I've rocked the same pair of 520's for 13 years now, a little heavy but bombproof. Swapped in the Superfeet insoles after a couple years, I should have done that sooner, much preferred.
I think I've dried them out next to the fire one too many times, the insulation doesn't seem to be doing...
I only just discovered the Gritty Bowmen podcast, apparently I've been living under a rock, I'm sure others are in the dark too. Nearly all the topics suggested in this thread are covered, and it features man/myth/legend Aron as a frequent guest.
http://www.grittybowmen.com/gritty-podcasts/...
The elk just leave, problem solved. A highly mobile animal that likes to frequent steep, dark, and cold places; they know exactly where to bug out to. They have the advantage, our success rates in Colorado are laughably low.
Haven't been back, but that's no reflection on the unit. Backpacking or horse-mounted seem like better approaches, truck camping in the valleys didn't work for us. My grandfather killed Elk every darn year up there for decades, they happened to use horses. Good luck!
The original poster was camped near Budges, so most likely was hunting GMU 24. The ridges are all over the place, of course, but GMU 12 is just a smidgen lower average elevation, especially the northern half of the unit. Same cautions apply.
My 2009 1st rifle in 24 was frustrating. Stupid...
We dragged out a cow on a sled last year. About a mile from the truck and sharply uphill through a forest. We had deboned her where she lay. It was at the end of a long day of a long week, late at night and no trail back to the truck. 183 pounds of meat in the bags. We briefly tried to split...