Yes I carry axes:
Full sized single bit and a Camp Axe

Both are worth their weight in gold

Kindling, Firewood

Not to mention felling trees.

Tomahawks make great hand axes and multi-purpose tools, pretty cheap too.

At my age, I travel by 4-wheeler. I keep a small poll axe attached to the machine at all times. Probably more large hatchett than axe. It has assisted me on several occasions.
The wife and I cut our own firewood. I have three double-bit axes that I use to split the wood(mesquite!). If the wood is extremely knotty or gnarled, I use a six pound splitting maul.
In my pick up, I keep a small, double-bit axe known as a cedar chopper in this area.
ALWAYS enjoy a nice axe.
My grandfather was a rig builder in the wooden derrick days during the Kilgore, (Texas) oil boom days of the 1920's. He was an absolute artist with an axe and could swing it left handed just as well as he could from the right!

Bubba

I use a Gransfors Bruks Hunters axe in camp. Have never taken it packing. Very sharp, nice size and weight.

I have a small axe and a bow saw. I used them on a winter overnight trip a little while ago, and it turned out to be a good thing. The axe in particular was heavy to carry, but we only went a few miles (granted, they weren't easy miles) before calling good enough and making camp. The only wood was a stand of 4-6" diameter pine with a tangle of blowdowns. Almost all the smaller stuff had broken off and was buried under snow. I was able to split the wood we could gather, which helped the fire a bunch. The axe and the bow saw were definitely worth their weight on that trip. I'm (probably) organizing a trip for friends in June. For that, I'm planning a fairly easy hike in to a base camp, then day hikes from there for those who want them. (I plan to fish, mostly.) In between, I'd like to take advantage of the Virginia (or maybe West Virginia) spring with a longer trip. I'll probably pack light for that and just burn what I can gather.

I have several axes and a couple of mauls. I have an old axe head that came in a leather sheath that attaches to your belt. If needed you cut a sturdy limb, shape to fit the threaded hole in the head and screw it on. Then you have a handy axe/hammer. My favorite axes are Gerbers SPort Axe, light, balanced and fits the hand well.

I keep a cheap import wood-handled hatchet in my camping kit. I keep it razor sharp. I carry a cheapo because I can afford to beat the crap out of it and buy a new one. You can split even the largest logs with one of these if you hammer it with a small rock hammer. The rock hammer is narrow enough to follow the hatchet thru the wood. I've split white oak rounds this way. Even London Plane - the most miserable splitting wood ever grown.

I have two of the Fiskers/Gerber hatchets. I use them for quartering moose and skinning. The trick is to keep them very sharp and don't chop against the ground. They will cut right through a boot so if you are accident prone don't take one into the woods. I also have a bargain bin one with a more curved blade that is great for skinning moose but too heavy to pack. I have a 3 lb Colins with a short handle that I use when I am falling trees to drive wedges. I also use it when I am using a hydraulic splitter to pick up rounds of wood and put them on the splitter. I just stick it and pick it with one hand and run the lever with the other. When I make the last split I rock the hatchet out before the split is done and am ready to move to next piece. If I only had one tool to take into the woods it would be a good axe. The summer I turned 21 we built a cabin with nothing but a single bit axe,a double bit axe, a block and tackle, fifty pounds of forty penny spikes and 600 feet of 1/2" manilla rope. I still have the double bit axe out at the woodpile.

Dave, I found a great site by a guy that posts reviews on axes. Make sure you also check out his older posts:
http:// woodtrekker.blogspot.com/ search/ label/ Axes (remove spaces, had to get around spam filter)

Of course he likes the Gransfors Bruks but here's a post where he put together a lower cost small axe that performed well. He mated a Northern Tool Camp Axe with a longer handle:
http:// woodtrekker.blogspot.com/ 2010/11/ cheap-alternative-for-gransfors-bruks.html

I've got an Eastwing hatchet that's sharpened to a knife edge that probably would have been a great tool on that elk. I've yet to use it to gut/skin an animal but I'm sure it would do the trick. However, it's very light and has a narrow blade profile so I bet it would be horrible for chopping wood. The Estwing E44A 16-Inch Steel Campers Axe would be a better choice but again the blade profile doesn't lend itself to splitting wood. The Eastwing Campers Axe has a 16-inch handle and wouldn't be as easy to use two-handed compared like that of the Gransfors small forest axe.