GGG-Alaska-2018

[David Thomas]

Okay, I bet that title got your attention.  Info to follow after the sacrificial first post.

Hint: it does involve caribou and the volcanic island featured in this photo.

[David Thomas]

People say “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”  Until they’ve come to Alaska.  Our GGGs are bigger, too.

The overview:
Dates: July 21-28 (Saturday-Saturday)
Location: Adak Island (Aleutians Islands)
Activities: Hiking; Backpacking; fresh-water fishing for Dolly Vardens and Rainbows; possible salt-water fishing for flounder, halibut, and crab; hunting caribou; long walks on the beach; exploring the Zombie ghost town left by the Navy.
Variations: July 21-25 or July 25-28 (only two flights a week, Saturdays and Wednesdays).

There’s the Midwest, the Rocky-Mountain West, the West Coast, then there’s Alaska and then, far further west, are the Aleutian Islands.  Adak is over a thousand miles (>1600 km, Roger) west of Anchorage.  Adak is further west from Portland Oregon, than Portland Oregon is from Portland Maine.

Aleuts lived there for thousands of years until the Russians came and enslaved them to catch sea otters.

Then they were ignored during the early US period until WWII when we realized, “Crap!  The Japanese have invaded and occupied the USA” (Attu and Kiska Islands).  So Dutch Harbor and Adak got developed as military bases.

We won that war and rolled right into the Cold War.  The Navy used Adak as a forward base and as a listening post to intercept intel from the Soviets.  With 6000 Navy personnel on the island, it was one of the largest settlements in the State.

The Navy brought 77 caribou calves to the Island as an emergency food supply (everyone was thinking nuclear war) and to provide recreational sport hunting for Navy personnel.  22 survived the first winter and multiplied from there.

We won the Cold War, too, eventually, and the Navy left.

The mammal balance shifted from 6000 bipeds and 300 ‘bou to 200 humans and 2500 lichen eaters.  So the State just wants them harvested, to not so over-graze the island, and not get established on other Aleutian Islands (they can swim quite well).

This will be my 5th time on Adak and 12th trip to the Aleutians.  It’s a grassy volcano in a cold, northern sea, so it’s just like Iceland (but without all the annoying hot springs, amenities, paved roads, or universal health care).  It’s kind of hard to tell Winter (45F and blowing) from Summer (52F and blowing) except for the longer days.  At least you don’t get too hot while hiking around.

We’ve been spectacularly successful in harvesting caribou, at least when we bring Manfred, and we’ve also been skunked or gotten one or two. It might not only be the sharp-shooting German guy, because we’ve also gotten more successful each trip we make.

Currently there are 6 BPLers (if we count kids) and 2 Alaskan friends of mine going.  We’ll rotate in and out of Adak town, do some backpacking / camping to get further south on the Island and generally play it by ear, based on the weather.  Last year, we had great weather all week, a tiny bit of drizzle, a few hours of low cloud ceilings, and no high wind.  OTOH, I have experienced gusts to 126 mph (203 kph) in the Aleutians and my response is to hunker down – inside a building – and watch videos.

I’m offering intel on the island and share our past experiences in hunting, fishing and gathering successes (and failures).

I’m not offering to be your travel agent or hunting guide.  HYOH (hike your own hike, hunt your own hunt).  But having more people on the island at once, could make some things easier (packing meat, sharing a spike camp 5 miles from the trailhead, etc.

If you check airfares on Alaska Airlines, it will be about $1200 RT from Anchorage and $2000 RT from the West Coast.  But if you have Alaska Airlines award miles or know someone who does, it gets far, far more reasonable.

You could do a totally unsupported thing for cheap – camping/backpacking every night.  Or you could rent “a Lodge and a Dodge” for the duration and have a 2-bedroom ex-Navy condo with beds, TV, a chest freezer, and a full kitchen plus a POS truck to get the 5 miles to the trailheads.  I’ve always done both – some nights camping out and then retreating to a condo if the weather report was bad or just to get meat processed and take a shower.

[DAN-Y]

Hmmm, sounds interesting. I want to go fishing in the bays and eat lots of fish and maybe a caribou burger.

[David Thomas]

And if this is a Gathering of Gear Geeks Getting Game, then is it GGGGG-AK?

[David Thomas]

Dan: I’m bringing two pack rafts, so the weather has to be pretty calm before I want to paddle around in the North Pacific (although I know some people, including one BPLer, who paddle pack rafts BETWEEN Aleutian Islands).  There are some pretty sheltered bays (e.g. Expedition Harbor and Thumb Bay).  An IK or Klepper / Feathercraft would be a bit more weather capable and offer a faster retreat to shore should conditions change.

[Nick B]

This sounds like an awesome get together!  I doubt my house sells in the next month but next year I should have much more free time.  I’d happily pack some meat out in exchange for some local knowledge.

From the description, it sounds like flying and/or biting insects wouldn’t be much of a problem. Correct? Would a Duomid and a splash bivy be sufficient shelter for the better weather?

[David Thomas]

Nick: Correct, I’ve never seen a mosquito there.  I think the winds come up often enough that they end up in Siberia.

