by Russ Mehling, General Manager, Webber’s Lodges
Selecting a species, doing the research, speaking with the outfitter and references, dreaming of making the perfect shot… these are the exciting parts of booking and planning a once in a lifetime hunt. But just as important are the smaller, detail-oriented tasks related to hunting different game in a new area.
One of the more menial tasks is packing for your upcoming adventure. This becomes even more important when air travel is involved. Every one of our adventures is going to involve a portion of travel in the wild blue yonder, so we are asked regularly about packing for the trip. Since we are nearing that time of year, we’ll look at packing tips for our upcoming Arctic spring hunts.
We offer two adventures during the Arctic spring, a muskox and Arctic wolf hunt and a grizzly bear hunt. These hunts take place in and around the community of Baker Lake. This setup makes this remote hunt extremely easy to pack for.
We use a hotel as our base of operations in this case, so hunters are not required to pack for a typical, backcountry hunt. Leave your towels and sleeping bags at home. Even soap and shampoo are supplied for you. And since camp is a comfortable, temperature controlled hotel, very simple camp clothes are required.
Another advantage is air travel into this area. We are using Baker Lake as our base, so hunters fly in on a regional, commercial airline, allowing for more room and weight than the standard float planes used on some of our other hunts.
The airlines regulations are: two checked bags of up to 70 pounds combined weight and neither weighing more than 50 pounds; and two carry-on items of less than 20 pounds combined weight. Keeping these factors in mind, below is how we suggest you pack.
In your carry-on baggage you should have any important medications, your camera/video camera, important travel documents, identification and money. Your carry-on bags are also where you may want to put some of your fragile items, such as your goggles, binoculars etc. Remember, you have up to 20 pounds!
Packing your checked baggage will also take some planning. Even though the airline does its best to ensure all baggage reaches its destination with its owners, they may ask you to prioritize your two bags, ranking them by importance.
We suggest taking the foam or padding out of your rifle case and replacing it with a good portion of your hunting clothes. You will be surprised by how much clothing you will fit into a gun (or bow) case. The airlines require a hard case for your weapons, so you may as well use that to your advantage.
In your other bag, place items that you need for the trip, but that you could do without for a day or two — such as extra clothes, camp shoes etc.
Lastly, though you may look a little odd at the airport in Winnipeg, wear your winter boots and maybe throw a heavy coat over your arm for the flight. When you land in Baker Lake, you’ll be glad you did.
See you here!
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