How Long Does Scent Last?

[cohunter14]

What are your opinions on how long human scent stays in an area? If you are walking through an area, how long will that area stink to an elk? I have to assume that it is similar to us smelling elk. I have caught a whiff of elk and then found no elk in the area, proving that the scent had stuck around for a bit. Thoughts?

 

[F M]

I don\'t think it lasts very long at all. I have a seep that I hunt that is hard to get into and have to hang onto brush side hilling to keep from falling and climb over a log so I leave plenty of scent getting in there. I have had elk come in on that same trail minutes after I went through.

 

[Swede]

I to am convinced that it varies a lot depending on how much we smell and the wind, etc. affecting things. In a basin in the evening it seems to last quite a while. On a side hill during a warm day, maybe not so much. I have had elk, deer and bear come around shortly after I climbed in my stand. They were on the path I had used to get to the stand. I noticed a bear leave immediately when it came to the place where a fellow hunter, I know, had descended a hill about two hours before. I know he was not even close to scent free.
To me it boils down to minimizing odor, and following routes or having set-ups, where our scent has the least affect.