Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What's the Fartherest You've Packed one out on your Back?!?!!?

....now the lies can begin [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]....or at least a little truth can be stretched!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <P>What would you say the greatest distance you carried an elk out on your back? [img]images/icons/shocked.gif" border="0[/img] ....and what was the total cost of the medical bills to get that same back re-aligned? [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>...how about deer, they're a liitle lighter, so these numbers oughta go WAY into double figures for sure! [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>DS

'Slayer:<P>I know that some people are going to claim that they have packed further and worked harder than my claims, but you said "no lies". <P>The farthest that I have packed out an elk, on my back, entirely by myself is 3 miles. It took six trips to hawl out the elk and I had to go back for my camp. So the total round trip distance for all seven legs of the task was 36 miles. That's long enough for me.<P>Once five of us packed out three elk from five miles in. But that's about the same amount of work for each person.<P>While thinking about your question, I just realized that the farthest I have packed out a deer is about a mile. That was a spike buck and I did it in one trip over my shoulder and that was the end of that shirt. I have been lucky enough to take several other deer much closer to the road.<P>The packing job that seemed the worst was actually only about 1 1/2 miles. But the climb was very steep uphill over loose footing. <P>I don't recommend packing uphill but the elk often don't cooperate. I think that they should attend some teamwork seminars. Maybe try to make things easier on a poor, old, tired, hunter like me. <P>Speaking of that, I once had a gentlemanly elk display the uncommonly good courtesy to die on the uphill side of a dirt road that was cut into the hill side. All I had to do was back the pickup to the side of the road and roll the elk onto the tailgate. That was great but I haven't had one jump into the back of my pickup and die there yet.<P>KC

Some very good remarks and humor, KC...and I never said you couldn't lie, what I said was, "now the lies can begin [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] or truth stretching"...you know, like old fisherman like Sonnie telling of that 1 pound bass they caught, when he re-tells it 5 years later it's now a 7 pounder and had 3 eyes! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif" border="0[/img] <P>But I do believe you have spoken truthfully, and can only say, I'm glad I wasn't sweating with ya those three miles with an elk on my back! [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>DS

A trail wise hunter always hunts up from the trail or road. Turn that sucker up on his back and ride him down to the trail. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] -- no

........you wouldn't happen to have a photo of this feat being pulled off would you,Sonnie?! [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>DS

Ten miles exactly as read by a quad, counting the switches in the trail... NO JOKE. I had a friend with me when I shot it and we made one trip out that day. I ran up after work the following evening with a friend and we got the rest out. I made it to work the next day and was a hurtin unit, but was in good shape at the time just exausted. There was part of a bad front shoulder due to an injury, but over 200lbs of meat nonetheless. It was a nice big 6X6.. got the whole hunt and harvest on video.

KC, Since you know the west elk wilderness you could probably appreciate this effort. The elk was backpacked from timberline on the west side of west elk peak. My truck was parked at the dead end of the access road by the cliffs at Mosely ridge. This is the access road that comes in by paonia reservoir. Packed out through soap basin and down the little robinson cow camp trail. Four trips of a good 15+ miles each way best I could figure counting the switchbacks. That happenned about 25 years ago when I was in pretty fair shape and had more energy than sense. Unforunately now my energy level is about equal with my senses. Greenhorn, send me an email.

For me it's about three miles or a little better (one way), and about 2000' of vertical. Seriously ugly deadfall the whole way, or you can bet I'd have gotten horses at least partway. Took four trips for the elk and my camp.<P>Lord knows his ego doesn't need stoking ;-), but the backpack feat Greenhorn just mentioned is about the most hardcore meat backpacking venture I know of. He's being kind of self-effacing about it...That was ten miles ONE WAY, folks. And about 2800' vertical. Plus as I recall he said the packs weighed over 70#. I know if I backpacked that much, that far, after work one day, about the only place I'd be the next day is in bed or the hospital...

