1/2mi. Terrain was very moderate, although roughly 300yds was a B-itch due to the downfall. I shot him around 7:30 in the morning, and it took 6 trips before he was all loaded into the truck by around 4:30 that afternoon. He’s a 300 bull, but as far as weight goes, all I know is he weighed MANY heavy pounds!!!
8 miles using a game cart tied to an old bicycle, does that count? Elk was boned out and it took about an hour (it was all down hill). I tried it again the next year and the wheels came off the game cart, Ha!. I do have an actual game cart designed to be attached to a bike now, so all I have to do is kill another bull up there to try it out. I did pack a mountain goat out 10 miles, that involved camping over night. Steep uphill or downhill is the real killer, or bushwhacking. If you have a good gently sloping trail it is a lot easier.
Never packed one out solo. I've always been fortunate to have help. It's usually hot where I hunt elk, and there are plenty of coyotes, magpies, and flies, so taking two days or longer to pack one out isn't an option.
Solo have been pretty easy, kind of; wyoming last year was about 430 yards and 90+ deg, slight uphill and no trees. It kicked my a@@. That's the longest one solo that I remember. One time on OR I could see him from the road (maybe 100 yards) but couldn't get my VW Rabbit to him so I had to pack that one too. AZ he died about 10 yards off the road but there was a giant mud bog so I could only get the truck to about 30 yards from him.
I'm not sure exactly how far some were, but I've done several over 3 miles. I've been fortunate to have help on a couple 5 milers. That's about my personal limit if I'm alone. 3 miles usually takes me 4 trips over 2 days. Last year's Wyoming bull was about 3 miles. Each round trip took 3.5 hours.
Two miles, and 2000 feet up from the kill site. Took out loin and antlers in my day pack on the evening of the kill, and labored for the next day and a half, getting the rest out with the meat frame.
So, total of 5 trips. And, this was not a large bull (thankfully) !
2.64 GPS miles from truck. Raghorn. Terrain wasn’t terrible and he was within 1/4 mile of a trail. Shot in evening. Field dressed and took loins/back strap out first trip. 2 days, 5 trips.
Truck was at 9160' elevation. Bull was at 11600' elevation, so 2440' difference. Best I can tell by retracing my route on OnX, it was 5.1 miles horizontally. Took me 4 days and loved every minute of it :-)
I was in about 7 miles on a solo hunt a few years back when I killed a nice 330 bull. Worst part was he died in a tree well and I couldn't get him out of the hole. Had to start cutting right there. Had all the meat off the carcass by mid afternoon, bagged and in the shade. Started out with the first 90# load. It was a LONG walk out. Thought about recruiting help the next day, but too far to town. About 2000' of elevation difference and most would call the terrain rough, although I had a horse trail for about 3 miles.
The next day I made it in by late morning, and back to the truck in the afternoon. 14 miles total on the GPS. Carried close to 100# that load, but now had my hiking sticks. Tried to rest that evening, as no way I could do another full trip that day. Mostly just groaned all evening thinking about the next load. The third trip was heavy with the antlers as well, but I was pretty sure a fourth day would not be possible. Slow going in, but hit my stride on the way out, knowing I was going to get it done alone.
While I've packed dozens of elk 2-3 miles, this was truly at my limit, and with a few more years under my belt, I now try to draw the line at 5 miles. Occasionally I have help but 80% of my elk hunts are solo, so I have learned to suck it up and get it done. I tell most people it helps to be stubborn or have a bad memory, as the recovery period seems to get longer each year.
5.5 miles 2 trips back when I was younger and full of c#$ I tried several times to one trip elk out to only make it 500 yrd or so . Of the 40 some elk I have killed I have only had to horses pack out 10 or so everything has come out on my back
A lot of mine have been 2-3 miles took about a day and half. Some were 2 miles and and done in one day since I shot them in the early morning. Most terrain was steep to semi steep.
2.5 miles with a boned out cow and camp in 3 trips down the valley. None of it was supposed to come out until the following morning, but when you get back to spike camp and a bear tore it up you get your first load back to base camp on long dark hike saying "hey bear" about every step.
Edit - I exaggerated. Went back and looked. Just a tick over 2 miles.
