I should be there for 6 months, starting in April.  Work is outside all the time, so I will have good rain/weather gear, boots, etc.  That part should be taken care of.

Since I'll be living there for 6 months, and we have to fly out, I will have alot of daily needs stuff.  Laptop, regular clothes, etc.  But, since I'm flying out, I'll be quite limited on the amount of gear I can bring with.  Your basic 2 bags and carry on's.  I'll probably purchase a third bag as well.  But we'll see about that.

Caribou cows are in season all year round, so that is my primary hunting target, along with Ptarmigan.  The hunts will start early morn, and finish by night fall, most likely earlier then that.  If I haven't shot anything by noon, I'll head home and relax.  Adak basically has no trees, and the Caribou run in herds, so they are not to hard to find.

At the moment, my hunting gear is planned to be .270 for Caribou trips, 12ga for Ptarmigan trips, a decent pack frame and bag, game bags, a havalon knife, range finder, and some 550 cord.  No tarp, no saws.  The KISS method. I would like a drag behind to take all the meat in one trip, but the terrain is pretty rocky and hilly, so I don't know how well that would work out.

So, if you were headed out for a day trip, with the intentions of walking out 150lbs of meat, what would you absolutely not go without?  

I've made a similar post in the outdoors/big game area, and it was suggest that I post here for more localized knowledge.

Sounds like you have everything you need for a successful hunt.  But do consider some contingency gear.  What do you need to stay overnight if you are unable to make it back home?  Sounds like you plan to hunt on foot, so you will not be able to pack too much emergency gear.  I would give more thought to a tarp or emergency blanket.  Either one can be used as a wind block or to keep you somewhat dry.  Plus the tarp is useful for keeping meat clean while skinning.  I would argue a bone saw is a necessity as a well (I forgot mine once).  Good luck and have fun!

Terrain is straight up tundra, with rocks mainly being around the coast. Alaska Air allows 3 checked bags of 50lbs within Alaska for free, your flight will be on a combi aircraft, half cargo, half passengers. Once you are there, you will be closer to Tokyo than Anchorage, haha. I was stuck there for a few weeks waiting for a ride to the next Island out, Tanaga. The ghost town that is Adak doesnt have much of anything, just a store in the old gym, a "bar & Grill" in the old officers club and a liquor closet with $100 bottles and $60 cases of beer.

The winds out there will be your biggest enemy while hunting, how is the wind drift with your .270 loads?  The good thing, no bears or other critters to get at your kill, except the bald eagles that flock like seagulls and are just as annoying. You will see the biggest ones at the dump. Dragging a tarp shouldn't be much of an issue, not many rocks inland except on the peaks and by the creeks, don't know what else you planned on using to drag it with your no tarp thing. The store out there won't have much of anything, but if you are there for 6 months, you can order shit you need/forgot and the flights I think are still twice weekly.

Adak is creepy and cool, lots of history, and the housing looks like kids could be coming outside to play at any moment. Seriously, the town looks like people just up and left yesterday. The WW2 bunkers and gun emplacements are fun to explore, as is the coat with shipwrecks, sub nets, and lots of washed up fodder from japan. We fished a bit in one of the coves, caught some chicken halibut and several Irish Lords (think Sea Robins on east coast, or oyster toad fish). The airport fire station is cool, brand new gear locked up in a time capsule because it wasn't worth shipping shit back. Thank you Bill Clinton...

Emergency blanket and small med kit added to the list.    The meat can be deboned, I'd strip the hawks, separate at the knee, and strip the meat from the ribs.  I was planning on just back packing the meat out.  If possible to use a plastic sled or something, then that is what I will do.  Just looking at pictures, I don't know completely what it would be like, or possible.  Plan and adapt.




This is some A+ info.  

Wind drift?  Not sure, but I'll be trying to get as close as possible.  I would really rather take a 50 yd shot over a 400yd. Once I'm up there, I will take lots of range time before starting to hunt.

The industry I'm in, is always changing, so I'm trying to prepare as much as I can, and will really depend alot on shipped goods to make life acceptable there.  But, the hunting opportunity would be very hard to pass up.  1 day a week is off, so part of that, weather permitting will be used for hunting or fishing.  6 months, 2 cows will probably be plenty, but mixed in with the birds, and fish available, I hope to be eating like a king!

If you bring a 12ga, you will ruin a lot of birds. A .22 is better. There is many places you can't drive so walking is a must, and the caribou are not always easy to find. You will get some in six months, more than you want i'm sure, they just hide behind the trees. Look there.

Right next to the pretty girls

There is a beautiful woman behind every tree out there.  Don't let the naysayers let you think otherwise.

I used a .22 out there Ptarmigan hunting as a dependent in the early 80s.  Too much to explore in 3 years.  A flock of Ptarmigan will only hop 2-300 yards away after being shot at.

You are not familiar with the terrain, so take a GPS.  It is pretty rugged, and all the valleys look the same.  The fog socks in, so your visibility may to 50 feet sometimes.

STAY DRY!  Hypothermia is a very real thing at 40F.  Take emergency rations and leave a day plan with someone.

Take a serious salmon rig with you.  There are big halibut in Kuluk bay, along with king crab.  My dad used to fish in Kuluk bay for king crab with a 20' boat in 15' seas.  There was one day I thought we were not getting back to the harbor with the huge seas.  

There is an awesome salmon run in one of the local inlets about 10 minutes from the base.  You could walk across the salmon and not get wet.  No bears, no wolves.

Ive heard from friends that have hunted Adak that the Caribou are not exactly the easiest to hunt there, a lot of native land that you need special permits to access and a significant amount of terrain that is very inaccessible. Good luck and have fun, will definitely be an experience to remember

I was thinking bird in flight, instead of a great opportunity of .22 hunting. Damn. that changes things.

GPS was planned, but not mentioned.

For the fishing, I handline (ever notice which end of the lever you are on with a pole)?  A couple of correct lures, and I'm all set.


That's actually more hot women then I was thinking.

Can't promise they will have teeth though.