No one could ever say you guys didn't earn your meat. My story pales by comparison, but it is funny. <P>Greenhorn I have your pic, use it as a desktop pic. Rimrock sent it to me. what a packing story! <P> My story concerns two bull elk. It was my first time hunting elk. On the last day of a six day season, my friend and I both shot young bulls out of a herd within seconds of each other. One was a spike, the other a 2 x 3. <P> We didn't quarter them, figuring we could pull them across the meadow, down the wooded slope to the truck. We first tried a come along which pulled out the small trees we attached it to, never to move the first bull. We then attached both ends of my tow strap to the first bull's neck, and climbed into the large loop. On the count of three we both tugged forward and slammed into each other. We then tied the middle of the tow strap to the neck, making two separate loops. We pulled them over the meadow and down a thickly wooded hillside to the truck. The distance was 3/4 of a mile. There was little snow and plenty of large rocks. It took three hours to do this to both elk. We would lean forwards at a 45 degree angle and pull like heck for 10 or 15 feet, then collapse. We tried leaning backwards too. <P> The best part of this story? There was a road that went to that meadow. We discovered it the next year.<P> ---Ross

This topic is bringing out the die-hards!<BR>Greenhorn, I can only imagine!...<BR>I know we flew into the Selway Bitteroot in '98 and found ourselves on on a creek bottom, with the first good sign of elk almost ten miles away.....vertcal all the way!<BR>We hiked out of here the first two days, butt after that, we began to realize, getting one back down that far would be more work than we were capable of, so we settled for the deer and bears we also carried tags for.<BR>DS

Slayer, <P>Luckily, I usually hunt w/three others. We all pitch in no matter who is successful. Packed in and camped about 3 miles from truck transport and hunting 2 miles from camp in fairly high elevation (10,700ft), I had to drag out a 5x5. Many places in Colorado's, White River National Forest, do not allow wheeled transport regardless of motorized or not. Our four wheelers were not allowed for the 2 miles of the journey and could make only pickup and delivery to the trucks and coolers from camp.<P>Many places do not lend themselves to four wheeler use, either to densely forrested or elev/terrain or simply not allowed by law. The latter of which applied for us.<P>Anyway, I remember this one because under the first leg of the transport, I had tripped under low to no light conditions coming down with a rear ham quarter compression strapped to by pack frame. I hit a rock on the way down, which cut and bruised me to the bone at the mid point on my thin skinned fibula/tibia area. It hurt like hell and I thought I broke it at first. Its amazing how you just keep going under tough conditions, knowing that the meat needed care and transport and there were really no alternatives, you just keep pressing on. A lot of what does that is still the adrenaline rush from the successful kill keeping you pumped up. <P>I made two round trips from the kill site with quarters to the four wheeler transport and then back out again with the rack, which makes for about 10 miles of total walking. This in itself is not any great feat, but under the circumstances, my leg had swelled and was absolutely killing me when it was all said and done. I still have a really nice scar from it, which reminds me not only of the hunt, but maybe a little bit about myself. I know a few guys who would have thrown in the towel.<P>~rossi~

Hunter:<P>As the crow flies, it's about 12 miles from the Little Johnson Creek Trailhead (at that big gate) to the top of West Elk Peak. I have no doubt that counting all the switch backs, it's 15 miles. And you have to go up and over that little pass to get from Soap Basin to Little Johnson Creek. Well at least the terrain isn't too steep. That's way longer than any distance I have packed on my back. Sure is pretty country.<P>KC

Once told a friend about a spot to shoot a dall sheep, that would only be a 3 or 4 mile pack out. As he was driving in on a small gravel road, a good full curl ram crossed the road in front of him and stood around long enough to get shot. <P>Have no idea why that sheep left the mountains to come down into the low country.<BR>art

The longest elk pack for me was only 2 miles and there were 4 of us,pretty uneventfull.My respect goes to the guy who shot the bull though.The day before he shot it he had surgery on his big toe,removed most of the nail and some tissue.The pack was mostly downhill and a half mile of flats to the road.When he took off his boot at the truck I swear he could wring the blood from his sock.<P>The longest pack out I did was 2 bighorn sheep.We shot both rams with half hour legal shooting light on the last day of the season.We were over 5 miles from the trailhead and also had to ford the Highwood river and more than a foot of snow on the ground and snowing hard by nightfall.We left the rams on the mountain overnight and made 3 trips the next day getting them out.My freinds ram made book and mine made a fine trophy I will never forget.

