Jon Lachowitzer: Alaska Caribou Hunt Report

HUNT: DIY Caribou Hunt
CONSULTANT: Kyle Hanson | Outdoors International

August 25 – Sept. 1, 2020

Our overall trip was very good. My hunting buddy and I were both able to take nice caribou on our DIY drop camp caribou hunt.

We flew into the field out of Kotzebue, Alaska at the end of August for a six-day, unguided hunt. The transporters were great to work with. They were always quick to answer questions that we had during the year leading up to our caribou hunt in Alaska. She sent out reminders and lots of other information about the trip throughout the year.

COVID Complicated Things

As we were coming into our hunt during the COVID pandemic it created additional stress and complications, but we were able to get it all figured. Throughout the pandemic they was communicative about the situation and tried to provide as much information as was available at the time in order to help us navigate our trip to AK.

Once in Kotzebue, the outfitter sent a couple of nice helpful guys to pick us up and get us to our B&B the night prior to flying out into the field. The next morning, they picked us up and Sheila ran us through what to expect for the day and what hunting had been like in the field. I appreciated the fact that she didn’t sugar coat it and lets us all know that because of the warm temps hunting had been tough but that we should remain patient as the caribou migration would continue to pickup. It was good knowing what we might expect in the field.

The pilot flew us out the next morning and landed us on a beautiful little lake in the South Brooks Range.

We rented camp gear from the transporter. The rental included plenty of food and basically everything we needed for our time in the field. Communication in the field was good through our Garmin InReach devices. When it was time to come out, the pilot arrived within five minutes of the pickup time that was communicated to us.

Once back in Kotzebue, they helped us get out antlers and meat all boxed up and ready for our trip home the next day.

The overall communication was good. Sheila was quick to answer our questions and was very straight forward about options that we might have if we couldn’t make the hunt due to COVID. They were apologetic when some of the gear that we rented didn’t actually end up in the camp bin like it was supposed to be. The pilot was flying out the next day and made a point to swing by our camp and drop off the missing gear for us. Just showed their dedication to the their hunters and the service that they were trying to provide.

The overall experience was great. I would fly with them in the future again. Thanks for the great hunt, awesome experience and showing us the beauty, that Alaska has to offer.

• My outfitter’s communication before, during and after the trip was perfect, I couldn’t have asked for more.
• Physically, the trip was difficult.
• The food was good.
• The accommodations were good.

My Hunting Consultant was Kyle Hanson with Outdoors International.

Kyle was great to work with. He answered all our questions about the hunt, gear we should think about taking, our transporter and about anything else you could think of. As Kyle was doing the same hunt, at basically the same time, as us we talked quite a bit about what gear we were bringing and he was great about making suggestions based off his previous experiences in Alaska. Kyle was always quick to respond and even reached out a few times proactively prior to the hunt. Overall, he was a great guy to work with. His communication was great, he had good knowledge of the hunt and was just in general a very personable guy to work with. Thanks Kyle.

• Would you book another trip with Outdoors International in the future? Yes.
• Can we use your stories and/or photos on our website? Yes.
• Can we use this in social media? Yes.

Thank you Outdoors International!

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I couldn't believe we won!

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I'm so grateful for the opportunity!

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My most memorable and rewarding experience.

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