Long time lurker here. I mainly hang out on the reloading and rifle forums. Lots of knowledgeable people here.
I had to join and hop into the discussion here. To the original poster, don't get discouraged. You can do this by yourself, but you need to be prepared. I have hunted off and on all my life, but really got bit by the hunting bug 5 years ago. 30 was rapidly approaching and I realized I wasn't taking enough time to stop and enjoy life. I decided to devote some time to hunting because I really enjoy it. My first elk hunt got canceled because I fell off of scaffolding at work and broke my wrist, arm, and elbow a couple of days before hunting season.
My second trip was with my uncle, mainly road hunting to familiarize ourselves with the area around Mt. Raineer.
No luck and I don't like road hunting. Third year/trip, I ended up going by myself because hunting partner had to cancel. I was in Eastern WA, just north of Ellensburg, because I had seen a lot of elk the weekend before while deer hunting.
I got one within two hours of first light on opening day (luck). I was not prepared at all for the size of the animal. Just gutting the animal was a huge job compared to the deer I have killed. I also had no idea what quartering an animal for packing was. I literally quartered the animal into four equal size parts with a hatchet and framing hammer. I grabbed the head and put the tenderloins, heart and liver into my small day pack. I got back to my car, stuffed the meat into a cooler and moved the vehicle closer to where I had killed the elk. Now I only had to hike downhill a mile, grab a quarter and hike back up to the car. I had no rope and no pack big enough to haul meat. I did not properly quarter, or even skin the animal. I slung one of the rear quarters over my shoulder in a modified fireman's carry and trudged uphill to the car. It was hard, akward work.
When I got back to the car, a couple of people wanted to talk and congratulate me on my elk. I rested a bit and then went and grabbed the next rear quarter. This trip was much harder than the first. I had to stop and lower the quarter to the ground several times to rest my back. When I was nearly to my car, I passed a man on an atv who was coming down the trail. I was just about to warn him that vehicles were not allowed off the main forest service roads. Turns out he was one of the guys that I had talked to up at my vehicle earlier. Apparently there was a DFW officer just down the main forest service road that had given this guy permission to head down the trail with an atv and help me. The next two quarters were very easy as all I had to do was walk beside the atv and make sure the 2 front quarters did not fall off the back seat.
I am not superman, but am in reasonably good shape because of my job as a carpenter. The Olympics won't be calling me anytime soon, but I can still run a mile in under 6 min. and 5 miles in 35 min. Still the job would be much easier with the proper pack equipment. I am going to get one of those internal frame daypacks that are small and light, yet allow quarters to be strapped in/on them. If I can't afford one of those by next season, I will buy a plain pack frame ($70-80 at sportco). One of those wheeled carts would not work where I hunt, but they may be useful in other areas. Get all the excess weight you can off the quarters (maybe even debone the whole thing). The weight I carried was 100-150lbs and I hurt for a few days because of the akward way I had to walk with that quarter slung over my shoulder.
PM me if you want any help figuring out where to hunt and what tags you want to apply for. In general, Western WA is 3point or better, and Eastern WA is spike bull only. If you get drawn for any special permits, you could vastly increase your chances of success. I totally understand having to do it on the cheap. Carpentry work is hard to come by at the moment, so I camp light and cheap as well. Just don't go as cheap as I did for my first elk.
