Contributors to this thread:
Tell us your stories of packing out an elk solo. What was the distance and terrain? What did you do right? What would you do differently?
My solo bull from 2014:.
Tagged and bagged quarters on the bone, and the rest of the meat. Hung it up in a spruce, near a creek in a shaded area (dense timber in the creek bottom). I pissed all over the base of the tree, and left a recycled Mountain House Monument nearby as well. Lots of bears in that area, but nothing touched my cache of meat.
I hunt with a daypack, that can handle a small load. So, I took out just the loin, and antlers on the first load (2 miles and 2000 feet up to camp). It's pretty dicey terrain with a lot of deadfall, so it really helps to know the trails in and out. I got off it at one point in the dark...it sucked ass!
It was an evening kill, so I got back to camp super late. Practically jogged all the way back down the next morning with the Pack Frame, and strapped on a hindquarter. 4 hour round trip getting it back up. Rinse and repeat for the other hindquarter. Pretty much burned up that Day, so I hit the sack.
Next Day was two basically identical loads, of front quarter plus neck/ rib meat. I got an early start, and had both loads out by Noon.
Can't really see what I'd do different. I'm not built like a Pack Mule...I'm 5'7, 170 lbs. I was beat to hell, but I felt great driving home!
That's awesome Jeff! Two full days? Wow!
I know it's doable but that definitely should help anyone heading in solo to mentally be prepared.
I am sure your ultralite game bags were nice to have! ;)
First thing I'd do is hang the 1/4's and debone them. Way too much non edible bone in your pack for nothing but to throw it away. I've packed moose out plenty and learned after one moose...leave the bones for the critters.
Best advice is to kill one uphill from camp!
I shot one 4 years ago about 730 in the morning. By the time I boned him out, bagged everything up and moved meat away from the carcass, and carried a load out to truck it was dark.
The next day, I carried two loads to truck.
Third day, I brought out last load of meat and head and antlers. (Wanted a euro) one trip.
I'm a little squirt, and not exceptionally strong. The last load was a doozy.
It had started raining the 2nd day and it was like walking in grease. You just have to get bullheaded and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'd say first half was uphill. 2nd half all down. Down isn't necessarily real easy either.
Meat was all good, but it was frosty at night and in the morning. Hanging in shade.
I let a couple bulls go earlier in that trip, just because of where they were. In hindsight it was the right move. They were in way worse spots, and I had a hell of a time with the one I found I thought would be easy.
I was Not in very good shape that year. Much better now, and I think it would be easier today.
What did i learn? Use horses if you can. Or get some help.
I helped a guy pack one out last year in Colorado. It was worse than the story I just told you. Didn't know him from Adam. He came to my tent and asked for help. Promised me meat and a jug of whiskey.
Finished pack out, he left without even saying thanks.
I ever see that sumbitch again, I'm breaking his nose.
My 2015 bull was 3.25 miles in, by map, not by GPS or trail miles; took 17? 19? hours to pack it out. Toughest thing I ever did.
My advice...don’t over do the weight per load. I’ve learned from experience it’s better to have one extra round trip, than to load your pack so heavy you can hardly walk back for the next load. Or worse, take a fall because you’re so overloaded. Second, trekking poles. Buy a very nice set and use them. They take some of the load off your legs and have saved me from nasty spills countless times.
Hmmm.....my only elk was in the coast range of Oregon. Very steep hill at the end of a landing. Maybe 250 yards from the truck but seemed like near vertical although it wasn't. Had to use the come along to keep it from rolling/sliding down the hill while I worked on it. I got the 4 qrtrs out in about 8 hours. Had to climb back to the top pulling myself up while on my hands and knees. I remember there was alot of ferns and the ground would give away as I was climbing up. I covered the ribs and rack with a tarp hoping the bears, yotes or cats didn't get to it and come back the next day with a Brock Lesnar type co-worker and got the rest. I had about 400' of rope and cable just for this but the elk went into a bunch of trees after the shot and I wouldn't have been able to pull it up to the landing with out someone else down there guiding the elk around the trees. It was a fun and challenging experience.
Lessons learned...when you're sweating alot over a long period of time....water and Mt Dew don't cut it. Got real bad cramps in my hands and fingers (think lobster claws) and was a pain trying to work on the elk about 6 hours into it. I was worried about the knife slipping because I was having a hard time gripping it with bloody hands and cramps. Water and Gatorade would have probably been a better option. Next time.....
