mad_angler
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- May 10, 2013
- Messages
- 213
Good points... let me work myself through this... Let's consider my hunt last week. Let's say I killed one right when I was going to leave on the night in question. Now, I have an elk on the ground, it is still dropping heavy, wet snow, and I am already slightly hypothermic. How would I handle that?Not to be antagonistic, but ending a hunt 30 min before dark to avoid hiking at night seems illogical to me. If you happened to be successful anytime after a morning hunt, you’d likely be hiking in the dark for multiple hours anyway. On the same trail, just now with 50+lbs of meat on your back, and a carcass attracting predators to return to over and over.
What about the situation makes you concerned to do it when unsuccessful vs successful? Are you bushwhacking with no light trying not to spook game and slipping on rocks and stuff?
I’d boil it down to what concerns you about it and fix that. Walking sticks plus a bright red headlamp takes away most concerns of terrain for me.
If the situation calls for concern hiking at night, you better end your day wayyyy before the fading light.
First, I would realize that I am in for a long night. I would probably do some jumping jacks to warm up a bit. I would build a simple shelter and start a fire. I would drink some hot liquid to warm my core. Then, I would get to work on the elk. I would use the warmth of the elk to keep my hands warm. The work of breaking it down would probably keep me warm.
If I was warm enough, I would break it all down and hang it from an improvised meat pole.
If I was too cold, I would gut it and break open the hips to cool the meat down.
In either case, I would probably leave the meat in the woods. I would hike back to camp and sleep. I would come back in the morning with an empty pack to starting hauling the meat out.
Once the meat is hanging, I personally would not haul a lot of meat in the dark especially if bushwacking. It is going to take me several days to move the meat alone. I don't see a real difference between it hanging at the kill site or hanging at camp.