First time scouting next week

[climb.on]

I\'ve been following here for a while now and have learned a lot, but i\'m just getting started. My partner and I will be hunting first rifle season and will be backcountry camping for the 5 days in Unit 24 - Flat Tops Wilderness Area. I\'ve spent a good amount of time in the mountains in CO and elsewhere on various climbing adventures, but this is my first elk hunt and first time hunting in the mountains. I\'ll be scouting solo in the Flat Tops next week for a few days in the area south of Trappers Lake. And possibly again for a few more days at the end of the month.

I\'d like to make the most of the scouting trip so I thought I see if you guys have some feedback on my plan so far...general, specific, whatever...

We want to hunt an area far enough from the roads to avoid most of the hunters. I know we won\'t be alone up there, but we\'re looking to get away from the the majority as much as possible. I\'m going to try to find a couple areas with signs of elk and look for camp possibilities within striking distance of those areas. I\'m hoping to find a good looking camp location, centrally located up high, where we can more easily drop into another drainage or access another ridge if the area we\'re in isn\'t panning out. I think this might give us more flexibility. I know sometimes high camps like this can be pretty exposed so I\'m not sure if that idea will pan out or not. There is only so much I can get from Google Earth and the Colorado Hunting Atlas...at some point a guy just needs to get his feet on the ground and have a look.

 

[cnelk]

Hi Scott
Hope all is well in Minnesota.
Around Trappers it burned a few years ago so I\'m not sure how that is coming back.
It\'s good you are getting a look at it before season as you will put it all together then.

When I go into an area for the first time I have preloaded GPS waypoints that I can make a big circle.
Saves a lot of time.
You may want to give the local Forest Service a call and see what\'s up there for grazing.
Could be cattle or sheep or both.
Ask them the direction of travel and plan accordingly
Take some pics and when you get back let us know how it went

 

[climb.on]

Good tips - thanks! I didn\'t realize there could be cattle up there. I\'ll give the Forest Service a call on Monday.

I am wondering is the area in I\'m focusing on is too large - I guess I\'ll find out soon enough How far into the back country would you expect to have to go, to avoid the majority of the hunters that are hunting from the camps along the road? 2, 4, 6 miles?

 

[cohunter14]

Welcome to the site Scott! Without getting into too many details, here are a couple thoughts based on what you have said. First and foremost, I would be very careful camping too far off of the beaten path during 1st rifle. I have hunted near that area in years past and it is not rare to get a foot of snow in no time, even during 1st rifle. Make sure you take your own safety into account as no elk is worth risking that.

Second, I would suggest thinking twice about camping high. It means that any animal you take will have to be carried back uphill. It also means that you will be hunting downhill in the mornings, which isn\'t advantageous due to the morning thermals.

As far as you last question goes, typically you can get away from most hunters within the first mile off of a given road. However, it looks like the area you have posted here has quite a bit of pack trails. I would think of those more in terms of roads if I were you. If you go two miles in on a trailhead, you still aren\'t going to be escaping the crowds.

One final thought for you: be careful how much detail you post about your exact location and where you are going to be hunting. If you give out too much information, you might get up there opening day to a nice crowd of folks welcoming you. Just remember that anything you post on here is available for the whole world to see

 

[americanbwana]

I would expect at least two miles.

Remember, if you get something you\'ll need to carry it out. 6 miles one way turns into 12. And you\'ll need several trips out with a heavy pack.

 

[OldMan]

Yes, and the older you get the more trips it takes. I think my dog can pack out more than me now.

 

[americanbwana]

One final thought for you: be careful how much detail you post about your exact location and where you are going to be hunting. If you give out too much information, you might get up there opening day to a nice crowd of folks welcoming you. Just remember that anything you post on here is available for the whole world to see

+1

Say it\'s not so. You mean someone would actually just show up and hunt an area they read about on a forum site? What is the world coming to?

 

[climb.on]

One final thought for you: be careful how much detail you post about your exact location and where you are going to be hunting. If you give out too much information, you might get up there opening day to a nice crowd of folks welcoming you. Just remember that anything you post on here is available for the whole world to see

+1

Say it\'s not so. You mean someone would actually just show up and hunt an area they read about on a forum site? What is the world coming to?

Or maybe it\'s all just a deversion...

 

[climb.on]

Welcome to the site Scott! Without getting into too many details, here are a couple thoughts based on what you have said. First and foremost, I would be very careful camping too far off of the beaten path during 1st rifle. I have hunted near that area in years past and it is not rare to get a foot of snow in no time, even during 1st rifle. Make sure you take your own safety into account as no elk is worth risking that.