The only one I have “packed” out by myself, due to our group rule that when an animal is down everyone stops hunting until it’s taken care of. Usually we hang it by ourselves then get help. That one I shot first thing and had it back to camp by mid day. We were hunting out of a truck then and I shot him right off the bat 200 yards from the Truck. No pack required. I wish I had a better solo story like my StoneKifRanch pack carried the 800lbs of boned out meat 12 miles for me. I met the pack at the road. It’s such a great pack it didn’t even need my help to navigate. :)
odoylerules said - "My advice...don’t over do the weight per load. I’ve learned from experience it’s better to have one extra round trip, than to load your pack so heavy you can hardly walk back for the next load. Or worse, take a fall because you’re so overloaded. Second, trekking poles. Buy a very nice set and use them. They take some of the load off your legs and have saved me from nasty spills countless times. "
Great advice IMO!
For me, a mature bull elk is six loads including the head/cape (I don't carry bone, except for the skull). Backstraps and tenderloins come out first (along with my pack contents). Each quarter is a separate load. Head/cape come out last. Duration of the entire process varies based on distance of course, but my average would be roughly a day and a half to get everything off the mountain.
Be conscious of the weather, terrain and your physical condition. Don't hunt deeper than those factors allow.
I did my first one in 1991, after that I hunted with a group, with a group rule, which worked well..... after that I arranged for a packer..... I admitted to myself, that when I hit my 50's I could not physically do it,,,,,,, I think a lot of hunters are amazing at what they can do, and I congratulate them for that.............................................
But heat kills meat, and I think a lot of meat goes bad, on some trips, and I will use a packer, or have some arrangements made,,,,,, its the reality of hunting
Ive packed several out solo, it can be done, it will be hard, but many people do much harder things every day. mine have all been 1/2 to 3.5 miles from the vehicle, or a road. I usually gps the closest place I can drive to and pack everything to there. Keep in mind its easier to walk a few miles up the road to your vehicle and drive back to your animal than pack all the way back to the truck. This year I am trying something different, I bit the bullet and got a Stone Glacier pack, my Cabelas pack has served me well but I've done it enough now to know that I'm willing to more for comfort.
Of the 13 elk I've killed, all but three were taken out solo. One bull calf, two spike bulls, and one huge cow were dragged out whole. The bull calf only had to be dragged 300 yards, and the cow only 200 yards, but the two spikes were taken out from over two miles in. Dragged in snow, mostly downhill, but they both took from early afternoon until well after dark to get them out whole, alone. That is no BS. Many of the others I cut in half and dragged out half at a time. Only three were cut up and packed out in packs, over four miles each for those. The cow was down a dry forest hillside, slid right into the bed of my pickup backed up to the hillside. If I had missed and it went off to the side of the tailgate, I would have spent the next couple hours quartering it just to get it in the truck, it was so big. Fun stuff, never feel such satisfaction as I do after busting my tail getting elk out of the high country.
I pack out solo all the time. I'm not big guy just stay in shape. I try and break the elk down the take a quarter with me on the first load. I agree don't over do it. Usually it takes me on average a day and half. If I shoot one early in the morning I can get it out before dark if it's not to far 2 miles or less. I've had some fun pack outs on slick muddy slopes.
"One bull calf, two spike bulls, and one huge cow were dragged out whole."
Efffffff that!
Ive lost count of how many elk Ive killed, but I do know that Ive NEVER been able to get one out whole.
Only packed one bull out solo, < 1/2 mi. Had a POS frame pack and it damn near broke my back.
Its nice to have friends :>)
How much does each load weigh?
Once bagged, move all the meat away from the carcass a pretty good distance. Bears will likely go to gut pile first.
I've packed out a few solo. My last was only a few hundred yards, the previous one about a half mile. Three times I ended up taking half the elk in the last load. Camp low, hunt high. Max distance for me from a road was about 3 miles, first 300 yards was uphill then the remainder predominantly level. Need a good pack, trekking poles help a lot for balance. One massive cow would easily cause me to tip over if I tilted wrong. Just get started, take plenty of breaks and bring extra water. And a small ice chest with beer at the truck...you'll know why when the last quarter is in camp.
