That's gotta beat a backpack!! Guess you can go back to your vehicle or take with you when drop*
ped off. Either way, it'd be a big plus if the terrain works for it. Useless on most CO elk hunts I've been on.
Ok, here is my experience at elk recovery at Wichita Mtn Refuge.
99% of the deer carts aren't rated for a 500lb elk carcass. The ground is rocky so the wheels typically fail.
Myself and another guy recovered three elk in two days for other folks while waiting on my hunter to score on the last day.
I took a cart sold by Cabelas called the mule. I think it's sold under a different name now, but it had 20" bicycle wheels on it. rated for about 400 lbs.
It also had an option of dual wheels that raised the weight limit to 550 lbs if I remember right. I got the duals, ditched the tire/tube and got the semi solid tires from a bicycle shop that can't go flat.
First recovery was on top of a plateau. No chance of a cart, 80 year old hunter and 50 year old daughter was his helper. Huge rocks preventing a cart so we left it at the bottom and went up.
Once up there we used what is called a deer sleigh'r.
Amazon.com : DEER SLEIGH'R Magnum Game Sled : Hunting Game Carts : Sports & Outdoors
It's an 1/8" thick flexible piece of plastic with grommets around the side to lay flat, roll the animal on to and lace it in. That elk pulled so easily down those rocks that we had to use the daughter in the back with a rope to keep the elk from over running us in places. At the bottom of that rocky hill, we put the elk on the cart, laced it in and pulled it over the rocks to the road. Rocks everywhere so one has to work around the big ones and go over the smaller ones. I think we could have used that deer sleigh'r the entire route, but the cart was there so we used it.
Second recovery was 1/2 mile from the road on a flat but rocky terrain. The cart made the entire journey.
Third recovery was a ODWC employee that shot a bull in an impossible location. How he got there I have no idea, but it was three levels up a sheer cliff almost. He had it quartered, so it was just a matter of letting the bags down on ropes from one level to the next.
Buddy got his bull on the last day and called for help so off we went. He met us at his drop off point and walked back to the animal. It looked like a huge spider had gone on steroids! There was parachute cord everywhere. He had tied the legs, head, etc off to rocks, bushes, etc so he could get in there for field dressing.
It actually worked pretty good so I always advise folks going elk hunting to take some of that cord.
That's what worked for us.
