Hanging the Hunted Elk

Dave came home last night with his elk. If you mind looking at dead animals you shouldn't look at the rest of the post... or eat meat.

After choosing and killing the animal (an approximately four year old cow), Dave gutted it on site, cut it in half and dragged out the head half on a sled. His son carried out the butt half. Given my complete ignorance of hunting, I always prefer to use these technical terms.

The elk has to be hung from what I would have previously called a garden bower for a week. It still needs to be skinned before that time is up, so Dave will take it down and re-hang when he does that tomorrow, it was just too late when he got home last night.

Given my lack of experience with this, coupled with the romanticism sometimes associated with hunting, I felt a little like I was visiting the 'real Wyoming Disneyland'. Since I've had more experience with the artificial, sometimes the real seems like the replica. Ahhh commercialism.

One thing that made it seem real... the smell. It wasn't strong, but it was there.

We had a little difficulty with hanging the butt end because the wood pile was in the way of truck pulling perpendicular. So in the end, we just had to move the wood pile. Both ends are between 100 and 200 hundred pounds, so there wouldn't be any shimmying into place.

Both ends have to be completely wrapped to guard from dogs, coyotes (although there is little chance they would come this close to the house) and flies.

It was 24 degrees last night while we worked (and I took photos), so as soon as we were done I ran inside and snuggled under my rustic, back-to-the-land electric blanket!