I think what we are going to do is 2 of us go but only one of us buy an elk tag, and the other buy a deer tag. We'll take one rifle, and one sidearm. For the trek in, one person carry the rifle/ammo, the other has the tent and sidearm. Leaves us with equal space/weight remaining for carrying things each person will need, food, sleeping bag, etc. We'll be preparing for the weather the week before we leave to go out. I'm hoping 2nd rifle season will be somewhat mild. Highs in the 60's and lows in the 30's would be nice....
I can understand wanting to save on non-resident tag costs the first time out, but just be advised, if you both get a chance at elk you'll be kicking yourselves!
I can also understand wanting to trim weight down as much as possible but if you have decently lightweight backpacking gear including a good pack you'll see that you both could have carried in rifles.
As far as highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s, that's more like mid-September weather. 2nd rifle can be mild, or........make sure you have good chains for your tires.
