HUNTING -- Part of getting ready for an elk hunt is being prepared for actually finding, shooting and tagging one.

That's when the hard part begins.

Some friends will get busy or even hide when they see an elk hunter's caller ID show up on their ringing phone this time of year.

But I have backup, not only with my hunting partner in the field, but also waiting in the wings at home.  When I mentioned the rigors of packing out elk meat from the places I have traditionally found them -- far from roads -- I received this Facebook message from a hard-bodied young woman in the Spokane Mountaineers:

I'll pack out your elk if it's after my cross-country season! I can carry up to 60 pounds for up to 25 miles. Will work for steak.