EP 522: How to Hunt the Haul Rd for Caribou

This was probably one of the top 3 hunts I’ve done. I absolutely love the challenge of going to a new place and trying to figure it out. The Haul Rd is the ultimate DIY figure it out hunt. I had been planning to do a fly out caribou hunt, I was headed out solo and honestly I just wanted to go to Alaska and hunt. When my good buddy Craig Van Arsdale said hey I am headed to the Haul rd I thought you know that hunt has been on my list for a lot of years. I have spent most of my life hunting solo for one reason or another. three years ago Craig and I went on a hunt in Colorado and we hit it off. Not only can Craig and I shoot the shit about crypto and business but we pretty much know what the other one is going to do before he says a word. The only problem with Craig and I hunting together is that there is literally zero voice of reason saying maybe thats a bad idea. This has lead to some of the craziest pack outs I can think of. The craziest thing is that Craig and I have been 100% success on every hunt together and we have killed within 400 yards of each other every single time.

We went into the Haul rd hunt with lots of time, a willingness to figure it out, and zero safety net, aka a rifle. Craig txt me and said hey should I bring a rifle just in case? I instantly said no, I want to kill one with my bow and I don’t want to have an out. is bow or bust this trip.

For those who don’t know the “Haul Rd Caribou Hunt” is a road 500 miles long from Fairbanks to Deadhorse where within 5 miles of the road it is bow only. If you have the gumption you could hike out 5 miles and shoot one with a rifle but not many people hike 5 miles across the tundra. In this podcast we breakdown our epic hunt that had it’s challenges and ended up with yet another brutal pack out.

Enjoy!

Show Notes:
Start – Haul Road Overview – 03:16
Caribou Activity – 11:18
The Story of Cody’s Bull – 18:40
Craig’s Bull – 26:59
The Madness Packing Out – 42:37
Lessons Learned – 48:30
Closing Thoughts – 52:58

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