South Facing Slopes

[lcgordon711]

We went to check out the wilderness area we were going to be hunting this weekend. It is all north facing slopes and just brutal. Was super hard to hike in with tons of blow down and was wet and nasty. I dont think I could see or shoot more than 15 yards. We made it over the top of the mountain into national Forrest. It is a south facing slope but has some cover with water and stuff. We are thinking about Hunting that area instead. We would only have to go about 2 miles in and could get to elk alot better if we saw or heard them. In the wilderness area we kept getting cliffed out and it was just brutal hiking. I am really worried about getting the meat out of that area. I feel like It would be more enjoyable and more responsible decision for meat care to hunt the south side. But I am worried about not seeing elk because its not super thick north side. We did see some sign but not anywhere close to the amount we say in the wilderness area.
What do you guys think.

 

[DTP]

lcgordon711,


You mentioned the south facing slope was only about 2 miles in.
How far in would you be in with the wilderness area?
What kind of temps are you looking at for the span of your hunt?How much time do you have to invest into this hunt?
How many people will be hunting?


Sorry for the question overload, but it can help us give you a better answer or possibly put your mind as ease as far as getting the meat out of the wilderness area.

 

[cohunter14]

I think you answered a lot of questions for yourself without realizing it. It sounds like there is a lot more sign on the north facing slope, which makes sense. If it is thick and nasty, that is where the elk will go at the first sign of pressure. However, if you cannot get an elk out of there, it's not worth it. And if enjoying the hunt is more of a priority than punching your tag, then you know where to go. By the way, there is nothing wrong with that mentality. A successful hunt isn't judged only on punched tags.


To add a question to Dan's post above, what part of the season are you planning on hunting? If you are hunting opening weekend, the south facing slope could be just fine.

 

[lcgordon711]

We have allotted sept 1-10 to hunt in colorado so nine days really because that included leaving after work on the 1st. We kinda feel that the 7th day will be the last day we will hunt to make sure we get the meat out properly and have enough time.


The wilderness area is about minimum 3 miles in and I feel that hunting will bring us anywhere from 5-7 miles in. It took us about 1.5 hrs to go .5 miles in the trees. Everything was wet and thick. Felt like Oregon or something.


I do not know what the temp will be like.


My original idea with the wilderness area was to get away from people but when I get there and realize how incredibly big the area is I feel that coming across people is not going to be a super huge deal.


My biggest question is everybody talks so much about the north slope but is the south still ok just not as good. I guess it all depends on the area. Where I am thinking about going we could go over the top and drop down in to the wilderness area to give it a try if need be. we would just have a super steep hike to come back out. We did it with 50lbs so I think we could make it happen with a little more. 

 

[cohunter14]

In my opinion and experience elk use north facing slopes along with east, south, and western facing slopes. Can you find them there? Absolutely!

My suggestion would be to start on the south facing slopes. The 1st is still pretty early in the season. Try there and if you aren't finding them, venture to the north slope. Keep your options open and have a Plan A, B, C, and D. Cover ground until you find the elk. If they are in the thick stuff, then you can decide if you want to go in after them or not.

Just my two cents.

 

[ILbowhntr]

Sounds like to me, the brutal area you found is the bedding/sanctuary. Now looking for feeding area and water. If it's that nasty, that's were Elk are going to hang out. Catch'em coming or going. Good luck.

 

[lcgordon711]

Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions. I am super excited and ready to go. Now that I have recovered I am ready to go back in. I have looked at google earth and have found way easier ways to get into the wilderness area if we are not seeing elk. We did about 15 miles with about 50lbs on out back saturday. The last 2 miles to the truck was brutal. Im not quite in good enough shape for that. The first 8-10 miles I was fine it was the last 4-5 that killed me.


My two biggest concerns is first I would really like to see some elk and maybe get an encounter or two so that I can really learn that part of elk hunting.


Second is if we do get something is getting it out in time and safely. And both of those I worry a little bit about the wilderness area.

 

[cnelk]

South facing slopes tend to dry up first with the typical late summer weather. If it tends to stay moist with the monsoonal trends, south facing slopes can be good hunting


Regardless of the facing of the slope, concentrate on the upper half of the mountain

 

[Arrows4Elk]

Sounds like to me, the brutal area you found is the bedding/sanctuary. Now looking for feeding area and water. If it's that nasty, that's were Elk are going to hang out. Catch'em coming or going. Good luck.

This ^^^

 

[lcgordon711]

Thanks guys for the help. We are just gonna go all over and try a bunch of places.

New question what do elk smell like. I kept smelling places that smell just like my grandpas cattle and cow crap back home. I don't think it was cattle making the smell. Is that what elk smell like or am I just all wrong?

 

[backcountry_hunter]

^^^It's 100% possible what you're smelling is elk.... they smell alot like livestock. I've been on hunts before where I smelled them long before I heard or saw them. Usually there's other sign in the area as they're big creature with large horns and tend to tear up ground and leave alot of sign.


elk stink, especially during the rut but even now through post rut if there's been elk there it's not uncommon to smell them.

 

[lcgordon711]

Thanks I knew of ppl saying you can really smell them. But I never really knew what they smelled like. I could really smell them 4-5 times that day.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Last year I was walking with the wind in my face, into a large meadow complex I knew well to check for sign. I hadn't heard any elk up there at all for the 2 days I had been there so far but figured I'd go check anyway. A long ways out I could smell them and once I got to where I wanted to be it looked like a bomb went off. There was freshly turned up soil, patches of wet soil (when it had been dry), new droppings and beat up trees. There had been at least a few elk in there shortly before I got there and never ever heard them bugle or mew. It smelled like a stockyard.