Elk pack out

[NVCHUKAR]

Read this article, has a lot of useful tips. You should be able to keep a cooler with ice for a week if packed full of block, left closed and out of the sun.

http://www.rokslide.com/2012-01-09-05-09-42/essentials

 

[Fjelljeger]

Great article. This site has such a wealth of information. I read another article on here somewhere on how to transport the meat back to your home state when flying. Now to try and find it again....

 

[phish938]

Put it on your back and take it like a man. But seriously I got into a small 5 point last season around early Oct solo mission. Got soaked the night of the kill getting the quarters and meat pulled off to wake up to 1/2 ft of snow and drifts that were hip deep (if you hunt central mt last year I am sure you will remember that front) Got him all packed to a ridge that was about 1000ft drop that drained into a closed road. Picked a clean steep part and sacrificed a run of the mill blue tarp that I had stashed at my spike camp and pulled that whole sob down to the road with part of camp and his head on my back. hiked the the rest out from there to avoid the up/down of that slope. Was still a killer 20 mile day but at least I only had to make one trip up that slope to get camp. Even telling this story makes me wonder why I am so excited for opener..... It's a sickness!

 

[MT_Nate]

Are you ready for something crazy?

Being a whitewater kayaker in my earlier days, I have accumulated a quiver of whitewater kayaks that I can't seem to let go of (contrary to the wife's requests). A few of the older kayaks have fairly significant volume capacity in them. One of my kayaker buddies told me he hauled one of his old kayaks hunting in case of a bad haul-out that consisted of a lot of steep downhill. He had twice packed boned-out elk meat by stuffing it into the kayak and kicking it down the slope for a ghost-ride.

So I gave it a shot in the mid-2000s with an elk I had shot about 2800 vertical feet off the deck of where I wanted to end up...boned the meat out and stuffed it into an old 13'/40lb Perception Mirage kayak I had brought along. Stabilized the meat in the front and back of a kayak with sticks cut-to-length and kicked it down the slope. It scooted down the slope and caught some air off a few benches and downfalls, but it probably ran 1900 vertical feet down talus and beargrass without a lick of my effort involved...and they kayak didn't suffer a crack. I figure that thing saved my knees and back, as well as several hours of effort ferrying loads. The meat was still in impeccable shape.

Just an idea. I hauled a kayak to hunting camp a couple years after, but didn't have the opportunity to utilize it. Since then, I haven't hauled again...but sometimes wish I did. I figure it looks a little strange in elk country in September with a whitewater kayak on top of your pickup . However, maybe it's time to relearn an old tactic though...definitely a pretty useful tool if you are only faced with a wicked downhill haul. The kayak slid through thick forest and downfall with little effort.

I tried the sled method on a late day in 2009 after shooting a bull 2500' above the valley (rain came and melted the snow that was previously there). I'll never do that again...the sled was hard to handle and ended up cracking when pulling over downfall. There had better be a nice road the next time I bring a sled along for a haul...

 

[hobbes]

MTNate I was about to mention that method. I've never done it but two buddies told me they ran into someone with a kayak in MT that told them of doing that very thing. I think they were hunting in SW MT back then.

 

[Hunt'nFish]

IMO, it's way harder to drag one out. Besides by the time you get back to the truck to get said drag sled, I'll have half it out and be drinking a cold beer at the truck refueling for the next load. Happiness is a heavy pack and a cooler full of cold beers. Each trip makes you feel like you earned them.
Hunt'nFish

 

[MT_Nate]

MTNate I was about to mention that method. I've never done it but two buddies told me they ran into someone with a kayak in MT that told them of doing that very thing. I think they were hunting in SW MT back then.

Hobbes...my buddy who utilized the kayak was hunting out of the North side of Quake Lake (West Yellowstone) for years and used the method for every haul out. I've never heard of another using it...it was probably him if the area sounds correct.

 

[5MilesBack]

Maybe it's just me, but the idea of hauling a 13'/40lb kayak up the mountain just seems to defeat the whole purpose of trying to make a packout easier. Sure kicking it off a mountain might get it to the bottom, but what gets it to the top?

 

[Fjelljeger]

Though I don't have a kayak, I do have a 16' canoe and duct tape ......
The original sled thought was just a thought. We plan on deboning and packing the meat out in our packs.
Thanks for all the replies....though I would love to see a fully loaded kayak careening down a mountain side...that would be too funny!

 

[hobbes]

MTnate I asked my friend about Quake lake and that was the area he used to hunt. Has to be the same guys.

 

[MT_Nate]

That is classic Hobbes. That was definitely them. Small world...

 

[The John]

I have "sledded" a gutted cow out of the woods, but there was about 12in of snow on the ground (which made it possible).

 

[SHTF]

I was thinking something like this

[video=youtube;H5ADbwfktYs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5ADbwfktYs&hd=1#t=72[/video]

 

[larryschwartz]

For the ice, putting dry ice in a cooler you store at the truck, sealed well but not air tight (the dry ice will turn back into CO2 gas over time and it will need to be able to escape the cooler) will keep any ice you store in it frozen until you need to use the cooler. Keep in mind that dry ice will FREEZE whatever is in the cooler, not just keep it COLD.

Since others have mentioned it, I will also suggest that you at least investigate coordinating with an outfitter or someone in the area with pack animals to come and haul it out once you contact him/her. Hopefully it would only be a few hours before they got to you and you could walk back some backstraps and other meat while he/she is getting to your location. Just make sure you have a sat phone or coverage on your cell phone to communicate with him/her.