I tried the deboning method before and did not care for it. I ended up with mushy bags of meat that were difficult to pack. After gutting, I prop open the carcass with a stick for cooling. At altitude, the air is just like a refridgerator so rotting is not an issue and there is enough human scent around the critters don't come in for a snack. I have had issues with flies before and a dusting of pepper takes care of that. After I get back to the carcass and finish with the sawzall, I hang the quarters (in game sacks) for additional cooling and start packing. When I finally return home, the quarters go in the locker for about ten days until they get that wonderful green slime coating...

If I thought it would take more that two days to pack out a carcass, I would get horses, which represents another set of problems. I have horses available I am comfortable with, but if any of you fellows are brave and need additional excitement in your camps, http://www.sombrero.com/custompages/hunting.asp