterproof items you might have.
I can't think of a whole lot right now but if I think of anything specific that you might need or if you have any more questions, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

P.S. Stop by Coffman Cove and buy some fresh oysters. If she doesn't have some in her little store, she'll walk across the road to the dock, pull up a spawn bag and let you pick out your own oysters. So tasty!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I wish I had more to add to what longbow said, but I don't know POW well. I would add if you don't already have good trekking poles, pick some up--they're amazing! And either crampons or micro spikes make climbing those steep grassy/mossy hillsides a lot safer


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

Longbow, that's exactly what we are doing. I'm headed there with two USDA employees, so a cabin on an inlet is the plan! Planning on bringing some waders to fish with, might use those for those bogs/muskeg areas. You also hit it on the head for the spike camp, bringing a tent with a footprint and rain fly. I don't want to walk all that way to hunt for a day, definitely gonna stay up in the alpine for two or three days!

Johnny, I have some nicer Kelty poles that they just replaced, so they're brand new. I never thought about the crampons, I have some of those for walking on ice during duck season, great idea!!

I have everything written down already on what i'm planning on taking, including all weights. I still feel like i'm taking too much, but in the words of the great Burt Gummer, "When you need it and don't have it, you sing a different tune."


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

Also, lets go easy on the whole "accomplished hunter" thing there Longbow, I am absolutely flattered by the comment but in all reality I still classify as an amateur..


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## torowy (Jun 19, 2008)

don't plan on building a fire...


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

torowy said:


> don't plan on building a fire...


HA! That is so true. My son and I had to use one of my road flares I keep in my pack to dry out tinder and start a fire one time.


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

I guess I should provide an update!

We were incredibly blessed with the weather, it rained 4 of 15 days we were there. We had 4 deer tags and a bear tag, CJ was the only one of us that drew.

Day 1-2:
We (Me, JZ, CJ, and Cody) arrived at dark and were able to get to our cabin, which included a boat and some paddles. The next day we paddled out and dropped a crab pot, and then got our fly rods out and went and fished the rivers all day in the rain. We caught more fish than we could count, the pinks and chums were keeping us busy with the occasional silver showing up. After fishing all day, we went back and pulled the crab pot and had a lovely dinner of salmon and crab (which was a meal we had every day while we were at the cabin).

Day 3:
This day started off with rain, then it cleared up. We brought the rifles and bows out and made sure they were sighted in, and as the weather got better Cody and CJ decided to head up to the alpine and get started hunting. JZ and I dropped those two off, and then JZ and I went back to the cabin for it was close to getting dark and we didn't have enough time to get up to the other alpine area we wanted to go. 

Day 4-6:
This day started off with a long hike up to the alpine, and once we got up there it was beautiful. Sunny as can be, with deer EVERYWHERE. We glassed all day every day, looking over at least 150 deer a day, with nothing huge showing up. On day 6, I was lucky enough to take a 3x2 with massive browtines that was in full velvet, but unfortunately had the velvet partially scraped off during his fall down a scree slide. 340 yards with a .25-06 using a 100 gr Barnes TTSX put him down fast! After boning my deer out, we were able to get a hold of CJ and Cody via radio (7 miles away with a Garmin Rino, I was impressed) and they told us that they were out of food and we were very low as well. We also found out that CJ tagged out on an awesome 3x3 that morning as well! After the decision to head down, JZ and I packed up camp and hiked down to the truck, and met Cody and CJ where we dropped them off and went back to the cabin. 2 of 5 tags filled! Also, Cody and CJ started a fire with ease and ended up cooking some of CJ's buck up to eat that day!

