I was at a loss for words. I knelt beside the elk and just couldn't believe the size of him. I leaned over, buried my face in his neck and inhaled until it hurt. It was a smell I never want to forget.
I gave thanks to the Lord, performed a Last bite ritual, took some photos, and then went to work making meat.
It took 4 hours to quarter and debone him, and cache the quarters in the deep cool shade. I picked out the quickest route on my map, loaded up one quarter and the neck meat, and made for the trail head. Time was of the essence.
It was exactly 4.9 miles, as the crow flies, from the kill to the trailhead. I figured that first load was close to 100lbs and it nearly killed me getting it out. At the main campground I ran into the guide I met earlier in the Wildernesss and his outfitter. They had a wrangler there who offered to pack the rest of my elk out for a small fee. I jumped at the opportunity and agreed to meet him back here at the trailhead at 7:00am.
I then made tracks back to the kill, moved the cache another 100yards away from the carcass, and by dark was ready to go back for my final night in the Gila.
I left my stinky socks and shirt just uphill from the cash, and urinated on the downhill side to keep coyotes off the meat. My shirt stunk so bad it could have repelled a starving grizzly!
I made it back to camp and collapsed without dinner in my bag that night.
Topic: A little Pre-elk Season Story. (Read 6001 times)
