Cyber Scouting - Trails/Topo/Aerial

[cnelk]

Here are 3 pics of an area on how to use the Colorado Hunting Atlas
It will show trails using the FS-MVUM / Topo / Aerial

Knowing where drive able trails are and where hiking trails are at is very helpful.

[This is a draw area west of Ft Collins - somewhat familiar with it, but not too much]

Take a look and lets have a discussion where good \'elky\' spots could be

 

[david.denham.39]

Brad, I\'m not sure where to go as I am still new at reading topo maps. Lots of places look good to me lol. Thank you for showing all the different looks using the hunting atlas. I hope some others will post up some spots and give the reasons why they would start looking for elk in those areas. It would help me scout using GE before I can put boot leather down. I forgot to put maybe southeast around the 5&6 on the map. Looks like some saddles and benches around that area???????? Again I\'m new so I maybe wrong at what I\'m looking at.

 

[cohunter14]

David, I like what you are thinking. No need to be shy about it either

Probably the best thing to do for anyone who want to participate is to open the image, right click on it and save the picture. Then, go find the picture wherever you saved it and right click on the icon and click open with - paint. Then you can mark up the map with spots, dots, etc and re-post it on here with your thoughts. These are great exercises for you newer guys. Let\'s see a few of you post your thoughts on here before some of the more experienced folk jump in

 

[david.denham.39]

Thank\'s Derek, Not sure if i\'m doing this right? Just a test run on some spots that look good to me. First time using paint.

 

[cnelk]

FYI
Years ago, I helped a guy drag a cow elk down a slope in this area, rifle season

 

[cohunter14]

Well done David, that is exactly what I meant. I think you are on the right track as well. However, if this was me, I would be looking at the eastern half of the area simply because of the roads in the area. I would assume that the western side is going to get a lot of hunting traffic, which could push the elk to the east. Not saying that is the case, but just my thoughts on it. I\'ll wait before posting some of the locations that stand out to me. Come on newbie\'s, don\'t be shy! Take a shot at this, it is great practice.

 

[david.denham.39]

Thanks Derek, I hope some others will post up some thoughts on this. I would like to here as to why they picked some of the spots that they picked.

 

[Zpd307]

man, everything that I like is so close to a road.....

 

[cnelk]

man, everything that I like is so close to a road.....

We drug that cow down to the road whole -
Now... find that spot near a road

 

[cohunter14]

We drug that cow down to the road whole -
Now... find that spot near a road

Alright, I am going to take a guess since no one else has...seeing that you drug it down to a road, that changes some of my initial thoughts. This was also an interesting situation and a great reason to use ALL of the available maps and aerial views to your advantage. The topo doesn\'t show half of the roads that are actually in this location, but the road map on the DOW site does, and that is confirmed with the aerial map.

Having said all of that, and with no information as far as the time of day of the kill, etc, I am going to guess that it was near this point:

[attachment=0]<!-- ia0 -->North%20Bald_topo.jpg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment]

If you were able to drag it down to a road, this area would make sense to me. It is a bench with a small meadow on a north facing slope that is close to water. Although it is somewhat close to roads, it is not easily accessable. Either way, you have to go uphill to get there. Just a shot in the dark since I am only placing one spot on there

 

[cnelk]

Pretty close Derek!
See yellow arrows

Actually I wasnt with the guy when he shot it.
What he did was drive on the forest road form above and hunt down to the road.
He knew there would be truck traffic on the road to hitch a ride back up to his truck.

He marked the cow on his GPS and went down to the road and hitched a ride, just like he planned.
The next morning we went up there and drove along the road with the GPS on and stopped when it showed the closest route.
Up the hill we went and walked right to it, and drug her down to the road.

 

[cnelk]

Here is a layer that shows the \'Summer Elk Concentration\'
As you can see, the elk was just outside of that area, and lower in elevation [this was a rifle season]

 

[cohunter14]

Very interesting...just goes to show that you don\'t have to be miles in to escape hunters. There will be people like me who would look at that map and automatically focus out to the east just for the less traffic. However, while I\'m parading around over there a few miles into the woods, you could be 1/4 mile off the road filling your tag :lol: And the more you look at that area, the more you can see that the west side there is not the easiest for hunters to access. One little knob to go up and over can make a big difference. Makes me wonder how many of those I have looked over in my own areas. The great thing is that you would also be able to get a good feel for the pressure in that area by the number of trucks parked on the road below. That would be an excellent area to hunt if you had multiple guys in camp, drop off high and pick up low.

I will try to come up with a similar map study here in a bit. These are excellent learning opportunities!

 

[david.denham.39]

For being a newbie I put an x right on that spot!!! Got lucky that\'s for sure!

 

[Zpd307]

i knew that are looked good..... i was also hung up the close proximinty to the road. i should have known better, as if i was to post a map and put x\'s on where i ran into elk, they wouldnt be very far from the road either...

 

[Billy Goat]

am I the only guy who noticed \"Killpecker Creek\" on the topo map?

***looks both ways, nervously***


shane

 

[Retterath]

this is exactly what i need practice on i have never really used these topo maps before but i need to learn them and understand them. Is there some thing that kind of explains this a little on the best way to read this.

 

[cohunter14]

Here is a pretty good explanation on topo maps for you: http://www.compassdude.com/topographic-maps.shtml

 

[Retterath]

Thanks Derek that is awesome, that\'s exactly what I\'m looking for. You guys are a great help.

 

[cohunter14]

No problem Brady. There is more information on here about what to look for on topos as well, but if you ever have a question about a specific area, feel free to post up a pic (just make sure you mark off all of the waypoints!). We would be more than happy to give advice on specific areas to target!