Quarters on bone work way better for me with the meat frame (load stability is a good thing when doing "deadfall aerobics"). Basically, I was doing an "E.T." impression, as I waddled my ass up the mountain with the hindquarters, for two miles.
I train all Year for this, but I'm never actually "ready" for it.
“How much does each load weigh?”
It doesn’t matter. They’re all heavy by the time you get the meat packed to camp/truck
It ain’t like walking to the mailbox
“How much does each load weigh?”
We took out my buddy's (Monster) bull in 2016, in two loads apiece, off the bone. Of course, the cape and horns alone were nearly a load.
We estimated my last load at 125 pounds. Fortunately, it was about 1 1/2 miles downhill to the meat drop, where we were able to drive the truck.
About 3/4 of the way down, I began actually counting my steps, until I reached 100, then I'd lean forward and take a short break. Every step was a cognitive process...it was miserable!
By my buddy's GPS, we had covered 17 miles at the end of that Day.
My first was right around 3 miles. Ifrst load was right @ 90#. Things done right was I was very prepared that year, and in shape. Things done wrong I ran outta water. Got bad dehydrated. Walked next to a stream whole way back with a hiker pro in my pack!!! Obviously wasn't thinking straight.
Shot around 7:30 a.m. Died in a nasty spot but the pack out was a fairly easy half mile. 4 loads of boned meat. I skinned the head before taking it out with the last load and got it all out before dark. Swore I would never pack out an ounce of meat with a Cabela's Alaskan frame pack again!
I would like to take this one step farther if I might.
The elk are on top. It's a 3.25 hike through the valley then turn left. You go from 8,000 to 9,400 in 1,000 yards. Then hunt the high meadows. Is this doable solo?
Or would anyone like to go for a little hike next month with a heavy pack:)
Midwest, you have a smaller pain tolerance than I...or maybe you are just A LOT smarter. I think I had to pack 9 out on my Cabelas Alaskan before I caved and got a new pack :)
"Is this doable solo"?
Sounds like you could just load up the pack, sit on it, and ride it down to the Valley. No problem! ;^)
'ride it down to the Valley' That's about right. One of the spikes I dragged out, I actually had to side hill it for a while and had all I could do to keep it from sliding down the wrong slope, into Neverland. If it slipped and gone down there, I'd have been quartering it and packing. It really was not all that difficult dragging down hill in 8 inches of snow once I got on the trail downhill, on top of the ridge. Just had to rest a lot - stop...go.. Took about 4 hours to go 2.5 miles for that one. I was young and full of P!$$ and vinegar. Probably would not try that now at 62. Well, maybe 'try'...
Scrappy, yes, just don't overload on the way down. That's an easy way to visit a knee surgeon. And if you don't have trekking poles, you do have a knife and/or saw, so you can always make one. I've used aspen trekking poles for years before I bought a pair.
Scrappy, yes, just don't overload on the way down. That's an easy way to visit a knee surgeon. And if you don't have trekking poles, you do have a knife and/or saw, so you can always make one. I've used aspen trekking poles for years before I bought a pair.
I've packed out a few solo. One was at 11,600 feet, 4.25 miles from the truck with a 2400' elevation gain from truck to bull. It took me the better part of 4 days with one trip per day. I tried to take half of the bull in the first load but only made it a couple hundred yards and it was killing me so I lightened up the load.
One thing I can't stress enough if you're packing meat cross-country is to take some time to study a map and/or the terrain and mark waypoints along your route with your GPS. I usually spend some time picking out the best route while I'm on my way in with an empty pack. Then I mark waypoints along that route. That way when I'm packing the heavy loads I can navigate waypoint to waypoint or along a saved "route" and not end up getting off course and ending up in blowdowns or getting cliffed out. Sometimes a little course deviation can be the difference between pain and misery and not quite as much pain and misery...