Second, I would suggest thinking twice about camping high. It means that any animal you take will have to be carried back uphill. It also means that you will be hunting downhill in the mornings, which isn\'t advantageous due to the morning thermals.

As far as you last question goes, typically you can get away from most hunters within the first mile off of a given road. However, it looks like the area you have posted here has quite a bit of pack trails. I would think of those more in terms of roads if I were you. If you go two miles in on a trailhead, you still aren\'t going to be escaping the crowds.

One final thought for you: be careful how much detail you post about your exact location and where you are going to be hunting. If you give out too much information, you might get up there opening day to a nice crowd of folks welcoming you. Just remember that anything you post on here is available for the whole world to see

I really appreciate the suggestions. Details removed - I guess I just didn\'t want to be too vague and not get any response. I have already had my apprehensions about a high camp. I\'ll see if I can come up with a good looking area down lower. The area looks just spectacular and I\'m really excited to get up there and check things out.

 

[americanbwana]

Do a google search on hiking the flat tops. There are several YouTube videos that can give a good idea of the terrain, along some good trip reports with photos.

One thing we haven\'t asked. Have you ever hiked at 10,000 plus?

 

[climb.on]

Do a google search on hiking the flat tops. There are several YouTube videos that can give a good idea of the terrain, along some good trip reports with photos.

One thing we haven\'t asked. Have you ever hiked at 10,000 plus?

Haven\'t checked Youtube - good idea thanks. Yes, I\'ve spent quite a bit of time above 10k in CO, WY and WA as well as backcountry in AK. Whether it\'s bagging 14er\'s, backcountry skiing and rock climbing in CO and WY (couple Grand Teton summits), mountaineering (couple Mt. Rainier summits) and backpacking all over AK. I like to play in the mountains. I also have a WFR (Wilderness First Responder) certification and am a ski patroller. I\'m really enjoying the new perspective as I look at the terrain with regards to Elk Hunting, as opposed to backpacking, climbing or skiing. Just yet another way and another reason to spend time in the mountains!

 

[cohunter14]

Scott, one more suggestion for you when hunting this area after looking at it in more detail: I would definitely pay attention to the pack trails on your scouting trip and make the assumption that they will get quite a bit of traffic. With that in mind, be sure to think about where the elk might go to get away from that traffic.

After looking at an aerial view of the area, it doesn\'t look like there is a lot of treed areas for them to hide in. I would keep that in mind as they aren\'t going to be spending a bunch of time out in those open areas. Another thing I would potentially check out is some of the small knobs in the area. If you can get up on those and use that extra elevation to glass the area, it might save you some miles on the boots.

Good luck on the trip! Report back with any other questions you might come up with.

 

[climb.on]

Scott, one more suggestion for you when hunting this area after looking at it in more detail: I would definitely pay attention to the pack trails on your scouting trip and make the assumption that they will get quite a bit of traffic. With that in mind, be sure to think about where the elk might go to get away from that traffic.

After looking at an aerial view of the area, it doesn\'t look like there is a lot of treed areas for them to hide in. I would keep that in mind as they aren\'t going to be spending a bunch of time out in those open areas. Another thing I would potentially check out is some of the small knobs in the area. If you can get up on those and use that extra elevation to glass the area, it might save you some miles on the boots.

Good luck on the trip! Report back with any other questions you might come up with.

Great tips - thanks. I\'ll have to take a very different perspective on those \"trails.\" Might be tougher to get away from other hunters than I thought.

 

[cnelk]

Scott
Something that has worked well for me is what looks to be a good spot on a map probably is to, but also to many others too.

There have been places I look for a long narrow road where there are no pullouts/campsites for a ways.
I drive back and forth until I get a good perspective on how far it is to the next camp/pullout, looking at the terrain that may hold elk very near the road, but with difficult access.

I will then park at a wide spot in the road and hike back to the area. Sometimes its 3/4 mile or so. If a vehicle comes by, I duck into the trees and let them pass.

There also have been times when I have taken elk from these areas. I bring the quarters to the road and hide them, then quickly pick them up on my way back by.

Recently I did some calculations on how big my \'elk spots\' were and I was surprised that they were all close to 90 acres in size.
I just have alot of them...

 

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum Scott. I haven\'t posted before on your thread, because I have no specifics about the area you want to hunt. A couple thoughts come to mind though. Ask the Department of Wildlife for where they think you could get an elk that meets your specific needs. I agree with Dana about getting away from people about two miles in. A two mile pack out is all Still Hunter and I are up to. It can\'t be too steep uphill if I am by myself, which I most of the time. Plan to hunt near where some hunters are generally located. If no one hunts an area, there is probably a good reason. Elk heavens where you have everything to yourself in hunting season, are very rare.