So I have lived here pretty much my hole life and have hunted from top of Alaska to the bottom but have never ran the Yukon. I bought a 20 foot hewes craft and setting it up for Yukon only . Thinking of running up from circle first year to Charley area just to get some time on river and following year head down to unit 18 . I plan on hunting but don’t really care if I shoot anything I know moose numbers are low up there and I am good with it . Would just like to run it to see it . Probably have 2 to 3000 hours running boats on interior rivers. Just looking for any advice on planning a trip like this I am sure some of you have done it. Looking for them items or tricks that made your life way more enjoyable while out . My goal is to barbecue steaks while drinking a beer on a sand bar with a nice fire watching a 70 inch bull stroll by while I wait for that spike fork to step out .

Ran the Charley quite a bit, beautiful country up there. Pretty rocky so keep a wax toilet bowl ring in the boat for when you punch a hole. You can usually run about 40ish miles up, plenty of good campspots and good grayling fishing. Taken moose, caribou, and bear up there but not sure how it is now. Bear numbers are always good it seems it's just a matter of seeing them. Slavens cabin is nice spot to stay the night which is 10 miles below the Charley.

Slaven's Roadhouse ...


Yukon River @ mouth of Charley ....

I have only came down the Yukon via snowmobile but routinely run from Russian Mission to the coast. This my stomping grounds. I can give you a lot of insight to unit 18. Starters teaching out there in 1984 and ended my education endeavors in about 2015. Hunted trapped and now buy antlers out there. Pm me if you have questions.

There is a couple different reasons I would like to go to unit 18 . I own a canvas business here in interior me and wife work from home and probably do 60 boats a year. Lots from the Yukon. This year we did tons of boats headed that way this year and listening to the story peaked my interest not so much about hunting but just the trip . Would like to learn the river and check out the villages. Lots of my customers are from the different ones along the river . Here is the crazy part the ultimate goal would be to build a 28 foot boat fully in closed with a canvas shop on board. Start at bridge in August and stop at every village on way down to do repairs build new windows make back curtains or a whole new top . Me and wife both do it and are quite fast at it. We have one kid left to go but in a few years we are done . All are bills are payed and owe nothing so it is not about making money we just think it would be cool to spend a couple months on river watching the session change . I love my village customer there always nice and pleasant and full of stories so I thought it would be cool to come to them. I think they would get a kick out of it to .

The kicker is at the end of trip we will be in unit 18 or farther and would be there for moose season. Might as well shot one if we want to . I could put wife on plane back home if she does not want to do trip back up river in the cold and head up river. This is something I am just thinking about and doing research on . Not many people would have this ability and I think it would be something that would be unique to do . But figured I would start with running river first to get a little time on Yukon before I start building a big boat and investing money in to something like this . We have a In close trailer and have done this for a few years on road areas but thought it would be cool to move it to river system.

Mosquitos, Mosquitos, Mosquitos! ENJOY....LOL

Ray Lewis built a house boat and travels up and down the Yukon, even parks it in a slough and overwinters. One year Ray, Cindy, and Sarah parked the boat in the slough just below the Charley and spent the winter. We enjoyed having them for neighbors that winter. So I would say it's certainly doable. These Germans stopped by the cabin on the Yukon one summer, they built there boat from junk at the dump in Canada and we're heading to the mouth of the Yukon.
Met a lot of interesting folks coming down the Yukon over the years!

Ray Lewis is parked in Mason slough on the Yukon this winter. About 40 miles below Tanana. Seen his wife today. Moose bag limit is 3 in part of 18.

Watch out for those rangers in Yukon-Charley !

Well I would be your first customer in unit 18. Haha.
It is getting more crowded out there every year. I would not wait too long. The number of hunters seem to double every year.

You would think that after the Jim Wild incident and then unanimously losing TWICE at the Supreme Court, the National Park Service might start to catch on and slack off with the enforcement nonsense.

But I seriously doubt it! That is not how they roll!

Pete

Greg Dudgeon ( superintendent ) of the preserve was transferred out of state after the Supreme court ruling. He was the main driver of these issues and it was a sigh of relief after he was gone. Park service law enforcement are a rare sight these days in the preserve however state wildlife troopers occasionally patrol the Yukon through the preserve. The Charley River was determined to be navigatable at least to the rock gardens so that would still be state jurisdiction below the high water mark. I fought a number of battles with the park service during Greg Dudgeons reign of terror.

Wrangell-St. Elias parkies are working steadily to rid that area of guides. Hunting guides I mean.

Not sure who the super is there and I've never dealt with that area but hopefully with the Trump admin and a new head of the DOI, BLM, etc. we will see some change. When Trump was in last time we were finally able to win some battles.

Family trapper I see it every year I do lots of boats for people head that way. In last couple years it has picked up. Lots of out of state guys are buying boats and head that way . For me it is not so much the hunt just Adventure I figured in about 3 to 4 years I am going to give it up and start leaving for winter. After back surgery with lots of nerve damage and COVID toes (blood clots that formed in my toes )I just can’t keep my feet warm anymore. I use heated sock ,feet warmers ,bama socks , and bunny boots and still there just froze . So going to try to finish my AK bucket list before I leave. Will come back and do boats but get when temperatures start to drop.