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I hunted a lot solo last year. I really liked it. In the other thread, Jaquomo emphasizes the need to hunt within a responsible distance for the sake of meat preservation.

My plan B & C spots are further in and I only hunt there during times when I know I could get a couple really good buddies to drive up with horses and help. It would be a huge inconvenience for them but they would absolutely come if I called.

Alternatively, I could hunt those spots and spend two full days packing one out if I was confident the weather would hold up (very little rain). This method would require submerging the meat due to the time it would take me...hence my initial question.

I've left mine hanging in the shade in temps around 70 degrees or more for up to 3 days...never had any spoilage. Been doing it for many years now.

Last Season was a two day pack out (solo). I was two miles in and 2000 feet down. I never felt like I was in a rush, because I knew the meat would be fine.

Rain is not an issue. This is all based on public land Colorado hunts, anywhere from 11,000 to 8000 feet.

Best of Luck Jeff

I try to get them at least a hundred yards from the carcass. Bears will be on that carcass within a day, it's almost guaranteed, but I've never had them steal the bags or chew on them. I urinate around the base of the tree...not sure if that makes a difference, but so far, so good.

My solution for gamebags is extremely lightweight, and allows the air to circulate around the quarters and other meat, helping them "skin" and stay cool inside.

I have seen people use the track bag method! Vital that the meat stays dry. I also believe that if the temps are cool a couple days are not a big deal assuming the meat is hung up and the air can cool it down! A good cold night will really help!

I place the boned out meat in fabric game bags and make sure the meat is mostly cooled down. Then I placed them in the contractor bags/ creek and if needed, cover them up with pine limbs and out of the sun.

Have had them in the water for up to 3 days without any loss.

If no creek, I have heard that cooling down the meat in game bags, hanging over night and then rap the bags in your sleeping bag during the day to keep the meat cool.

My best, Paul

I've had a couple hunts where it took me 4 days to get all the meat and cape off of the mountain. I don't know if it was necessary but on one of those hunts I had boned out meat that was already cooled and in game bags and I put it in contractor bags and submerged it in a stream and it kept really well.

On another hunt I piled rocks in a stream so the rocks were only an inch or two out of the water and then set my game bags full of meat on the rocks. I then covered the game bags with pine boughs and it was like a refrigerator.

Most hunts though, I/we just hang the game bags in the shade and they have kept fine for 1-4 days at altitude.

I've battled flies year after year,and this year I'm going to simply pack a mosquito net in. They weigh nothing and I'm going to put it up, put the game bags with meat inside,and not worry.

The problem is if you're not within a couple hundred yds from water, then you could deal with flies and they are no fun. It is amazing how fast they can blow right through the best of game-bags and two days later when you open your bags up, surprise surprise. White rice.

Main thing, get it off the animal, out of the hide and preferably opened up off the bone ASAP. That is critical. Once in meat bags you're pretty good to go however you deal with it unless you're in the sage flats, warm weather and no shade or anything.

Keep it in the shade (remember the sun moves the shade around a good bit, good advice by elkmnt above keeping it close to the trunk), Creek bottoms are great, but IMO mostly because they are low. Cooler air sinks down, any bottom will be cooler. But that cold water and moist air sure doesn't hurt.

Cover the bags with logs/limbs to hide them and to insulate/shade them. Bears can't resist a trash bag, and various small critters will peck holes in them, and you don't want creek water on your meat. Make sure you keep the outside of the bag free of blood or fat or anything that would attract a bear; it's tricky to get a ham into a bag without smearing the top area that ends up above the knot.

BigErn: 3 mil is about the heaviest bag I care to carry on my solo wilderness hunts. They weigh 1/3 pound each. To minimize weight, I only pack 4: one for each ham, one for the shoulders (everything de-boned), and one for the trimmings. I carry a lightweight leaf bag for the backstraps/filets that I don't put in the creek and carry out to the truck on the 1st trip (have also used my emergency space blanket for this).

I'd lose sleep with the meat cached so close to camp. I'd cache it further away, and leave some dirty socks nearby. I've used the piss method as mentioned, but I've noticed that piss attracts flies. And the buzzing of large numbers of flies can attract bears. So I don't piss near my cache anymore.

(well, almost never. You can put it in bags and a cold creek right away to cool it down. But after cooling, it should always be kept in game bags rather than plastic bags.)

I don't understand why meat needs to be taken out of plastic bags once it is cooled. Why take it out of 40-degree water to hang it in 70-degree air? Mine stays in bags in the creek for up to 4 days, then I put the bags in an ice chest full of ice water to age it for another two or three days before I butcher and freeze it. Much of the emphasis of the Alaskan link seems to be on preventing INTENTIONAL wastage.

It seems Ice Age hunters put whole mammoth quarters in ponds to preserve them for months. See the link.

Keep it cool and keep it dry.

IF the water is under 40F and you keep it there, it might be okay.

But I doubt if the water is really that cold. And you eventually have to take it out of the water.

If you keep it in the shade, coat with citric acid, and allow the dark crusty to form, I think y you are better off.

But if it is really 70F, I don't think anything will work for long. You need to get the meat out of the woods.

Keep it cool and keep it dry.

IF the water is under 40F and you keep it there, it might be okay.

But I doubt if the water is really that cold. And you eventually have to take it out of the water.

If you keep it in the shade, coat with citric acid, and allow the dark crusty to form, I think y you are better off.

But if it is really 70F, I don't think anything will work for long. You need to get the meat out of the woods.