Alaska Hunting: 700 Miles Alone by Backpack & Raft

[stealtHHunter223]

i wish i could do that  that looks like alot of fun

[KIDRR]

Epic adventure 

[WaffleBrother]

You my nature loving friend , have the largest amount of guts I have ever seen in a human being ! The Alaskan wilderness is known to be some of the most dangerous and scary !

[Kinley1978]

Still one of my most favorite videos.

[TackleResource]

Completely envious! I will do this some day! Do you still hunt and video? Going to check the website out!

[youalaska]

@TackleResource I still hunt and do some photography and videography, including my more recent DVD, Alone Across Alaska: 1,000 Miles of Wilderness.

[saylean]

watched this vid about a year ago, had to come back and check it out. Love it. Very nice! Something most of us hunters can only dream about doing! Nice caribou too! A fellow hunter~

[wtkluther]

see heads & no meat.. waste meat, w/us natives we take the opposite, take the meat & leave the antlers

[youalaska]

@wtkluther The meat is shown in the video. I took all the meat AND the antlers. "Wanton waste" of meat is illegal in Alaska and every other place I've ever hunted. I just spent two days cutting up game meat.

[wtkluther]

Umm.. nope, I failed to see any meat when his raft got stuck, even when he was filming from inside the boat, he didn't show any meat, just tops of his antlers..

[youalaska]

@wtkluther That's exactly it, "you failed" to see the meat. Why do you think the raft was stuck? Here's a hint, think 300 lbs of caribou meat. Do a search for "700 Miles Alone." Go to the first result and scan down to "travel through magnificent fall scenery with a raft full of meat and antlers." Recognize that raft and those antlers? See those caribou quarters between the oars and the antlers? I took ALL the meat, including the rib and neck meat.

[guide159]

"thanks sucsess 'willywilly hard montain .,,

[timi0000]

Living the life!

[omersumer]

YEP! THIS IS GREAT ALASKA...

THANKS FOR VIDEO...

[milfsquad69]

Dream

[ILikeGuns23]

Bloody legend. Good on ya mate

[m7870]

I too envy you. Good for you, living life this way.

[Herimia]

wow what an adventure, your like the guy from "into the wild" except you survived.

[PatriotMan24]

Dude you are my hero! I am in the Army and will be in Anchorage in January. I am so pumped about the hunting. It should be so much different than the typical Whitetail hunting in TX. I'm confused though. What the heck did you do with the Caribou you shot while you were still hunting? You obviously didn't carry them around.

[youalaska]

@PatriotMan24 Thanks. The caribou I shot while I was along the river, just after starting my float after a long hunt up in the mountains. So I just cut it up and brought it with me in the raft down the river. I kept the meat shaded, dry and with air circulating all around it, and it kept well in the cool fall weather until I made it to the first village I passed where I gave everything I couldn't use myself to villagers who wanted it. It was really nice having a good supply of fresh meat.

[dsatch1900]

You're a man. Thanks for sharing.

[waikarimoana]

I take my hat off to you,man what a hunting trip, all the best,well done, AWESOME mate.

[LUVMAGNUMGUNS2]

dude you are cool. thanks 4 the vid

[Omaley42]

Haha, This guy is awesome.

[palis911]

that was great man..next tym a go with you .

[701entertainment]

your my Idol!

[youalaska]

I caught three species, I believe. The fish with the big back fin is a grayling. The ones with stripes are chum salmon. The third species is northern pike.

[mtnsick44]

what kind of fish was the first one you caught?

[skaterboy3510]

ur living my dream

[monkey50cal]

awsome must be lovely to have done you gonna be alright in 2012 lol

[deathight22]

that was awesome

way to go on your kills that was amazing

[daisenso88]

Great work! Awesome experience, I really envy you! Hope I can do something similiar myself one day! Im from germany, is there a way to buy your dvd? do you send it to germany?

[youalaska]

@daisenso88 My DVD is available through my website. You can find a link in the video description. And yes, I ship quite a few to Germany!

[keltingr]

how did you keep the meat good the whole trip, it was just always cold enough out??

[youalaska]

@keltingr For the first two weeks or so I didn't bag any animals. Then it turned colder and by keeping the meat shaded and dry it kept well until I could get it frozen at a village along the way.

