Spring bear has proven the most difficult for me as it spoils quickly and there has been some trial and error over the years. This method also works for caribou and moose,, so should be fine for elk too. I've settled on a 200gt cabelas cooler and a yeti 65. I pre-chill both with a sacrificial bag of ice starting the night before. A week or so prior to the hunt I'll also freeze enough bottles of various sizes that will fill the 200qt cooler at least half way. Right before heading out I dump the sacrificial ice, fill the large cooler with the frozen bottles and a couple of bags of ice(not broken up). The yeti gets cold beer, some cold groceries and packed full of loose ice. When successful I always spray the quarters with citric acid and allow the meat to air cool and dry prior to placing in the large cooler with the bottles. That cooler will not get opened again unless it is to add more meat and it will get stashed in the darkest shade I can find. Be sure that spot is shaded all day as the sun moves across the sky. If we end up killing enough bears that the large cooler is full, we drink the beer and add the surplus meat to the yeti. We still let it cool and dry, but we also place it in ziplocs prior to puttimg it on ice so it doesn't get wet. I also never just pile the meat in either cooler. I always place frozen bottles between the quarters, otherwise they won't cool properly. If hunting near a cold clear creek I will bring high quality roll top dry bags to take the place of the coolers allowing me to submerge the meat in the cold water, it's a perk of the very cold waterways in Alaska.
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. Coming back to cold beers and a block of cheese was great!