I packed with llamas for many years, and moved both deer and elk many times. However, about 10 years ago my last llama was retired, and I choose not to replace my string. Have been packing solely on my back since. While the llamas were great, my wife really likes having the camper at the trailhead while I hunt. Truth be told, I kind of like a soft dry bed as well. You can only pull so many trailers at one time! So we mostly camp at the trailhead, although I still spike back in 3-4 miles a couple times a year, mostly solo. I can do short 3-5 day "strike" hunts, and don't worry about any stock these days. Bill
You had some great pack trips and I did too with each of our llama Pack strings But as they Retire/pass away, it's so dang difficult to replace them with new ones that are as reliable and great packers ~~ damn the luck!
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Anyways back to the OP's Topic
Mine was on my FAV ~~ LE unit in my home state up on Baretop Mountain, harvest in the mid-morning, boned off and caped out, hung in game bags in smaller Ponderosa Pines and then the 8 mile hike out.
Hiked back in the next early AM with pack frame and mule cart.
Rack/head on the pack frame and leap frogged the meat out on the mule cart
For the full day, my Garmin had it @ 17.4 miles and the map was crazy looking with all the back and forth with the leap frogging loads!
Yes, I took the backpack/head-rack off on each leap frog drop and back M.T. whew!
I'm in for my 3rd LE tag in that unit this year's draw, I'm hopeful to get a chance to relive the other 2 hunts up there......
First time I ever had 'Hot Spots' on my feet.....not bad but noticeable.
Good luck, Robb~~ PS ~~ I was 'only 52 ' that year!
I was 46 yr old with the only one I shot. It was in the Oregon coast range. The distance was maybe 150 yards from elk to the truck but the first 75 or so yards were extremely steep in soft dirt and ferns. Had to use a come along to pull the elk up to a place I could work on it and keep it and me from sliding down hill everytime it moved. I think it took like 8 or 9 hrs to get 4 bone in quarters out. I remember crawling on my hands and knees to the top of the ridge. It seemed like everytime you stepped up with a load the ground would give away. My hands cramped real bad from sweating. The lobster claw thing was happening and I had a hard time cutting up the elk. I ran out of gas and had to cheat. Had a work bud help me the next day get the ribs, cape and skull out. I was worried a bear or cat would get in on the carcass pieces I left overnight but they didn't. That adventure was an eye opener and very valuable learning experience.
The easiest was a moose I shot in Quebec a few years later. It dropped right on the edge of the lake. We used the two jon boats to tow the moose back to camp and processed it there. Dead moose do float!
^...I don't know about that. In my case I didn't work smarter, only harder. It's common in the Oregon coast range to run a bunch of cable and ropes down to your elk and use the truck to drag the whole elk back up to the logging road or landing. I had the cables/ropes but chose not to use them because I was worried I'd break the antlers. Hindsight....one of the veteran Oregon elk hunters here told me I should have sawed off the skull/antlers then use the truck to drag it up to the road. Teachable moment for me.
When I take the Sheep tag holder (s) into this same Mnt. for a scouting trip in mid-June. I tell them we are looking @ a 13-14 mile round trip to see some of the better Ram hangouts come the November season.
Granted every year the same miles seem longer and steeper!!! haha
We normally see some Rams and ewes/lambs this early in the year but come November!!!!!
Tad over two miles per the GPS. No idea on elevation changes, but more downhill than up. He was a 330" bull and I was 54 years old. Brought out the backstraps and tenderloins along with all my gear the first trip. Five trips the following day to finish...sunrise to sunset. Beat tired....but a very satisfying beat tired.
4 miles as the crow flies one way, 3 trips over 2 days. Placed meat in contractor bags and hung in creek to keep cool. Planned ahead for that, knowing I couldn't get all the meat out in 1 day.
3.25 miles. 6x6 bull. 5 trips. 19 hours straight of packing. Uphill both ways. Just kidding, relatively flat, but no trail for most of it. Honestly, I'd rather have some hills with a great trail than flatter with thick willow creek crossings and oak brush.
Next day, I thought my feet were going to fall off.
