How far would you pack out an elk

[Challis]

To me it is weather dependent. During archery season you have to be very careful with time and temperature to prevent meat spoiling. If the weather is cool and try, get the bull down and then figure it out.

 

[prm]

As should be clear, it really varies. I hit my solo limit at ~5mi each way from the truck. The route had one very, very steep climb that took ~30-40 min. From truck, climb was 9800’ to 11,600’. My feet were tired and one knee did not feel so great afterwards. Add snow or lots of dead falls and the difficulty goes up exponentially. (Unless you have a sled in the snow!).

 

[Wapiti1]

I would just suggest that you look at the area you want to hunt and have a plan. It is what it is. If you don't think you can pack one 3 miles, that's it. Stick to your plan.

I would also suggest that you stick to 3-4 miles max distance from the truck. Farther and you should do it in stages. It's a chore that you will learn your way through. Half of the pack out will be you adjusting your pack constantly and wondering why you thought this was a good idea.

I've never packed one a shorter distance than I wanted. It's part of the process. Plan for it, and enjoy your hunt. Understand meat care and how to cool it in warm weather.

My longest solo pack was about 5 miles. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but it would take me longer now. I'm weird, I like packing elk.

Jeremy

 

[5MilesBack]

Seems like if your solo one of the hardest things is just getting the damn pack on your back once its loaded.

I set it upright on the ground and sit in front of it. Then I slide my arms through the shoulder straps and snap the belt on and tighten all three as best I can. Then I roll over onto my hands and knees and stand up. That's with a heavy load, for loads under 70lbs I'll just pick it up and sling one arm through and on my back, then the other. Then tighten everything up.

 

[elknailer]

It's not how far would I its how far could I. At 72 it was 2.5 mi last fall, glad I had help!

 

[Indian Summer]

You said “I’m just excited to get out there and enjoy the experience”

You should come to the realization that there WILL be experiences that you will NOT enjoy. Don’t get me wrong you’ll look back someday and laugh but at the time of said experience you will get your arse handed to you if you’ve never done it before.

Whatever you envision as your max distance to be able to pack an elk out will shrink after your first couple days of hunting.

No matter what kind of shape you’re in trekking poles will help more than you can imagine.

It’s not about miles. It’s about the obstacles whether they are downed trees, rockslides, elevation changes and that doesn’t mean just going uphill. Downhill will also show you the meaning of pain.

I’ve always taken the heaviest loads first. I figure that’s when I’m the freshest. Every trip after that gets harder. Get a daypack that can double as a meat packer so you can take a quarter on the first trip. Then leave the weapon and everything else at camp and take a pack that’s made specifically for packing heavy loads. Toss in some snacks, headlamp and batteries, a shit load of water, and whatever other necessities you think you need depending on the circumstances.

But all the gloom and doom aside... if you are going to stick with elk hunting long term you’ll be the kind of person that laughs at pain and adversity. The type of guy who laughs when he’s ready to cry. A hunter who knows that that kind of stuff is what makes the reward so much sweeter. If you’re not that type of guy you’ll probably hang up elk hunting. So buy a bunch of really nice gear in case that happens so you won’t have trouble selling it in the classifieds. Lol

Good luck pilgrim!

 

[cnelk]

Bull killed at 11,000ft. One mile downhill to atv at 10,000ft will make your toes curl with a 90lb pack and gear

 

[Beendare]

I’ve done my share of pack outs over the last 3+ decades ...My worst was uphill both ways....


If you’re main concern is where you kill them ......you may never ever shoot one

——

 

[TheGDog]

RE: pack out, how useful would you guys say one of those single wheeled carts with the panniers are for somebody doing it solo?

 

[Huntnnw]

completely dependent on terrain. I have been in hells canyon where 2 mi is a nighmare and Id rather pack 8 miles on a trail. Or same trail with 6" of snow is a gamechanger

Lots of good info posted. realize as you are hiking into hunt what you are doing and ask yourself can you do this with 80-130lbs several times. My wife and I got into a really messed up spot this year chasing a bull and we left knowing it was not feasible to pack a elk out of there. We hiked in 8-12" of snow over 3.75 miles and it took us 10 hours to get out! huge dead fall after deadfall coupled with steep terrain.

