On September 26, 1997, about 0815 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Piper PA-12 airplane, N7667H, sustained substantial damage while landing at an off airport site located approximately 35 miles north of Gustavus, Alaska. The private pilot and the one passenger aboard were not injured. The local, 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight operated in visual meteorological conditions without a formal flight plan. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on September 29, the pilot reported he was attempting to return to his previously established hunting camp. He said the landing site was fairly short, and he was attempting to touchdown as close as possible to the beginning of the landing area. He said he landed short of his intended spot, and encountered rough terrain and brush, which caused damage to the wings and tail section of the airplane. In his written statement to the NTSB, the pilot noted he made a shallow approach to the proposed landing site. He said he made the shallow approach so that he could land on the edge of the selected area, but that he should have made a steeper approach that would have allowed him to keep his intended landing spot in sight.