August 2023, Alaska - DIY hike in caribou hunt.

Josiah and I were able to have success on opening day. We hiked approximately 30 miles total and had to deal with 4,000 foot elevation gains multiple times.
It was a beautiful area, but the weather was always in flux. Insects were a constant issue anytime the wind went away. It was physically demanding, but we are thankful for the harvest.

[@mountainridgeoutdoors6800]

Congratulations. Great looking place and bunch of great meat !

[@iacorrigan4115]

Glad your aim was true.

[@Alaskabuilt_]

Weird because I live in interior Alaska and we haven’t had hardly any smoke or fires at all this year… Its also been one of the wettest years in over a decade

[@jamesstinson1984]

Yes, it had been one of the wettest and least active fire seasons. Then there were multiple lightning strikes in early August that caused fires. The interior is a big place. Where you are may not have been impacted. I don’t know. Delta Junction was choked with smoke.
akfireinfo.com/2023/08/03/fire-activity-increases-as-high-pressure-builds-over-interior-alaska/
The pogo mine fire was among several large wildfires burning at the time