Mag Freak....two sheep on the last day...the stuff dreams are made of!!!<P>Rossi, your right, many would have thrown in the towel!!!!!! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif" border="0[/img] <P>Sitka....ok, that must have been the shortest pack out! [img]images/icons/cool.gif" border="0[/img] <P>KC...you sound like a "walking Topo!".....do you have the whole state memorized, or just the West Elks! [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>DS

You guys are some serous hard core hunters. I've been there enough to feel the strains and pains just reading about some of these packs.<P>Longest elk solo was 1/4 mile around a cliff face to get a 6x6 to where the horses could reach. No hurry, cold and snow, and I worked on it for two days. Three of us packed a spike about two miles downhill, lots of deadfalls & misery.<P>I packed all the boned out meat of a Stone ram 15 1/2 miles, plus gear for 8 days. Cape and horns carried by a friend. 22 sizeable stream crossings, one of them a waist deep river.<P>Longest solo deer was 8 1/2 - 9 miles on a boned out blacktail fork horn, fortunately a small buck. One mile up, 7 1/2 miles trail, mostly downhill. Last afternoon of season. OK, it's dumb to work that hard for a small buck.<P>Big moose, 1/4 mile through swamps and over steep little stone ridges about 40 feet high. Cold enough weather to allow two days, but very hard work.

Okanagan,......that Stone Ram hunt sounds like a doozy!........any details????

Slayer, I've been offline for over a week and just caught your question. You are right that the Stone sheep hunt was a doozy, for several reasons, mainly one of my companions. We hunted in northern BC, I'd rather not say precisely where. Beautiful country, incredible variety of game. We saw sheep, goats, elk, moose, caribou, black and grizzly bear, two wolverines and several funny looking deer I'd guess were mule-whitetail cross. <P>Three friends hunting together. We spotted two rams at about a mile, in knee high scrub brush below us near a stream. We moved within 1/2 mile and decided one was full curl and so legal. I didn't have a sheep tag but my two partners did. The rams crossed the stream and went up an open slope and out of sight behind the corner of some cliffs rising up on our left. We eased closer, peeked around the corner of rock wall, couldn't see anything and figured the rams had bedded as it was mid morning by then. Gobi desert type of dry and open country, well above timberline or even brush line.<P>My partners climbed around above the cliffs, splitting up to look down into the jumble of boulders along the base. As they moved farther along the top of the canyon, I would ease forward to keep them in sight, and hunker behind a boulder or rock ledge wall. The second time I started to move ahead the guy farther away from me waved me back. He was on a ledge halfway up the cliff, about 200 yards from me. One step put me back behind my rock ledge. I heard stones rattling and saw both rams heading up a near-vertical chute right at the guy on the ledge. He could hear them coming but couldn't see them. I focused my binoculars on him and the rams as the sheep popped out on a sidewalk width ledge about 6 or 8 feet from the muzzle of his .338 and stopped in confusion. He shot the biggest ram through the ribs and it didn't move so he hit it again and it fell all the way down to my level. About 2 inches past full curl, beautiful ram, about 38 inches. <P>No telling who might be reading this so I'll leave out the doozy partner stuff. The evening before and again that same morning, my other partner and I had passed up the biggest 5x5 bull elk I've ever seen anywhere. He was legal but too far to ever pack the meat out in that mild weather, about 21 miles to the plane. He had massive long main beams with tines that got longer and heavier all the way up. The 4th and 5th tines were exactly matched on both sides and at least 28 inches long, set in a shallow V, almost flat, that gave the top tips an incredibleby dramatic distance between them. Massive mature bull but only 5x5.

Okanagan.....the kinda hunts we dream about!.......21 miles back in, so you had to let the bull of a lifetime go! ,....and you don't have to tell me about sappy hunting partners....I've run into a couple myself! [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] <P>That is truely awsome country up there. While I've never hunted BC, I have hunted Alaska a couple of times, and will be going back next Sept for Dalls.....

I just read over my earlier post and regarding the bull elk, 28 inch tines on top seem too long to be possible, even though that is my mental image of them. Let's just say he was a huge 5x5 with antlers so long and flared so wide on top that he looked weird, kind of prehistoric in shape.