I put together car kits and re-vamped my daypack survival kit after Mr. Lee went missing in Oregon. I've read a lot of survival stories and advice from some notable experts and some not-so-reliable sources. As a result, I've come up with some ideas of my own. Here they are:
Since you'll be hunting Elk, you'll already be carrying a capable rifle, ammunition, knife and water. I would also recommend rain gear and an extra layer of wool or polypro clothing (to include hat and socks) as well as a waterproof map and compass. I made up a small survival kit that always goes in the bottom of my pack, regardless of whether I am ten minutes from the house on 100 acres or hiking in the backcountry. It contains:
Gerber multi-tool
Signal mirror
ball-less whistle
blaze orange handkerchief
space blanket
duct tape
two large heavy duty trash bags
two quart sized ziploc freezer bags
water purification tablets or purifying drinking straw
magnesium fire starter
butane lighter
lifeboat matches
wire saw
fishing kit (hooks, sinkers, flies, braided line)
compass
50 ft. genuine 550 para cord
small knife
pencil and paper
safety pins
First-aid kit (small bandages, steri-strips, bandage tape, needles, dental floss, tweezers, alcohol prep pads, sting-eez, neosporin, aspirin, immodium A-D, benadryl and zantac 150)
I highly recommend the book
"How to Stay Alive in the Woods". It's older but extremely well written and contains tons of woodcraft that has been largely forgotten. If you can afford it, carry a personal 406 mHz ELT. Above all, practice using all the equipment in your kit. It's harder to make fire using the magnesium fire-starter than you think.