Originally Posted by
KodiakHntr
I have to ask, what do you mean by “dressed it up”? I’m assuming that you mean completely boneless as that is a 7.5 hour time frame.
To the OP, don’t over think it. Ourea alluded to this (I think), but you have to hunt elk where they are, not where you want them to be. Find sign, find where they live, and hunt them there. Sometimes that means diving over the edge and hunting them deep in the hell hole.
Once you have a bull dead, break it down into manageable pieces right front the start. A bull is physically intimidating when you first walk up to it, but all you really need is a backpack and a knife. A small saw and a few feet of paracord will help, but isn’t essential.
Split hide down the spine ears to tail, and skin off a side down to the hocks. Lift and cut the hind off and you will have a chunk of meat and bone that you can manage.
If you are mentally tough enough you can solo pack an elk in 4 trips, but you are going to feel it for a few days after. 5 trips is feasible but that load of neck meat/tenderloin/rib roll/backstraps/horns/and your stuff is gonna be a good’er.
6 loads and you are looking at some pretty easy trips, depending on terrain. The sense of accomplishment can’t be put into words though.
Soft, dead weight on a pack isn’t the same as a tidy, snug package that weighs the same. It WILL be off balance, and it might shift around, but it isn’t likely as heavy as you think it is. Packing meat is a mental game, break it down into manageable loads and get it done. (I always have a pack scale in my truck or in the shop, and record weights on everything. They are never as heavy as your mind is telling you, and when you weigh that first one and find out what it actually is, it gets easier mentally).
If the weather is warm, put your quarters up on brush or blowdown so air gets under it. If you are really concerned find the sinew seam on the hinds and open it up to the leg bone and put a little stick in there to keep it open before you bag it. That will let that heavy bone cool a lot faster and will really reduce the chance of bone sour.
Solo big game isn’t for everyone, but if you can prepare yourself mentally for it then you have the battle half won.