I leave for Sitka on the 29th. Been following the weather and so far it has shown rain evryday for the last month!
Should I bring a camo umbrella?

When it doesn't rain in Sitka people have a big party.

Leave the umbrella and bring the Impertech and fleece!

Based on the info here I did order on line the Impertech coat and pants. I got it the other day and all I can say is I sure hope it holds up. The coat I'm not too worried about. The pants, well... I'm bringing backup just in case. Hope to get a nice billy and post some pics when I get back.

quote:

Hope to get a nice billy and post some pics when I get back.

Don't you still owe pictures from your last trip?

Good luck with the goat.

Hey Charles,

You're right. LOL My thought was to wait until this trip then I can get some practice on posting pics. I promise!

Okay, I will hold you to that!

I do not use Photobucket myself but it seems to be pretty easy for those who do. Upload the pictures (of an appropriate size for the
'Net), copy the IMG code from the Photobucket page, and paste it into your post. Presto!

Good luck in the mountains.

You can count on nasty weather but at that time the goats should be much lower and below most of the cliffs. Are you doing a boat based hunt? Which guide? FWIW, this is one of the most dangerous hunts in America if you go up into the cliffs.

Yukon,
I wished it was boat based. The base camp is a tent. Our guide is James Phillips out of Sitka. So far he has been great on returning phone calls and letting us know what to expect which is nasty, nasty weather. My friend and I picked Nov. because the coats are longer and much whiter. Also, like you mentioned, we won't have to hit the cliffs as they should have come down off of there - hopefully. He did say that there will most likely be days where we don't hunt b/c of the weather. He mentioned another hunting party that never left camp b/c of the weather. I'm just crossing my fingers that we get 4 or 5 of the 7 days to hunt.

Is this a 2x1 hunt? Only 7 days in that weather and no boat...I hope you do well and the fog clears quickly. I don't know James Phillips but that doesn't mean anything. I'm sure the local guys know him.

Is there a bounce back policy? Whenever someone in Alaska says nasty twice about the weather...

Phillips is a great guys and knows what he's doing. You'll see some shaggy white beasts, I'm sure. One thing is for sure though, pray for the weather. That and your fortitude will be the biggest factors to make or break your hunt.

I do agree on the fortitude comment. Bluefin, if your attitude is positive and you do not give up and you do not kill your friend because you hate him after being stuck for days in the tent with him...then you will have a good time. Notice I didn't say you would kill something (except for your friend).

This reminds me of a hunt last December. I went to Utah to chase mtn lions. You might recall some bad storms that closed the Denver airport twice. We were tracking lions during that storm and the weather just made it impossible to catch that cat. The next hunter caught the very cat I was chasing and it is pending B&C! I stayed upbeat the whole time and never gave up and had a good time anyway (those tracking dogs are a lot of fun). I was more upbeat than the guide was in fact and he thought that was pretty cool. Now I just need to go back and finish that hunt.

I wish you the best and remember that the harder & smarter you work, the "luckier" you get. Make your own luck out there.