[MsMuleDeer]

great job

[travvolk]

I loved your perspective, commitment to the journey and results. Impressive!

[nucsol]

What a great video, Thank You! This is what it's all about, living in it and working for it. Done with class and humility, you are worthy of your harvest.

[micthewrencher]

Awesome video buck, I really enjoy my copy.

[youalaska]

@micthewrencher Thanks! I'm really glad you like it.

[krzyirish329]

we were stationed there 3 yrs and my ex and his buddies went every year. He got a record size one that he submitted to some magazine I forget now lol huge rack though. Spent a good penny getting him a ruger 7mm and his leopold scope(sp?)

[tklink5]

i did something a little like this last january in the blue ridge mountains, i only went about 200 miles. its definetly worth it had a great time.

[Rockymtnnorth]

how much did this cost for everything i am seriously considering doing this in the future

[Harbercraftguy]

a dream trip.congrats to you.

[pureprotea1]

That trip must have been bliss!!!! ;)

[smurfnme]

you definately fit in , because YOU are an animal to go on a six-week hunt BY YOURSELF in that wilderness . I`m jealous ! I`d never be able to afford it & I don`t know if I could hack it. CONGRADULATIONS!

[DaleGotHulkHands]

can you take me along next time? lol awesome job man

[wildshotsintheair]

awsome, hunt..lots of great pictures also..

i wish to live up in alaska for one yr..adn travel andhunt also..

i envey you my friend..keep up the great work and lots of luck in your hunting...

[80aussiepride08]

a true wilderness. that would be an amazing experience.

[smarzotais]

do you carry a sidearm with you? on this sort of trip, a good freind of mine when on a trip kinda like this, but in canada i think, with one other person, and they both brought sidearms for some reason...

[youalaska]

No sidearm, I just brought my good old Ruger 30-06

[bcv001]

@smarzotais

i don't think u are allow to carry sidearms in canada , it's illegal !

[JoshSDshot]

You are my hero!!!!

[joning82]

WOW! Amazing! So much animals! How much will a trip like that cost? Where to fly in from Europe?

[youalaska]

@joning82 Non-residents would have to hire a hunting guide so it would be quite expensive for most people. As a matter of fact, you probably wouldn't be able to hire a guide for a trip that long (six weeks) without paying tens of thousands of dollars. You could do a similar trip without the hunting for far less, maybe $5,000, once you arrived in the U.S.

[joning82]

Thanks!

[smarzotais]

@youalaska do you have to hire a guide if you from another state?

[saints32sdb]

TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!! lotta work hiking that meat out!!!!!

[youalaska]

Yes, on both counts!

[Brutalnemisis]

6:55 that was a nice bull! And 7:40 lol fun to catch nasty to eat...chum taste like fishy mud lol All and all looks like a fun trip though :D and lots to fill the freezer with :D

[stogey898]

I have enjoyed all of your videos (DVD); glad I found your YouTube page.

[youalaska]

Thanks!

[Birdiebin14]

(growls)

[FangnclawX]

8:03 to the end is really pretty.

[FangnclawX]

It's like u gotta do something for the camera, then do it again for real. XD  That'd be tiring. :P

[skitllesman98]

six weeks!!!! wow long time alone!! nice bulls by the way!!!! so you can shoot 10 caribou in alaska?? just curious since you said somethin bout 10 and ulll only shootem if their B&C

[youalaska]

Thanks!

You can shoot ten caribou in some areas only. Very few people do, of course.

[skitllesman98]

how come?? just cuz all the meat they dont need???

[youalaska]

Yes. And of course it's the law to salvage all meat, and especially in my case in would have been extremely difficult to properly care for much more than I had.

[skitllesman98]

wow yea haha to pack out that much meat would have been hard specially when ur by yourself!!! GREAT vids

[iunit3di]

hey i got a question. were you alone like it says? if so how did it film you by itself.. please reply i'm actually curious

[youalaska]

Yes, I really was alone. For any of the scenes in which I appear, I had to set up a tripod, set the camera on a rock, hold it away from me in my hand, etc.

[iunit3di]

oh thanks for the reply!

Ya then that is some great footage. Looks like you had an amazing adventure.

