Hike or raft for pack out?

[ArrowForester]

I’ve got a large bull down on a solo hunt and it is uncomfortably warm, upper 70s and sun in the afternoon and only down to 40 at night. It is 1.5 miles mostly downhill to spike camp by the trail and the stream. It is an additional 7.5 trail miles to a cooler with ice. Not real hard miles and mostly a gentle downhill, dropping just 1000 feet between spike and base. How do I get all of the meat and hide out without spoilage? Also need to get camp gear and want antlers as well.

Do I take care of the meat and get it hung and cooled overnight then submerge in the stream and start packing everything on my back? I would estimate 5 trips for a total of 65 miles, 35 of them with a heavy pack. Probably take two long days with some meat spending most of that submerged at approx 40 degrees.

Do I take care of the meat and get most of it hung to cool overnight while I pack one bag of meat out to a cooler. Then pack a raft back in and spend a long day lining the whole lot downstream to base camp? The creek winds more than the trail so probably close to 9 miles. Also likely to be no less than 50 logs to lift over or around by unloading and loading the raft each time. There is a possibility that I could sit in the raft and float a few stretches for a total of 1.5 miles.

Do I........do something else?

What would you advise? What do you see as pros and cons for making your decision?

 

[Poser]

Lining the meat down the river sounds extremely problematic and has the potential for something going awry, not to mention snagging the cord and keeping up with the craft for 9 miles. Without seeing the stream first hand, I would submerge the meat in dry or contractor bags and go for a manual packout.

 

[robby denning]

Phone a friend! Hahaha.

Seriously, I don’t know anything about the pack raft world, but I’ve noticed that Ryan Lampers and the Gritty have been posting and talking about it a lot. Maybe there’s some wisdom over there for you.


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[NJDiverDan]

My guess if that stream is running water and 40 degrees, the air above it will be 20-30 degrees cooler (in the shade) than the air temp. Get it all packed to the stream and hang it in the shade near by. I should be plenty cool enough. If still concerned, submerge in contractor bags. Better if you have let the meat air out over night first so it has dried some before wrapping in the contractor bag.

-dan

 

[Bl704]

Little ponies, big packouts. I was skeptical, but no more. (see phone a friend ^)

 

[GregB]

Don't pack in 9 miles on a solo elk hunt.

 

[87TT]

Just an FYI. I bought some heavy duty "contractor" bags...…….. They leaked. Fortunately I caught it in time and dried the meat out. Ended up laying the quarters in the bags in damp sand on the bank. Before you submerge them, try it. Mine had tiny leaks in the corners by the seams.

 

[ElkNut1]

7.5 miles one way is ridiculous as a lone hunter. OK, that's out of the way! (grin)

First & foremost, bone out the elk; forget about rib, flank & neck meat at that distance. Get the boned out meat, ( front-rear quarters, tenderloin & backstraps) in two trips to awaiting coolers, if you cannot then buck up your workout or forget about that crazy distance. 1000' in 7.5 miles is a cake walk compared to 2-4 thousand elevation changes in up & down fashion at that distance. Take a days rest if needed to pack out your bivy gear, it won't rot!

ElkNut

 

[Brooks]

Horses !! Hire someone with horses and get packed out. If you kill a bull during the day quarter it up hang it in a tree and have a packer go get it at first light in one trip. In N.M. neck meat has to come out.

 

[87TT]

What happens if the bull doesn't go down right away? what if he heads away from your camp and or your rig? Say he travels 2 or 3 maybe more in the wrong direction?

 

[ridgefire]

We have built an igloo type shelter out of logs and branches right over the creek. Keeps it shaded and it stayed nice and cool.

 

[sneaky]

Shoot it with a camera that far in

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[Dos Perros]

I'd have a packer lined up.

Second choice is put the meat by the creek in the shade and buck up. That's a distant second choice.

 

[Swede]

I would never go back in a place like that by myself. The only way I would shoot an elk that I found back there would be if it let my put a leash on it and lead it back close to the truck.
That said, my advise would be to take a load of meat out first. Take some salt back with you and put that on the hide to preserve it, then take out the remainder of the boned out meat. I would not leave a scrap of meat for the buzzards and coyotes. As ElkNut said, your camp will wait, and so will the antlers unless you need them out first for legal purposes.
I know the author of the thread has not indicated anything other than wanting to get his game out. I fully agree with that. If you need to waste any significant portion of the meat because it is too far back to carry it out, you are hunting too far out. In Oregon it is illegal to waste any game animal or edible portion thereof, except of cougar.

 

[PMcGee]

As others have said 7.5 miles is far solo. I don’t think I’d try the raft thing. I’d either have someone lined up to help or hunt closer. 2 of us carried my buddies bull out last year that far. I don’t think I’d try it solo unless temperatures were perfect.


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[idahohikker]

The raft idea sounds like a nightmare.

 

[fatlander]

I don’t see how the raft would be easier in your situation you’ve described. The only way I could see that working is if it was a creek (river) actually big enough to get in the raft and paddle around obstacles. Just bushwhacking with the ropes sounds like a living hell, not to mention obstacles in the stream.


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[ArrowForester]

Thank you for all of the feedback. Some of it is what I expected for sure so let me provide a few responses.

Yes, 7.5 miles to spike and another 1 to 3 to hunt and/or track an elk is ridiculous for a solo hunter in hot weather. I agree but a lot of us have done ridiculous things in our time, I try to limit mine but sometimes they happen.

My primary concern is for the meat, secondary is the hide and camp gear is certainly last with any antlers. Abandoning the neck, ribs, and extras is not in my plan - it all comes out if there is a chance to use it.

I would really like to hunt this area again and if I do I must plan for success, even if unlikely, which is why I'm trying to figure out meat retrieval options. I have hunted there twice when more options were available - friends and horses and cooler weather. I have gone to hunt there three more times but did not due to warm weather and lack of help for pack out.

The stream is decent size and tangling lead lines is not a worry. There is some big timber so trees that fall across the waterway can often cause a blockage. Were it not for the trees I could float a loaded raft 7 of the 9 miles and line it through some shallow sections at low flows. If the water was up at all you could float all the way, except for the trees.

The trail is mostly close to the stream and I have seen all of it. I have waded and fished over three miles of it. I am confident of the float option except for the fallen tree obstacles. BUT, I have never done any rafting with that big of a load and that number of obstacles for that distance and figure there is something I am overlooking. I was counting on you guys to fill my knowledge gap and/or tell me how stupid I am.

I believe I am up for the hard work of the pack out on trail. And I am trying to plan for meat preservation with various cooling techniques, citric acid, and situational awareness. But I keep being tempted by the thought of possibly saving a whole day and getting the meat to coolers early with a raft.

Also, I was planning the salt for the hide as mentioned.

Thanks again for the feedback and I welcome more. Good, bad, critical, whatever ya got.

 

[Extrapale]

Elk capes are cheap. I would never pack a cape 7-10 miles on my back.

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[ArrowForester]

Some pics of the stream in question

Lower reaches near base camp



Three miles upstream from base camp



Halfway to spike camp