Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:38 am
Here's something else you might factor into your cost projections.......
Gas in SK right now is averaging $.90/ liter. There are 3.79 liters in a gallon so a gallon of regular gas up there is going to cost $3.41CA/gallon.
Fortunately, the currency exchange rate (.87) is in our favor.
So gas in SK is currently averaging $2.97US/gallon.
Last October, regular gas was $1.09/liter. The exchange rate was the same (.87).....a gallon of regular cost us $3.60US/gallon. At that same time, the cheapest gas in the US, on our way North, was $2.30. So, gas was roughly 1.56 times the price back home.
I hope we don't have another 'Katrina' because that's what spiked the gas prices, last year. In 2004-5, gas prices increased, the farther North we went. Last year, gas prices were cheapest in SD/ND, then jumped once we got into SK. Fortunately, we cut our scouting/hunting mileage in half by renting houses closer to where we found more birds and fewer people.
Cutting 500 miles out of a 5,862 mile trip doesn't seem like much, but that's 30 gallons of fuel (@ $3.60/gal), or $110.
One other thing you might check with your outfitter on. Does he provide his OWN gas for the vehicles HE uses to get his equipment and other people to the hunting spot? What about scouting mileage? And if you upland hunt, they do that from the truck. When you see or flush birds, then you walk them up. You can put as much as 400 miles/day on a vehicle, depending on how far they have to go, to get into birds and away from other hunters.
The reaso I'm telling y'all this is......4 years ago (on my initial trip to SK)......at the end of a guided 5-day hunt, the leader of our group told us he needed another $150 apiece
(or essentially, one-day's guide fee) to cover the extra mileage we ran-up on the guide's vehicle, for the week ......taking HIS sorry cabboose across 4 RM's to get to a 'chicken' hole. 
I coulda killed the guy....in fact, he and I butted heads the whole time I was up there....nearly ruined my trip cause he was trying to dictate what everyone else did. Heck, we all paid the same amount of money to hunt.......besides that's why we hired the guide. 
It was a dry year that year, and we were driving 60 miles one-way, just to get to an area that had some water.......and birds. So, not only did we pay for the gas in our rental vehicle, but (thanks to Mr 'Foaming at the Mouth to Kill a Chicken') we paid for some of the guide's gas, too. Funny, I never heard anything about dat on the front-end o' this deal.
Just a few things to consider...... all I can say is.......do your homework, guys. Don't hesitate to ask what may seem (to you) to be stupid questions.......and don't settle for an answer you don't understand.
Good luck.......'hope you have a great experience. Money may not be any object to you......if it's not, then disregard this post.
Oh yeah........did you know your credit card company charges a fee for currency conversion on EVERY transaction you make?
Gas in SK right now is averaging $.90/ liter. There are 3.79 liters in a gallon so a gallon of regular gas up there is going to cost $3.41CA/gallon.
Fortunately, the currency exchange rate (.87) is in our favor.
So gas in SK is currently averaging $2.97US/gallon.
Last October, regular gas was $1.09/liter. The exchange rate was the same (.87).....a gallon of regular cost us $3.60US/gallon. At that same time, the cheapest gas in the US, on our way North, was $2.30. So, gas was roughly 1.56 times the price back home.
I hope we don't have another 'Katrina' because that's what spiked the gas prices, last year. In 2004-5, gas prices increased, the farther North we went. Last year, gas prices were cheapest in SD/ND, then jumped once we got into SK. Fortunately, we cut our scouting/hunting mileage in half by renting houses closer to where we found more birds and fewer people.
Cutting 500 miles out of a 5,862 mile trip doesn't seem like much, but that's 30 gallons of fuel (@ $3.60/gal), or $110.
One other thing you might check with your outfitter on. Does he provide his OWN gas for the vehicles HE uses to get his equipment and other people to the hunting spot? What about scouting mileage? And if you upland hunt, they do that from the truck. When you see or flush birds, then you walk them up. You can put as much as 400 miles/day on a vehicle, depending on how far they have to go, to get into birds and away from other hunters.
The reaso I'm telling y'all this is......4 years ago (on my initial trip to SK)......at the end of a guided 5-day hunt, the leader of our group told us he needed another $150 apiece
(or essentially, one-day's guide fee) to cover the extra mileage we ran-up on the guide's vehicle, for the week ......taking HIS sorry cabboose across 4 RM's to get to a 'chicken' hole. I coulda killed the guy....in fact, he and I butted heads the whole time I was up there....nearly ruined my trip cause he was trying to dictate what everyone else did. Heck, we all paid the same amount of money to hunt.......besides that's why we hired the guide.
It was a dry year that year, and we were driving 60 miles one-way, just to get to an area that had some water.......and birds. So, not only did we pay for the gas in our rental vehicle, but (thanks to Mr 'Foaming at the Mouth to Kill a Chicken') we paid for some of the guide's gas, too. Funny, I never heard anything about dat on the front-end o' this deal.
Just a few things to consider...... all I can say is.......do your homework, guys. Don't hesitate to ask what may seem (to you) to be stupid questions.......and don't settle for an answer you don't understand.
Good luck.......'hope you have a great experience. Money may not be any object to you......if it's not, then disregard this post.
Oh yeah........did you know your credit card company charges a fee for currency conversion on EVERY transaction you make?