Day 7-9:
These days were mainly recovery days, the hike to the alpine we went to was no joke! JZ's brother and his son came up for the second week just to fish, so we picked them up on day 7 and fished the rest of that day. Day 8 was another fishing/relaxation day due to the rain, and CJ, JZ, and JZ's brother decided to take the paddle boat out deeper and try for some rockfish. I couldn't believe it, but they got into some fish and brought some back to eat. CJ's bear tag also opened that day, so we spent the evening wading up rivers and getting some close encounters with bears, which was UNBELIEVABLE. We had multiple bears within 30 yards, but none of them were giants. Day 9 was another day of fishing and wading to find bears in the rain, with more bear encounters happening than we deserved. 

Day 10-13:
Day 10 was the day we made our second trip to the alpine, with all four of us going to where CJ and Cody went the previous week. We had a nice crab breakfast and then we headed up to the alpine. It was foggy when we went up, and the fog socked us in until dark. Day 11 was a truly incredible day, JZ and I ended up spotting three wolves about 200 yards away. We spent hours watching these wolves, and called Cody and CJ to come over and see them as well. JZ got the bright idea to call in the wolves with a predator call, and we got them as close at 50 yards, it was amazing. Two wolves were in front of us and one looped around behind us to where Cody and CJ were, they had him at 30 yards and he didn't know that they were there! After all of that fun, we found a couple of larger bears that CJ and I were going to chase the next day due to us already filling our deer tags. Day 12 was also a great day, while looking for bears we found a decent buck and I ended up taking off running to go find Cody, when I heard a shot and I knew it was Cody that pulled the trigger. He ended up taking an awesome buck, a very wide 2x2 that was better than the buck that CJ and I spotted for him. We butchered the deer and took it back to camp, where Cody stayed to debone the deer while CJ and I went back out for bear. CJ was able to sneak within 40 yards of a huge boar, but missed with his bow (he said the excitement got to him ). That night we happened upon another decent bear, and he decided to take it with a rifle. Skinning that thing took awhile, CJ and Cody handled that while I deboned the meat. We got back to camp that night after dark, enjoying the hike back knowing it was going to be our last night in the alpine. Day 13 was JZ's day, he was the only one of us that has done this hunt before and was holding out for a 4x4. We all headed out that morning in hopes of finding a buck for JZ, but we had to do it fast for we were heading down that afternoon. As CJ and I were glassing, we heard a shot. We looked at each other and couldn't believe it, for we knew JZ wouldn't have shot at a small buck. We get over to him and sure enough, he got a 4x4 on our last morning up there. We ate breakfast over the buck, butchered and deboned it and headed back to camp. We all ate the last of our food and headed back down to the truck.

Day 14-15:
Day 14 was our last full day in Alaska, and it was spent butchering animals and skinning heads for the travel home. We tagged out on all 5 tags, so we had some work to do. We got all packed up and prepared for travel home on day 15.

This was truly the best two weeks of my life, nothing will ever come close to that trip. We ended up seeing 56 different bears and easily saw over 600 deer. I had everything I needed and could've afforded to leave some stuff at home as well. We're already planning for 2021!


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)




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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

I attached some pictures, i'll add more later! I'm new to adding pictures!


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

Here are some more!


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Hey you guys shot some nice bucks! Nice work. And that blackie's a brute too. I love POW and Kuiu islands second only to the one I live on now. I read your whole story. It makes me excited for this fall.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

RemingtonCountry said:


> This was truly the best two weeks of my life, nothing will ever come close to that trip. We ended up seeing 56 different bears and easily saw over 600 deer. I had everything I needed and could've afforded to leave some stuff at home as well. We're already planning for 2021!


Not to hijack, BUT....you saw 56 different bears, a handful of wolves, and over 600 deer!

So, on P.O.W island, deer seem to do pretty darn good despite all the predators? Why is that so different than here....

...just thinking out loud!

By the way, that trip looks way fun. Fun enough that I even spent time googling trips there too.


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

wyoming2utah said:


> Not to hijack, BUT....you saw 56 different bears, a handful of wolves, and over 600 deer!
> 
> So, on P.O.W island, deer seem to do pretty darn good despite all the predators? Why is that so different than here....
> 
> ...