Longest was around 7 miles mostly down hill. First mile was very steep. Worst part was all I had was a Duluth pack with no frame. Took a heavy load. Stopped at a creek around mile 5 because I thought my socks were rolled up. Wrong it was the skin on the soles of my feet. Went to town & got a friend with a horse & mule to get camp & the rest of the meat. I couldn’t have made another trip on foot. Couple weeks later the entire skin on both feet came off like sheets of leather.....brutal
The beauty of a brutal packout with a heavy pack...is you get to experience weightlessness, when you finally drop the pack. Feels like you're going to float up in the air, if you don't grab on to something ;^)
Not solo but nevertheless... my very first bull was a rifle kill. Me and my brother were camped in a small crappy nylon tent ten miles from the road. Not as the crow flies but as the switchback road to an old mining claim went. I killed a 5 point bull up over top of the mountain and down the other side about a mile! Good Lord I’m lucky my knees weren’t what they are now. The first mile was all bushwhacking uphill through heavy brush. We ate huckleberries for energy. The pack was 12 miles total and took us 3 days because we had the entire thing on our backs and at one point couldn’t go another step. So we dropped everything and went down the mountain to borrow a cart. A friend’s uncle gave us a homemade two wheeled lawn cart. We lost a day but the next morning back up the mountain we went. We got everything loaded and after a couple miles the cart fell to pieces and we reluctantly went back to back packing. 12 miles and three days later I was still happy to have tagged my first bull but even happier to see our truck!!! Many lessons learned!
Never done one solo - you guys that have are badass, much tougher than me. My partner’s Unit 76 bull died a hair over 2 miles from the truck - it took us 3 round trips to get him out. He killed him at 7:30 AM, and we got the last load to the truck a few minutes before 7PM. We slept in the next morning:)
Two guys, three miles out of the Flat Tops in CO. One trip! Each of us had a hind quarter on our backs. The rest was split in two and wrapped in a tarp & dragged behind tied to the packs. in 12" of brand new and still falling snow. October 31 1992(or 93, not sure of the year anymore)
If we had taken two trips, we would have been there till spring. Many hunters had to be helicopter rescued in that area. My brother actually walked down the jeep trail in spots because he was sure I was going over the edge with my jeep on the way down.
My dad's moose last year was probably the worst...…...2 miles up steep canyons out of the very bottom of hell hole. The last half mile down a gated logging road with a game cart. I'm soaked in blood from head to toe and worn to a frazzle. I've packed farther but the steep grades and working in grizzly country made it really tough. We also had my cousin and oldest son and it was still a bear. There were places where we moved a few steps at a time and it lasted from dawn to dusk after the kill the evening before. This was the last load and our personal gas tanks were empty:)
Was told many yrs ago it is about the labor of love.
Was working with an outfitter in Ak 40 yrs ago and a 19 yr old gent came into camp and need help in getting his moose out. Butch (outfitter) just ask him if he had $400 for his time and horses to pack it out. and the kid didn't, Butch told him he better think twice about pulling the trigger for the ramification and he better hustle back before the wolves or bear get to it. The kid had tears in his eyes when he left, never did find out what he did. Butch just said afterwards that will be one hard lesson in life for the young guy, but he had clients to attend to first.
Not elk, but looking at my notes from a caribou hunt in AK back in the nineties, I had 36 miles invested in a caribou, from the time I left the tent in the morning to the last load with the antlers a day or two later. Can't recall the details, though. These were GPS miles.
Longest: 4 miles one way, in knee deep snow for part of it. Shot in afternoon, took first trip out, arrived at camp two hrs after dark. The next morning, went in for the rest, took until mid afternoon, 4x4 Roosevelt bull from Indian Heaven, SW WA. Crossed Fresh cougar tracks 1/4 mile from the kill that first evening out, but they never came near the kill the next day fortunately. Probably over 100# per packload counting gear. All boned out meat, hide and skull plate. If I didnt have a flashlight that night, I would have had to spend the night up there it was so dark. I got on the wrong trail out as it was for part of it. Would have been one long cold lonely night thinking about that cat.
Shortest: SW Wa, shot a behemouth Roosy cow on a ridge adjacent to a FS road. It dropped 200 yds uphill from the road. I went and got the truck, '78 F-250 4x4 with 8' bed. Backed it up to the ridge and dragged the cow the distance downhill and skidded it into the truckbed. It completely filled up the length of the bed. If I had missed to one side sliding it in, I would have had to quarter it right there on the spot just to load jt up, it was that big. Solo'd 8 other elk out in distances in between these two. Got a couple spikes out whole in long day drags over three miles (mostly downhill, mostly with snow). I was determined and pumped full of adrenalin once an elk was down. Those are good memories. I had help with a few others. All backpacked or dragged out. 14 total between MT and WA.
