I was thinking back today about some of the critters we've packed out over the years & realized what a "memory builder" some of them are! (grin) Mostly just thinking of Elk since they seem to expire in some of the darndest places & they're big critters! As I was reminiscing to myself over many different ones & shaking my head over a few of the distances & terrains to over come, a couple really stood out & one in particular for sure!
It was many moons ago when my 32 year old son was 16, it was us two & two friends that we were calling for. We had split up aprox 5 miles back in, my son took the one guy & I took the other. After a couple hours of hunting I got a call on the radio (motorolas) that the guy had just shot a nice 6X7 bull with his bow. They were sitting it out for 45min or so, in the meantime Donny & I headed their direction, when we arrived they were standing over the bull. Big bodied brute for sure & now we were aprox 7 miles back.
We scratched our head about going back for pack frames since that is what we usually did, it was now 11 am. it was getting hot to boot! Those days we never owned anything other than daypack/fannypack style packs, certainly not meat haulers! No water bladders or anything of the sort either, just a couple water bottles. My Son & I always carried 4 bags apiece with us so that was not a problem to get the meat into game bags! We decided we did not want to come back for a 2nd trip. We quartered up the bull & left all quarters on the bone for structure, backstraps & loins were put in the front shoulder bags & no burger of sorts was coming out.
That was thee most grueling & miserable elk pack out I'd ever experienced by a mile! (grin) I carried a hindquarter over my right shoulder then my left & back to the right one then back again then across back of neck then in both front arms like a forklift & back over the shoulder there was no good way after miles of it, etc. We ran out of water of all sorts well short of getting out & it was getting very hot & everything about all of us ached to no end & there was no comfortable position to carry those awkward quarters over the rough terrain.
It was by far the most memorable packout I'd ever done & one I never wish to repeat!! I think that one left a mark!!!! (grin) I will say it still sits right at the top of my memory banks!!! Maybe just maybe this is why I think all packs with meat carrying capabilities are a god-send! (grin)
How about you hunters, is their a special Packout that stands out with you that was shared by friends or family, it need not be brutal, just a memory builder? Thanks!
ElkNut1
It was many moons ago when my 32 year old son was 16, it was us two & two friends that we were calling for. We had split up aprox 5 miles back in, my son took the one guy & I took the other. After a couple hours of hunting I got a call on the radio (motorolas) that the guy had just shot a nice 6X7 bull with his bow. They were sitting it out for 45min or so, in the meantime Donny & I headed their direction, when we arrived they were standing over the bull. Big bodied brute for sure & now we were aprox 7 miles back.
We scratched our head about going back for pack frames since that is what we usually did, it was now 11 am. it was getting hot to boot! Those days we never owned anything other than daypack/fannypack style packs, certainly not meat haulers! No water bladders or anything of the sort either, just a couple water bottles. My Son & I always carried 4 bags apiece with us so that was not a problem to get the meat into game bags! We decided we did not want to come back for a 2nd trip. We quartered up the bull & left all quarters on the bone for structure, backstraps & loins were put in the front shoulder bags & no burger of sorts was coming out.
That was thee most grueling & miserable elk pack out I'd ever experienced by a mile! (grin) I carried a hindquarter over my right shoulder then my left & back to the right one then back again then across back of neck then in both front arms like a forklift & back over the shoulder there was no good way after miles of it, etc. We ran out of water of all sorts well short of getting out & it was getting very hot & everything about all of us ached to no end & there was no comfortable position to carry those awkward quarters over the rough terrain.
It was by far the most memorable packout I'd ever done & one I never wish to repeat!! I think that one left a mark!!!! (grin) I will say it still sits right at the top of my memory banks!!! Maybe just maybe this is why I think all packs with meat carrying capabilities are a god-send! (grin)
How about you hunters, is their a special Packout that stands out with you that was shared by friends or family, it need not be brutal, just a memory builder? Thanks!
ElkNut1