[AlaskaOutdoorsTV]

Way cool! Congrats.

[ballisticsbob]

I'm jealous of your trip. Truly the trip of a liftetime. I'm curious how or if you packed out all the meat from the game you shot.

[youalaska]

The regs are very strict in Alaska about meat salvage and I did in fact salvage and pack-out/raft-out all the meat. The temps were running cool and I kept the meat dry, shaded and with air circulating around it and it kept great. I gave away much of the meat at the first village I came to, and kept the rest for myself. It was nice having fresh meat on the trip.

[drinkandfight04]

wow, truely amazing. im so jelous hopefully the fall after next i'll be able to do that. thanks a ton for sharing your trip with us!

[ThomasFelix1983]

How did you know how much food to bring?

[youalaska]

I brought about 75 pounds of food or so, and supplemented it with fish, game and blueberries.

[trajano20]

amazing trip buddy

[xUbastardx]

Wow. Yer a mans man my friend. What an amazing adventure you were able to have! Ty for sharing it with us.

[youalaska]

It depends on where and when you hunt, but yes: in that area at the time it was ten, still is in some places right now! Very few people ever take that many, though.

[huntinguy532]

Are you serious the limt is 10 carabou in alaska

[gasdorf]

osome trip good video thanks for sharing

[youalaska]

I didn't see any people for the first two weeks, then I saw some hikers in the distance. Once I was floating I saw a handful of hunters over the next few weeks. At the end when I was in the vicinity of villages I would see an occasional boat.

[JBodine67]

Terrific adventure!...I would love to go on an arctic adventure like that!

Man,you would have to really take care not to become injured...or lost.

Did you see any other humans on your trip?If so,who?

[jetfuel545]

Amazing video my friend. What a time to reflect you must of had. Bet it made you think of earlier times in our country. Glade to see you had a great time and made it out safe. Thanks for posting this video. Jet over and out

[youalaska]

I flew in and floated out. The big cost is the flight time for the bush pilot. Nowadays that costs about $400 an hour for the type of plane I flew in and it's maybe three hours round trip for the pilot. Add in food, gear, time off from work, etc. It's really hard to say because I don't know, but whatever it cost it was worth it!

[youalaska]

I brought all the meat out. It was running pretty chilly by the time I took those caribou and by keeping the meat dry and shaded it kept nicely.

[totaled999]

It looks beautiful out there id love to do it sometime, how much was it to go out there?

[zener3]

What did you do with the meat from those caribou? The meat must be brought out before the antlers???

[jonnymcnickle]

Great video

[youalaska]

I didn't have a sidearm, but on this trip I had a rifle in my hand or within grabbing distance nearly all the time.

[IBREAKJAWS]

did you have a sidearm?? what if the bears would of charged

[IBREAKJAWS]

Awesome..this is living..i bought a hunting rifle today..when my auto claim settles im buying a rv and am gonna be GONE for at least 2 months..cool video

[whitehunter83]

Hi, nice video!! i'd like to know what brand is you watch in 3,21 sec time. Nice watch! thank you.

[youalaska]

Thanks! I think that was likely a Casio Data Bank 150 with a replacement watch band that included a compass.

[trailerknifefight]

sheenjek river, one of gods finest creations.

[muham8]

looks awesome. One of the things I'd like to do before I leave this place.

[alan14789]

awsome

[ernieball8541]

incredible

[crazynotch]

it´s just so damn right to do! I´ve spent a few days at a time in the woods solo hunting and it´s a real meditation for your soul

[g25racingnerd]

wow! that mountain shot was awsome.

[spanguolyte]

wow, great video!

[spainy79]

Placed my order, can't wait to see it.

[youalaska]

Thanks. It ships tomorrow!

[spainy79]

Got it yesterday, great vid!

[youalaska]

Hi spainy79. Thanks! I appreciate that.

[kinesismd]

Man ive been too a few ranges but these images are truely incredible....and I bet there even better in person....

by the way how'd you take care of your meat?

[youalaska]

My trip plans were partially dependant on when I took game and the weather. By the time I had meat the weather was mostly quite cool. I kept the meat dry, shaded and with air circulating around it. It kept fine for about 9 days until I hit the first village where I could make arrangements to have it cared for while I continued downstream.

