RE: Looking to hunt Elk.
A couple additional thoughts. At the age of 36 reducing your weight will be a piece of cake. I'm 50 years old, and I can lose weight and keep it off. It requires two things: exercise and limitation of calorie consumption. Drink more water. Drink water when you have a hunger pang. Others may disparage my approach, but I follow an eating regime all week long but allow myself to indulge myself pretty much without limits in a Saturday evening meal. As you get closer to the time of your hunt, you need to focus less on losing weight and more on physical conditioning. This is one reason to get the weight off early.
I have read that some recommend using a booking agent to hook up with an outfitter/guide. It is difficult to do the due diligence necessary to find a good outfitter/guide, but this is the stock and trade of booking agents.
Get your hands on books about elk hunting and read them. Don't assume you are going to get the whole picture from reading one or even ten of these books, but you will learns something. I find that most of these books have a lot of good advice about equipment, clothes, guns, bows, elk biology, the various state permit drawing systems, caring for elk meat. I personally was not satisfied with the treatment these books gave for the actual activity of hunting elk and still feel I'm out in the dark about the preferred hunting methods. Reading the elk books also provide many opportunities for leisurely fantasizing about the forthcoming elk hunt.