My old man got it done on Saturday morning!
Tough day of hunting on Friday (the opener) had us questioning whether we were up for this. Access in this unit is difficult, and the timber company land open to hunting is walk-in/bike-in only. Meaning you definitely don't want to shoot one too far from the gate.
Fortunately, we walked around the corner of a logging road Saturday morning and saw this bull standing there 60 yards away. Just under two miles (all downhill) from the gate. It was still plenty of work!
Big thanks to Gutpile for his help and encouragement in this whole process, and Tony as well. Also thanks to Elkslayer, and the many others who offered to help pack out our bull if we needed the assistance (shoutout to Vandeman and wannabehuntr and walleyeguy for their generous offers to help us haul out the bull if necessary!).
Really grateful to have had this cool experience with my dad. He is elated. 43" spread on the bull, and an old, deep cut at the base of the bull's ear that was infested with maggots.
The meat looks great though. No visible parasites or cysts. We ate some tenderloin last night and it was fantastic.
Thanks again to all who supported us and were rooting for us with this. Grateful for the Hunting Wa community!