I'll echo Midway USA. I don't know if they have them on sale very often but I bought a pair of Mountain Extremes 400 and Desert Guides for $450 total earlier this year. Was a killer deal.
Call the DOW biologist that covers that area and also the biologist for the Forest Service. They'll be able to help you out the most. Haven't personally hunted that area but since it is a popular area, not many guys are going to give the "where" part of your equation.
Here is a link to buy...
Just something else to think about, I remember Chuck Adams writing that he much prefers to try and shoot an elk in the morning in grizzly country and is hesitant to shoot one late in the day. He said if you shoot one right at sundown, you'll be boning out/packing the elk in the dark with the bears.
Thanks for the input guys. To Cindy's questions, I would like to be able to be fairly mobile when I need to be. I'm not always going to pack in somewhere but when I do, I'll have to have something lightweight. And while I'm sure a wall tent would definitely be very nice in certain situations...
So for a camp with 3-4 guys, do many of you use a tipi instead of a wall tent? The more I look at the tipi's, the more I seem to like them. I'm thinking about doing a backcountry elk hunt next year with 3 other guys using llamas to pack in and we'd save a huge amount of weight with an 8 man...
I think it helps to have Eastmans just to get an idea of how they rank their top units. I don't really care how they rank them but then at least you'll have an idea of which units will get lots of apps. Or if they upgrade a unit you're going to apply in, you can expect draw odds to go down a...
My app in will be in within a few days. Been waiting for the regs to be published so that I could take a look at them. Seems crazy to me to have the deadline so close to when the regs are published...
Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to run a marathon to be in shape. I've heard of guys who DO run marathons and get destroyed in the mountains because they haven't done any strength training. I think a guy who puts a 50 pound pack on walks up and down hills will be a lot better...
Anybody have issues with bugs or ticks or anything like that with a floorless? I know that wouldn't be an issue later in the season but I feel like in early September, that might be an issue. I really hate ticks.