Evidently my choice of words was raw. Its how I feel though. My apologies to you for that.
No apology necessary. It’s not your choice of words I take issue with, but what’s implicit in them.
Helping your fellow hunter or backcountry traveler when it’s truly needed is a given, no question about that. But I come at it from a different direction—personal responsibility. If you’re going to hunt big game in the backcountry (especially elk) it’s your responsibility to have a plan for how you’re going to recover it, and have the wherewithal to do it. If you don’t have both you risk wasting the meat and nobody wants to be that guy. You shouldn’t need help and I would never expect a complete stranger to drop what he’s doing and help me pack my elk out on his back. If someone wants to offer his help, that’s his choice and a great gift but I have no right to expect it. There are any number of good reasons a person could have for not offering that kind of help, and I don’t believe it’s my place to question his motives or label him lazy or greedy if he doesn’t make the offer.
Calling someone lazy means (to mean anyway) he’s shirking his duty. The way I see it, it’s not his duty to help pack out my animal. And I'd hate for any new elk hunters reading this to get the idea that other hunters should be willing to help them pack out their animal if they're successful. Because they need to rely on themselves, not the kindness of strangers.
