Toughest Elk Pack Out?

[ljsommer]

This thread is fantastic, keep em coming. 

[Pathfinder101]

This thread is fantastic, keep em coming. 

I'm waiting for CoryTDF to see this thread.  He packed out his entire 6 point bull this year, from the same area as my pictures (minus the draw), the day before the rest of us got to elk camp.  By himself.  One trip. 

no kidding.

[DOUBLELUNG]

This post triggered me, I need to go to my safe space for some fetal position time.

[Crunchy]

The worst for me was a cow I killed in Pumice Plains.  I wanted it to be a one day hunt, so me and buddy leave at 0200 to make the drive down.  By the time we park the truck near the trailhead I had been up for 24 hours.  Hit the trail and had to hick about 1.5 miles to cross the toutle river just to get into the Pumice Plains unit.  Once we crossed the river we hiked about another mile to mile and a half before I shot my cow.  Butchered her clean, and took half of her to the edge of the river.  Hiked back and got the rest of her and returned to the river.  Put waders on and shuttled her to the other side.  Then took half the remaining 1.5 miles to the truck, then turned around and got the second half.  Got to the truck at dark completely exhausted from no sleep for about 36 hours and made the 2.5 hour drive home. 

[brew]

About 10 years ago drew an any archery elk tag in the Manastash unit.  Hunted hard for 5 days and no shots but close.  Raining like a mother scooter so we decided to ride around and try to find the wife a doe to shoot.  Came around a corner and had a 6 pt with 3 cows right off the road.  73 yard shot and hit a little low.  GPS followed the blood for ¾ of a mile before he died.  Even in the pouring rain we knew he wasn’t hit good but still had a good blood trail. 75 yards up a quad trail from the road where he laid-for some reason he paralleled the road.  Backed the truck up and 5 of us drug him into the Ram truck that we backed into the ditch.  Hardest part was pulling the head back and tying it to the bumper.  Trying to find a pic to load.  Funny thing was the Game Warden was parked about 50 yards from us down the road as we loaded it and he never came up to check us.  Skinning him out we found a 3 blade muzzy with about 2” of arrow stuck in his neck in a softball sized callous.

[Skyvalhunter]

That's the kind of pack out I want

[Dan-o]

I've had a few really tough ones:

5-6 years ago i had walked a solid 150 yards up the rutted dirt road from camp when I heard cow elk (I thought it was some idiot blowing his call all over creation).   I hopped off the side of the road and shot a cow at 5 feet.    She died right there........    6 feet off the little dirt road to camp.     I had to walk all 150 yards back to camp to get my truck.

4 years ago I had a flapping meniscus in my knee and couldn't walk.  the plan was to drop my son at the bottom of a draw and then drive around and pick him up about 1.5 miles away at the top.   I dropped him off per plan, turned around and ran into elk after driving about 1 minute back out.   Hopped out, threw on my orange, uncased my muzzleloader and dropped my elk standing in my socks.    Called the boy on the radio and let him do all the work.   He did get to hunt about 3-4 minutes.    Yes, I was required to wear orange due to the area being open for modern.

On a more serious note, I have been fortunate enough to get two good bulls in my years.    the first one I was young, and dumber than I am now.    I was a ways in, but not ridiculously far.   But I was  unprepared.    It was steep.  I feel way too many times.    It took me 5 trips (quarters and head/cape).  It's been a lot of years, but I know I never cramped so hard and so bad and so long in my life.  I was thoroughly dehydrated and thought I was going to cramp to death.

[JM]

Wasn’t me but I saw a guy packing out a cow in Colorado last year 10 degrees, sloppy tying jobs on their packs, bones w/hooves and to top it off he had dumped out all of his water for some reason to save weight so he could get to the elk faster and they had some miles to cover. I tried to give them some advice that I’ve learned from running and hunting that every extra pound you carry is accumulated in every step you take but it was shrugged off. Looked pretty damned miserable to me.

[Dan-o]

I think this guy had a pretty tough pack out:

[Pegasus]

My toughest pack out was when I was driving down the road and observed an elk next to the road. I pulled over and the elk ran up the steep hill about 60 yards up and stopped. I got out and drilled it with my bow. It tried to run up hill and went two steps and keeled over. I climbed up and gutted it and then gave it a push. It slide down hill and stopped 5 yards from my vehicle. Another vehicle came by and the guy tried to help me load it into my vehicle. We could not do it and so we cut the elk in half. We were able to load the halves. I hurried back to camp and completed the skinning process. Boy, was I glad to have a beer after that.

[Skyvalhunter]

Dan did you sew that flapping meniscus up?

[elkrack]

Until I switched to bow hunting all of our elk came out whole. Lots of long drags. Now that I’ve been enlightened on quartering due to lack of people to drag life as an elk hunter is much easier. It was nice have elk hanging in camp whole.

[trophyhunt]

Until I switched to bow hunting all of our elk came out whole. Lots of long drags. Now that I’ve been enlightened on quartering due to lack of people to drag life as an elk hunter is much easier. It was nice have elk hanging in camp whole.

Your too young yet to have a tough elk pack out!!!  Wait about 10 more years, it will get tougher!!   

[Woodchuck]

Years ago, my kid and I each dropped spikes about 13 seconds apart on the same nasty shale slide, in the rain, on the last day of season. Any other time those elk would have tumbled for 100's of yards. When the road with the truck on it was down there, nope. We spent the better part of the day getting them tumbled down the hillside. I just kept looking at him and saying "ain't elk hunting fun?". I could say that phrase on the 4th of July and still get death glares from him. 

[The Marquis]

Years ago, my kid and I each dropped spikes about 13 seconds apart on the same nasty shale slide, in the rain, on the last day of season. Any other time those elk would have tumbled for 100's of yards. When the road with the truck on it was down there, nope. We spent the better part of the day getting them tumbled down the hillside. I just kept looking at him and saying "ain't elk hunting fun?". I could say that phrase on the 4th of July and still get death glares from him. 

This brings me true joy