Bringing back the elk

 

The meat diva at the end of the hunt

The whole point of the elk hunt is to bring back meat, and we managed to bring back plenty. This year I needed the meat for my freezer a little more badly than usual. I had not done very well on my earlier deer hunts, and the freezer had been looking a tad empty. But not so after the hunt - I got enough elk meat now to feed me for a year.

Bringing back the elk is a lot of work. You got to butcher the elk in the field and then carry him back to the boat on your back. One of the pack outs this year was over 4 miles. On the boat you got to keep the meat clean and dry. This means that you got to protect it from the rain and change the cotton game bags on a regular basis. And then when you do get back to Kodiak you have to cut it all up and package it for the freezer. This year we cut up all the meat in one long day. It might be the quickest we have ever cut up all the elk. The Juneau crew was the 'A-team' with the knives.

Patrick