[frankoeltanko1]

That is extreme hunting at its finest.Just ordered a copy.I'm hoping for a speedy delivery.

[youalaska]

Thanks!

I'll ship your DVD tomorrow. I hope you like it!

[carlsenhighway]

Wonderful trip - truly inspiring.

[youalaska]

Hi Tyonek. You were lucky to have that opportunity.

I didn't score those caribou. The two biggest caribou I saw, by far, I just filmed.

[tyonek]

You make me miss Alaska so much. I grew up in Anchorage with a grandpa who co-owned AAA outfitters (a guide business), so I had the chance to hunt a lot. What did your caribou score? (In order of appearance)

[zubs11]

did you eat all the animal that you killed?

[youalaska]

All the meat was carefully taken care of. I took all I could use and gave a lot of it to a church in a village I passed to be used by locals who needed it.

Salvaging meat is required by a law which is strictly enforced.

[zubs11]

Okay thats good to know. Cool video. Alaska is just it, man. I love it.

[Downedworker]

Awesome! About the only way it would be better, is if the whole trip had been videoed. That would have taken away from what you did, but would have been great for those of us that may never be there. Re: the camera guy thing, Where do I send my application? Thanks for sharing this with a lot of dreamers.

[youalaska]

Thanks Downedworker. I actually did film most of the trip and made a DVD of it. Check out the link under the description for more information on this hunt.

[kpenrod81]

What caliber was he shooting? Man I would love to do something like that!! I really would.

[youalaska]

I appreciate the comments!

I was using the old workhorse 30-06, this one a stainless Ruger.

For more information on this trip and the DVD, please click on the link in the description.

[cammo1986]

wow thats amazing.one of my life long dreams.

[Sambaraddict]

Just about to go back on the fireline here in Victoria, Australia for another week long tour. Watching your video all I can say is you lucky bastard. GREAT STUFF !!!

[HDZipp]

Awesome video, one of my life time goals

[TentoriumSPb]

my dreams

[KillFrenzie]

Wow what a life looks really fun.

[LostDogSoldier]

im moveing back to alaska this december i miss all this wonder of life keep it up man

[youalaska]

Welcome home!

[laramore1234]

Awesome video.

[ref103]

very cool. you're living my dream. nice video of so many beautiful animals in their element

[RockDoctor07]

Great Vid man, 5 stars for sure.

RD

[youalaska]

I try not to mention the name of the river on the internet, although I do in the DVD. Let's just say I started in the Brooks Range and ended up on the Yukon River. ; )

[man2nv83]

awsome hunt!!! what river did you hunt

[steinerbiner]

Wow, that must have been an amazing hunt! Do you get enough meat to last awhile? Thats a risky hunt for you, all by your self? You sprain an ankle and that very well might be it for you... awesome I want to go with next time.

[youalaska]

Yes, I got a good supply of meat, none was wasted. There was a certain amount of risk, for sure. I'm confident a sprained ankle wouldn't have done me in, though!

[Harbercraftguy]

amazing video.next time take me with ya...I'll bring the coffee.

[HFRI5]

did you just leave the carcasses to rot? thats not cool

[youalaska]

If you knew much about Alaska hunting you'd know that is a foolish question. All meat must be salvaged and the law is very stricly enforced. All meat, except what I ate during the trip, made it to freezers and provided much appreciated meat for several people.

[imthecoolestone1]

how much did it cost to get 10 caribou tags?

[youalaska]

As an Alaska resident I automatically had ten tags I could have used. Very few people take or need that much meat however, except for a few local villagers.

[HFRI5]

open country kettle! nice choice

[youalaska]

Yup, it was Dirks plane. I'll bet you had a good trip in the Wind River Valley. That isn't where I was, but you're close!

[ew73105]

Looks like Dirk's plane from the elmo on the dash! Where were you dropped? It looks a bit like the Wind River valley. I spent a week there in August.

[arthurfoxshot]

Great video mate, I hope to do something like that one day.

You should have made a TV series! But then it wouldn't be alone.

Thats what I call proper hunting!

[youalaska]

Thanks. It's true that being alone had its limitations on filming, but it sure added to the adventure.