 

[tigb27]

as far as i have too

 

[orionsbrother]

RE: pack out, how useful would you guys say one of those single wheeled carts with the panniers are for somebody doing it solo?

Unless you have a closed logging road that runs through the area that you hunt, I’d tell you to leave the cart at home.

 

[Elkhntr08]

I try not to think about the pack out until the animal is down. Then it’s, “well crap, now what do I do”.
I’m with Beendare, if that’s your main concern, you’ll probably won’t shot a elk or anything else for that matter.
Just get in the best shape you can and as with hunting, have a plan A, B & C.

 

[Scoot]

If you’re main concern is where you kill them ......you may never ever shoot one

——

Amen! I love packing elk out. It's painful sometimes, but it's the best kind of pain! Hurts, but I still have a smile on my face.

Packed one out with a buddy one time- we were 7 miles from the truck. That was a rough one. Tried to take a short cut and paid dearly for that mistake. Lesson learned...

 

[WCB]

RE: pack out, how useful would you guys say one of those single wheeled carts with the panniers are for somebody doing it solo?

I'd rather have weight on my back. I've hauled a bunch of deer on carts before and no matter how easy the terrain I'd rather have the weight on my back. On top of that your arms will gas out long before your legs will.

Some guys might like them but I'll choose my back 10/10

To the OP: Also avoid the "hey this way looks shorter" idea unless you have been through that way and know what it entails. My worst pack out was actually pulling a pack string with two dead elk. instead of taking the steep side hill we hunted and brought the animals down to retrieve the elk I knew of a trail across the drainage that we could get to that was much nicer riding. Well even though I had done the same thing the year prior we quickly found ourselves in new blowdown and a 30min ride almost turned into a rodeo and last a couple hours. The horses and mules new the trail but I had to keep pulling them off of it to go around another dead fall and by the time I decide we should probably turned around we were in the middle of it. Ended up saying screw it and since I was there tied the horses up cleared the rest of the trail with my axe and a 1 man crosscut saw.

 

[orionsbrother]

I try not to think about the pack out until the animal is down. Then it’s, “well crap, now what do I do”.
I’m with Beendare, if that’s your main concern, you’ll probably won’t shot a elk or anything else for that matter.
Just get in the best shape you can and as with hunting, have a plan A, B & C.

Yes. Within reason. If you’ve never packed an elk out, you’re solo, it’s warm and you’re six miles back in a hell hole... you might want to do some contemplation. Some suffering builds character. Wanton waste is illegal and wrong.

 

[Scoot]

Some suffering builds character. Wanton waste is illegal and wrong.

Bingo! Sometimes there is a fine line between being tough and being dumb!

 

[wyodan]

RE: pack out, how useful would you guys say one of those single wheeled carts with the panniers are for somebody doing it solo?

I watched a couple guys a few years ago suffer like I've never seen anyone suffer getting their elk most of the way out with a cart. Unless you are on flat land, I cannot see any benefit to using one of these. It's much easier to just load it up on you back and pack it out.

 

[nphunter]

I don't have a set distance and will pack out however far it is necessary to do so after killing an elk. For me the further from the road the higher my standards are for animal size. I defiantly wouldn't want to suffer to pack a spike out of a hell hole but a big mature bull I would happily pack out of the nastiest of holes.
I can't imagine anywhere that I couldn't pack an elk out of that I've hunted, we don't hunt near trails so all of our pack outs are long ways across the country or up nasty windblown north faces. I enjoy the suffering that packing out an elk offers, it makes the reward so much sweeter.
My furthest pack out so far was 3 miles in the bottom of a hell hole, 1000' vertical feet of creek crossings, vine maple, dead fall and rock slides, once we hit the ridge top we had about 600 yards of super thick dead reprod and then a decent trail for the last mile. Two of us packed out that bull in two trips, leap frogging the bull out, shot the bull at 8:00am, got back to the vehicle at 10:00pm, drove to town 2hrs away, put the elk in the fridge, dropped the head off in my garage, took a shower and were back to elk camp by 2am and up at 4:30 the following morning chasing elk trying to fill my buddies tag.

 

[Chris B]

It doesn't sound too bad sitting at home talking about packing elk . At 11,000 feet on a mountain side too steep to believe its another thing entirely. Even if your in great shape the elevation will reduce your physical capacity by a third to half of what you can do where you live . Ask me how I know.