The trip was an absolute blast. I'd highly recommend it if you have a chance to do it!

As far as the predators, the bears were so enamored with salmon in the rivers and berries in the alpine that they did not show much aggression towards deer. We often saw a few deer within 100 yards of a bear and they acted relaxed. There was the occasional glance, but nothing more than that. Obviously this is only when the salmon are spawning, but I just don't see bears making much of a dent in the deer population. Every single doe we saw had a fawn or two with it as well. I know that wolves are very sparse on the island, a friend that I know that lives in Thorne Bay said that he as never seen three together like that. I also forgot to mention that we saw a single wolf earlier in the trip when JZ and I were separate in the different alpine. 4 wolves in two weeks is "unheard of" for non-residents that don't normally know where the wolves hang out.


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

Thanks for the report! This was fun to read and I like the pics! I have never been to Alaska but it looks really cool.

How come you didn't shoot the wolves? I was under the impression that they wanted hunters to take wolves in Alaska most all the time in most all areas? A buddy of mine hunted moose and passed on a couple wolves because he didn't want to scare any potential moose in the area. When he told the game warden this, the warden was visibly upset that he gave the wolves a pass. Maybe that was just in the unit he was hunting I guess?


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

Airborne said:


> Thanks for the report! This was fun to read and I like the pics! I have never been to Alaska but it looks really cool.
> 
> How come you didn't shoot the wolves? I was under the impression that they wanted hunters to take wolves in Alaska most all the time in most all areas? A buddy of mine hunted moose and passed on a couple wolves because he didn't want to scare any potential moose in the area. When he told the game warden this, the warden was visibly upset that he gave the wolves a pass. Maybe that was just in the unit he was hunting I guess?


The season wasn't open for wolves on POW when we were there, it runs from Dec. 1 - March 31! Trust me, we researched it on our phones while we were watching them!


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Just read this about blacktail deer and POW island:
"Although blacktail are indigenous and abundant on the islands of Southeast Alaska, there’s something special about Prince of Wales Island. Boyd Porter, the Area Biologist based in Ketchikan with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof Islands (known as the ABC Islands) have small deer - and a lot of them. Prince of Wales has fewer deer, but they have larger bodies and bigger antlers.

“People brag about the fact these deer get up to 180 or 190 pounds,” he said. “A lot has to do with predators, but it’s also genetics, weather and food, all those working in an intricate relationship. Prince of Wales has a lot of things that deer need, and in good supply. It’s a very rich ecosystem.”

Porter said the old growth forest on Prince of Wales is a fertile environment. The island is underlain by limestone, and limestone-influenced soils tend to produce nutritious vegetation.

“There’s some talk that plants that grow over limestone have higher nutritive quality, and that may contribute to larger antler growth,” said former Ketchikan Area Biologist Doug Larsen. “Predators keep animals well below carrying capacity, and where deer densities are not as high, they tend to produce larger deer. There’s less competition for food because of fewer animals. Mild weather makes a big difference, because food can be available through out the year.”

Black bears and wolves prey on deer on Prince of Wales, but wolves aren’t found on the ABC Islands. Bear are seasonal and opportunistic predators of deer, unlike wolves. Bears kill fawns in the spring, but when fawns are just a few weeks old they are better able to avoid bears. Wolves are effective predators on adults, and 90 percent of the wolves’ diet on Prince of Wales Island is deer."

Interesting stuff and cool place for sure....


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## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

If POW doesn't have a lot of deer, i'd love to go hunt one of the ABC islands to see the quantity they have! It does seem like we were in a concentrated area, Cody decided to head up to a different alpine area for a night on day 7 and did not see near as many deer as we did where we all went. 

I was surprised with how big of bodies the deer had on that island. When I walked up to mine, I thought about how everyone says that they're tiny and I thought they were full of it! My buck was much bigger than both whitetail does I tagged in Oklahoma this year!


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