CamoFlogged

Well, last year, my small group was lucky enough to down a 6x5, and 2 cows as a herd went by. We were just sitting there discussing our next move, when they came running by. They all fell within 50 yards of each other.

So what did we do? We gutted them(you don't have to do this, but since we knew some would hang overnight, we did it), and quartered them up. You strip the tenderloins, backstraps and then whatever else you like on em. On an elk, there is a lot of meat on the ribs, neck, etc. You put these in a game bag. Now the hard part. We killed them at a little over 9,000 ft., our camp is at 7,300 ft - 2 mile trip one way along a pretty winding trail. Not too steep, but ugly enough in spots. There were 3 of us. So for the rest of that day, and the following morning, we packed quarters out. We all put our rope together, and hung what we couldn't bring out that first day. Yes, that equals 4 trips up and down the mountain to our camp. Plus, someone has to carry a double load, as the bag of backstraps, etc. has to come down too. There is no road access up to the top of the mountain. Needless to say, we rested the following day before going for our deer.

Now, if we would have had horses, it would have been a simple chore, but since we don't, we were the mules. We hunt(rifle) around an area that has a lot of outfitters, and they all use horses. I highly recommend them, especially at altitude.

This year, I am going archery, so will be hunting a bit different.

My suggestion, is get a good frame pack as it makes all the difference in the world. Or, get a nice mountain horse or mule.