I think the Duomid would be a great shelter – pyramids do really well.  We used my Black Diamond Mega Lite last year as a base camp and Manfred liked it so much, he got himself one afterwards.  Those lichens and mosses on the ground are (1) soft but (2) soggy, so you want a good ground cover.  Doesn’t have to be tough – I’m bringing a bunch of poly-cro, but somewhat larger than usual so as not to roll off the ground cover.  And for butchering caribou on top of to keep the foliage out of meat.

[DAN-Y]

This is a photo of one of the puzzles I sent:

[David Thomas]

Dan,  Ah, very helpful.  I figured out that the lid went on the pot and the pot went in the windscreen/support.  I did not figure out the clever handle arrangement, though.  Now I know.  Thanks again!

[Kattt]

Oh man, if the ticket were less ( up to 1k) I would try and make this.

[David Thomas]

It’s much a cheaper trip using miles than dollars.

[DAN-Y]

David, just a little video to get you pumped and help you remember what the wind is going to be like out there.

[David Thomas]

Thanks, Dan.

“There were caribou all around us.”  True.

“How do we get from here, through all those caribou . . . to get to that bull.” You can’t eat antlers!

“(we have to go around) – It’s the only way we can ride (the four wheelers)” Er, trail runners and good socks?

Same island, different trip.

[W I S N E R !]

David, I hope you do this again in years to come as I’d be on it in a heartbeat if I could afford the airfare right now.

[David Thomas]

Dan, Here’s your stove heating water for butter & chives mashed potatoes overlooking Expedition Harbor where we saw sea otters, oyster catchers (a shorebird) and, of course, eagles.

[David Thomas]

It’s rained a bit so far but mostly it’s been dry (-ish). Lots of stomping around on old roads, trails, and off-trail. So far, I’ve prepared caribou hash, teriyaki caribou, caribou stew (‘bou stew), green curry caribou and caribou fajatis.

[David Thomas]

There are a lot of stream crossing and sone dramatic cascades around the island. The volcanic souls erode easily, giving the island a “young” feeling, geologically.

[Kevin B]

How about some bou pictures? Living and prepared would be great for us vactioning vicariously through you guys!

[David Thomas]

Caribou Teriyaki with Brown Rice:

Grilled caribou for Caribou Fajatis:

[DAN-Y]

Thank you for the photos and report on your adventure. How many in your party has gotten an edible caribou? What is the limit per person? I thought you were going to use ATV’s. Have you caught any fish in the harbors? Where do the Eagles build their nests? Glad you got a chance to use the light weight cook kit. Nobody is wearing mosquito head gear….no trees, no mosquitoes or noseeums.

[David Thomas]

Everyone under 60 got as many caribou as they wanted.  Which totally 5 animals.

There’s no limit on caribou on Adak. They’re an invasive species here. Non-residents can purchase as many tags as they want. Residents can bring as many 5-caribou harvest records as they want (they’re free).

A few big friends used ATVs the first year I was out here. I never have and have never liked them. The “roads” are so so rough, I can hike faster than an ATV can drive, get unstuck, drive, get unstuck. . . And the one road doesn’t go very far into the southern part of the island. ATV use off that road is prohibited.

Where streams enter the salt water have been most productive for dolly varden and pink salmon. Rainbows are mostly caught in the streams on the first or second cast, after that they’re spooked for a while. Once again, we’ve had no luck in the lakes although theoretically, there are fish there.

I’ve wondered about the eagle nests also. High crags, I assume. We’ve seen some pairs on small rocky islands. Ptarmagin flush off their nests in the meadows.

For the first time, we’ve seen some mosquitos. Only when the wind is very calm (rare) and they were slow, dumb ones. A few flies, too, but all very minor. I think late June was too early for them and by fall, the weather has gotten cold again.

The alcohol stove kit worked well. Especially while making and breaking camp, I’m learning to love alcohol’s set-it-and-forget-it nature.

$1.07, 440-calorie mash potato packages from Walmart have been super easy. Ready one minute after adding water and they’re a nice combo with grilled caribou meat.

[DAN-Y]

Very interesting place to visit. The weather is harsh to say the least but still an interesting place to visit.

Have you found a cove or some nook and cranny to camp in, out of harms way of the weather?

I like the fact that mosquitoes are not a problem. Are caribou a mainstay meat product for the local residents? Does the meat taste like chicken ?   Your seasonings can make any meal taste good 

Interesting info found:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adak,_Alaska

 

 

[David Thomas]

Caribou tastes just like reindeer. Or cow that eats lichen. I’d rank it even with version, below elk but well above moose.  Very few locals hunt like we did. Most park at the end of the road in winter when snow at higher elevations push the ‘bou into town. Then, if they’re being legal, they step out of the truck and shoot it. Locals seem bigger into halibut. They wait for calm seas and go get their 2 fish per person limit. Unlike my area, where we mostly get 10-20 pound ‘buts and hope for 40-pounders, we’re seeing people here get 70-pound halibut in open skiffs, so they aren’t going super far out.

Mostly, we camped in more sheltered areas, but one night we made camp early and we set up on a rise so we could see if any caribou that wandered by.

[David Thomas]

Pink salmon from the head of Finger Bay.

And the most effective lures for pinks, dollys and rainbows.

[David Thomas]

We’re checked in for our flight and gassed up the rental truck.  Yup, that’s $136.55

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