Skin your elk ASAP. If you put him down at zero dark thirty, that's what flashlights/headlamps are for. Take care of the meat no matter what time you think you should be in bed or back at the cabin.....or one should never have taken the shot that late if not willing to do the work.
For most people, the hunts over when that one elk is fully prepped prior to butcherin'. Lots of time to sleep, rest, celebrate and call home AFTER caring for that animal.