[youalaska]

You can camp on public land, but not build a cabin or permanent structures.

[qlap10]

do you have to get permission before you settle there? im sorry if its a stupid question, its just been my dream to do what you did.

[youalaska]

Any US citizen can move to Alaska, just like any other state.

[qlap10]

no i mean like out in the wilderness,miles away from civilazation.

[kvg44gbs]

My brother and I just finished floating about 115 miles down birch creek on the steese highway. Shot one moose and caught some whitefish and grayling. I would love to do a longer float particularly with 4-3 guys. We floated 100 miles on the Noatak river and brought home 7 caribou. I live in MI now so it'll be a lot harder to do another long float trip. As long as my father doesn't sell the rafts. Awesome video. Alaska the last frontier no doubt about it lived their for 18 years.

[youalaska]

Sounds like you've had some great hunts. Congratulations! Alaska truly is the Last Frontier.

[SpaceAndTime99]

wow buddy that is some awesome. thats my dream. right there looks like awesome landscape

[youalaska]

It was my dream, too, so I feel lucky. The landscape was incredible!

[Wolfquestluver98]

STOP HUNTING WOLVES!!!!!

[youalaska]

I wasn't hunting wolves. Check out my wolf video.

[stogey898]

I own the video; thanks for posting the YouTube clips. Great stuff!

[youalaska]

Thanks!

[massuhJones]

you get the award for biggest balls of a man 700 miles solo hunt simply amazing keep on doing it

[HwmX]

You are awesome! Magnificent clips. I would love to be able to do that myself.

[paradisecity750]

Look at that caribou! Fantastic!

[youalaska]

That was a fine bull, for sure.

[paradisecity750]

Very nice! its rare to see bulls at that size here in norway. I'm going to brooks range in the coming winter by the way. A 10 - 15 day skiing trip trough brooks range, ending up with the Nunamiut people in Anaktuvuk Pass and Ingstad mountain. Looking forward to that :D

[krazylacrosse19]

wow 6 weeks alone in Alaska. I would loooove to do that. When I was 15 I planned on living in Alaska for a year. That would be a dream come true.

[Faztlan]

Beautiful Big Country, Shoulda Showed your Shots man!

[KingFisher907]

fellow fairbanksan here...I bought the entire video in town someplace and watch it frequently...Ive hunted, camped and fished that country before, but never by my lonesome...Im inspired by your trek, enough so that Im considering a similar trip roughly slated for aug/sept of '09...thanks for posting....

[tylerjwhite]

I want to do something like this in the end of the summer of 2010 but with one other person possibly.  Any suggestions

[youalaska]

I've got a list of equipment I used on my site (see the video description for the link.) Make sure you have plenty of backpacking and wilderness experience, and if so, go for it!

[youalaska]

Hello to a fellow Fairbanksian! Glad you're enjoying the video. Best of luck on your future hunts.

[kkkkkkatherine]

WOW! You're the MAN!

I'm taking my first Alaskan tour tommorrow!...cushy,girlie,tour­isty:Anchorage,

Denali, Fairbanks ...these marvelous beasts here are probably the only Alaskan wildlife I'll see! Thank you for sharing!! kate

[youalaska]

I hope you saw lots of wildlife yourself.

[duckhunter4ever29]

That's some cool country!!!

[youalaska]

It truly is!

[308drawtheline]

I really enjoyed that. Good job & thank you.

[youalaska]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[frozengeckolovers]

Awesome. I plan to take a trip like that after we get back from deployment next year. Any pointers?

[youalaska]

Check out my list of gear on my website (see description.)

[tubewelderyou]

great video! im from PA and have been to alaska twice and cant wait to get back, id like to do a hunt, is it hard to get permits for out of staters?

[youalaska]

There are many places for which non-residents can buy tags "across the counter," especially for moose and caribou.

[rronfsc]

Every hunters dream, great job sir.

I'm planning something like that for this fall, I've stashed away about 3200 so far :-) maybe this year.

Peace, R

[youalaska]

Go for it!

[sentiple]

how long did you have to preserve the meat for and how did you do it?

[youalaska]

The longest I had to preserve the meat for was about 2 weeks. I did it by keeping it shaded, clean and dry during a time when the temps were cool.