Prince of Wales Alaska Deer hunt pics

[Felix40]

I just got back from a trip to POW hunting deer and I thought I would put up the pics and info in case anyone else is considering a hunt there.

We flew out of DFW saturday morning and arrived in Ketchikan that afternoon. The weather was pretty rainy and dark. All the locals informed us that we had missed summer by a week because it was sunny the week before. Bummer. The plan was to use a float plane to drop us off at a high country lake for 7 days and hike around above treeline and find some velvet alpine bucks. We talked to our pilot and he told us that nobody was flying anywhere the day we arrived due to weather. We got a hotel room at the Edgewater Inn just north of town because it was close to the dock where our plane was at. The next morning we met the pilot on the dock at 5:30 and he said we could go somewhere for sure but it might not be the lake I had picked out because the ceiling was too low. We opted to get out there rather than try to wait for weather to clear up.

[Felix40]

We flew around a bit but couldnt really get above 500 feet so we finally settled on a spot and he put it down on the lake.




After unloading (we had a small cooler, two backpacks, and a duffle bag for two guys), we waved goodbye and started looking for a place to camp. Everything that was dry was too steep and everything that was flat had 6 inches of water in it. We finally opted to put the tipi on a little mound of old rotting wood and just kind of carve out our beds. If I could do it again I would seriously consider a hammock setup to get up off the wet ground. Somehow I was able to get a fire going in the stove and start drying a nice little pile of firewood.

[BIGTERRY75]

too cool

[Felix40]

We hiked around the rest of the day then went by and grabbed the meat and took it to camp. The kifaru was pretty happy to get to haul some meat. I still need to give my pack a serious cleaning after being in the rain and mud for a week. We ate mashed potatoes and tenderloins for dinner that night. The lake was actually fairly warm (Im guessing around 55-60) so I couldnt sink the meat there to keep it good the rest of the week. I ended up finding a pool in a creek where cold rain water was running through and sunk the meat under a couple big rocks. I found a tree close by and hung the skull cap so it would be safe too.





The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I still had one deer tag but my blood lust and toleration for busting brush and getting soaking wet had been dropped significantly. Another thing I would do differently if I went back is bring rubber rain pants in addition to good breathable stuff. I wore a kuiu chugach set all week and the pants wet through almost every day from falling down and pushing through brush. The jacket was fine. We basically just did a little hiking and fishing every day until it was time to go home Saturday morning. There were two days where it rained from sunrise to sunset and one of those we spent in the tipi almost the entire day.

Overall the trip was quite different than I expected with all the weather coming in so early in the year. It was an awesome adventure and Im really glad I got to see that country and take some of it home with me.

["DOC"]

I Love POW.. Beautiful country.
Have Bear hunted and fished up there for several years.
Looks like ya'll flew in with Family Air. Good Company.
I usually use Sea Wind or PacAir.
Which lake did you end up on??
Sounds like an "Allsome" trip....

[mev002]

That looks like it was overall a pretty good trip. Congrats on the buck!

[Felix40]

Yeah I meant to mention that. We flew with Family Air. Very good experience. We had actually booked with another company, Alaska Seaplane Tours, and they crashed one of their planes and had to cancel on us. There was actually an issue getting our deposit back and we had to go IN PERSON to get them to return it while we were there. But yes, Family Air was great to work with. When we got back to town they gave me a ride to their shop and I was able to freeze all the meat overnight then they brought it back to the hotel for me. I stuffed it in a cooler and it was solid until we got home. Its a very simple operation they have there but we had a great experience.

[CRM_95]

Congrats!! Looks like a great trip.

[SwampRabbit]

Personally, I think it is pretty bad*** that you basically ended up at some lake, somewhere, made do with your setups, and managed to get it done! Congrats and while it may not have been the best weather, etc... to this guy... it turned out to be an awesome story. (I am certain it didn't feel that way the entire day you spent in a tipi!)

[Etxnoodler]

If you don't mind me asking. About how much did this hunt cost you? From leaving driveway to return? Just curious always wanted to do this hunt. Pm me if you don't mind.

[TxAg]

Awesome

[Felix40]

If you don't mind me asking. About how much did this hunt cost you? From leaving driveway to return? Just curious always wanted to do this hunt. Pm me if you don't mind.

Thats another thing I was going to mention. Im big into adventure hunts but I have a SUPER small budget every year. This is very doable on an average dude's budget if you save up. My dad is a pilot so we got deals on airfare to Ketchikan but Ill list what you can buy them for.

Airport Parking: $50
Airline tickets round trip: $1300
Two nights in a hotel: $260
Two deer tags (more expensive now): $300
Float plane: $800

Total: $2700 ish. Split two ways

There was one extra checked bag charge but Im not sure how much because dad covered it. Otherwise thats it. Float planes can vary a lot depending on where and how much stuff you have. If you have three guys you will have to use a beaver which is more expensive but you can split it three ways so you will probably save money per person.

[TxouT]

Beautiful country, well done sir!

Taste any different than these East TX whitetail?

[Etxnoodler]

That 1300 air fare including getting the deer back or was that the extra bag?

[Felix40]

$1300 would be tickets only I think. We were allowed one checked bag and one carry on each but ended up having to pay extra for the cooler both directions. Its like $45 one way unless you go over 50 pounds then its around $100 I think.

Taste is pretty much on par with a whitetail. Less flavor than a mule deer and more than an elk imo.