I'd echo the advice to keep loads manageable, that's probably the biggest change I've made over the years, I'm probably on 10 personal elk solo, and a bunch more guiding, back at 21 and dumb I packed an entire boned out yearling cow in one load, on a scale later it was 142lb, and I probably weighed about that at the time, I think that took about a week to recover from...
most elk now I take in 4 or 5 loads, much better to walk around at a comfortable weight, in the end it's probably faster to go light and actually be able to walk easily anyway. I usually try to get a bone in hindquarter first load between my daypack and the frame, then I switch packs and bone out the rest, antlers on a small bull can go on any load, on a big bull they go last with a front quarter, or if the terrain is bad for navigating with a rack they get a solo ride. as long as temps are reasonable I plan on up to two full days to pack one out, I've never had an issue as long as I move the meat a ways from the carcass and hang it in the shade.
as far as bad stories... I shot an 8-year-old bull in Utah two years ago, by far the biggest bodied elk I've ever seen, I shot it at 7 in the morning and the high that day was 85, I've never really struggled to quarter an elk solo before but this one I couldn't roll over with both quarters on a side removed, I was 1.5miles from the truck and I had it all out and in coolers by 4:00, 5 trips, lightest one was 105lb... I was jogging back from the truck hoping the sun would go behind a cloud to drop the temp a couple degrees... I made it with no meat loss but I ended up being so wrecked that I wasn't able to hunt on my CO tag for 5 days...
Did it twice. First and last time. Oh, it was a moose. Took three days.
Years ago I double quarter bulls out all the time.. out in two trips...but that was before I got a bum ankle.. now I just reach for my cell...and hope my buddies answer...lol
"" Did it twice. First and last time. Oh, it was a moose. Took three days. ""
Ha!....I was lucky and my small bull moose dropped in the water. We were able to use the jon boats and floated/towed it back to the camp at night. Three guys on the dock and me in the water we were able to get it on to the dock for the night. We cleaned it up the next morning. Only minor problem was I had a few leeches hanging on me when I got out of the water.
Yes I packed this one out solo! ;)
>>>>I train all Year for this, but I'm never actually "ready" for it.<<<
I need the t-shirt!
Trekking poles, trekking poles, trekking poles.
Kind of something to go along with Cheesehead, I've packed out only one elk solo and it was by far my least eventful packout. However I've done around ten with a partner and at least half of those have been a real nightmare. One thing I've stopped doing unless I absolutely have to is off trail night trips. Unless the terrain is extremely straightforward, I hang the meat and come back in the morning. I've killed elk on some hot days and have yet to be in the mountains when it didn't cool off enough to avoid meat spoilage. Where I hunt is a sea of deadfall. During the day it can be difficult to pick a clean path through the mess, at night it is almost pure luck to get through without major rerouting. Packing out during daylight is way faster, efficient and safer than packing at night. Marking a track on your GPS is helpful, but if you are literally five feet off it can be like an entirely different route.
Another thing I do is to break the trip up in multiple stages. I usually spike camp hunt or bivy hunt so when I kill one I will take the meat from the kill site to the nearest trail and then hang it there. Then once I have all the meat at the trail junction I know it is smooth sailing from there and it's a bit of a psychological boost knowing I have the hard part out of the way. I also do that if there is no trail but a major obstacle like a technical descent, river or swamp.
Patdel- That is a rough story. If there ever was an example of "No good deed goes left unpunished." That's it.
I’ll go heavy every time. If I can save one trip by going heavy and I don’t have to go back x miles and then bring another load out x miles, sign me up! Takes me 3 loads by myself. That’s doing it right with all trim meat.
Only two by myself and only one was over a mile. I quarter and get straps, loin, brisket, and neck meat bagged and in the shade. Carry out front quarter on my day pack and come back with dedicated pack frame. One was killed just after 7 AM and the other was right at 7:30. I finished the longer one about noon the following day.
One thing I'd do different is use trecking poles. Don't understand how I could go that long without trying them! My wife says I have the mental capacity of a small soap dish, and I guess I can't argue that point too vigorously.
I do it every year it seems in 2-3 states too.
I think I could do it blindfolded now! haha
Bone the meat off, evidence of sex, load into game bags, final head/cape on a bull harvest and then Leap-Frog loads out to a trail.
Head down to the F350 and get my single-mid frame--Mule Cart and actual packframe back pack, double check full water bottle, transfer GPS from hunting backpack to packframe, make sure I have my other sheath knife ~~ and off--up I go......whew !!
Good luck, Robb
My Dad and I did packing out meat on packs - its tough, its hard, more so than probably a person can imagine until they've done that kind of weight, at altitude on those steep mountains ..... its not like carrying a 75 pound pack on level ground or even doing bleaches with a heavy pack.
Its a worthy goal and hats off to all who've done it, I encourage people to get in great shape, know your body, make good plans and try it - all part of the adventure for sure.
