Packing game out of the backcountry is pretty new to me. I've only been doing it since I moved to Oregon five years ago. Back in South Dakota we usually were able to drive up to the animal and load it in the pick up, or simply gut it and drag it out a shot distance.
My question is, how much of the animal do you guys actually pack at one time? I get impatient and try to pack probably too much. I want to get the animal out as quick as possible because I don't want other animals messing with my food.
A couple examples:
Last year I shot a small mulie buck just inside a wilderness area. It was about a 2 mile pack out as the crow flies. All downhill in pretty steep terrain, losing a total of roughly 2000 feet over the course of the 2 miles. I quartered the deer and packed the whole thing out in one trip. By "whole thing" I mean everything but the ribcage, spine, hide, forelimbs and guts. I also had a daypack and my rifle. One of the buckles on my frame pack cracked but I was able to repair it with 550 cord.
Yesterday I shot an average sized cow elk. It was about three and a half miles back to the pickup over rolling terrain and crossing one good sized ravine. It was getting later in the day and I hate leaving animals out overnight (dang coyotes and magpies!). My third and final pack out was two fore quarters and one hind quarter. It was very heavy. In fact, in order to put the loaded pack on I had to sit on the ground and buckle it around my waist and chest, roll on to my side, then my chest, then work my way in to a power squat. I was eventually able to stand up and walk the whole way out. I am very tired today.
In other instances where I had further to go, or more uphill, I've carried a lot less at one time. Say a single quarter for an uphill five mile pack out.
My question is: How much do you guys carry at one time on your frame pack for a particular circumstance?
My question is, how much of the animal do you guys actually pack at one time? I get impatient and try to pack probably too much. I want to get the animal out as quick as possible because I don't want other animals messing with my food.
A couple examples:
Last year I shot a small mulie buck just inside a wilderness area. It was about a 2 mile pack out as the crow flies. All downhill in pretty steep terrain, losing a total of roughly 2000 feet over the course of the 2 miles. I quartered the deer and packed the whole thing out in one trip. By "whole thing" I mean everything but the ribcage, spine, hide, forelimbs and guts. I also had a daypack and my rifle. One of the buckles on my frame pack cracked but I was able to repair it with 550 cord.
Yesterday I shot an average sized cow elk. It was about three and a half miles back to the pickup over rolling terrain and crossing one good sized ravine. It was getting later in the day and I hate leaving animals out overnight (dang coyotes and magpies!). My third and final pack out was two fore quarters and one hind quarter. It was very heavy. In fact, in order to put the loaded pack on I had to sit on the ground and buckle it around my waist and chest, roll on to my side, then my chest, then work my way in to a power squat. I was eventually able to stand up and walk the whole way out. I am very tired today.
In other instances where I had further to go, or more uphill, I've carried a lot less at one time. Say a single quarter for an uphill five mile pack out.
My question is: How much do you guys carry at one time on your frame pack for a particular circumstance?