Colorado Snow melt and scouting

[Tejasbow]

Hey guys we are two weeks away from family vacation in central Colorado. Where we camp is a few hours from where I elk hunt and was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what elevation some of the jeep passes are passable as of now. The road I take up to the area I hunt is high and I park near timberline. Was hoping to do a day scouting over there.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Mosby]

I would call the local ranger station. They would have the most up to date information on forest roads.

 

[kumplocke]

Still a lot of snow up high, haven't even attempted the high country yet.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[2RiversCO]

Hiked up just over 10k today. Still a bit of snow at that elevation.

 

[squirrel]

Only one way to know and that is to try to drive up. It only takes one steep north slope with the road notch carved in to stop you with a 20 foot drift, even though the next miles may be snow free. A bicycle can really help for this problem.

 

[street]

There's been quite a bit of snow melt in the last week but there's still a lot up there above tree line. You might get lucky if the temp and sun stay how they are.

 

[KU_Geo]

Depending on where you are going there’s still LOTS of snowpack this year so definitely call a local ranger office

 

[trophyhill]

I will definitely be calling ahead of time. I'd hate to waste a 6 hour drive.

 

[HondoArcher]

Last week we were still seeing snow at 7500 feet in the North Park area. The roads were muddy and we were still getting rain. In the San Juan's they were talking alot about avalanches. One of those could set you back a month. The range officer will have all the details for sure.

 

[chasewild]

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/porta...iations=true&lat=39.136&lon=-105.640&zoom=7.5

 

[Newtosavage]

Trying to learn here -

Just curious what kind of scouting a person does this time of year, what you're looking for and how that relates to what you'll do in the fall.

The one time I've scouted in the summer, I was scouting access roads and potential camp sites for the fall. I've done all my actual elk scouting the week before my tag was valid.

Can a person reasonably expect elk to stay in an area from June to September?

 

[Daniel0307]

I scout every July, more or less to just know the area better and better.. it’s amazing how many new deadfalls and areas can change from erosion but I like to scout new spots in the same general area I hunt, other hunters move in and I move away from them..

 

[Mosby]

Trying to learn here -

Just curious what kind of scouting a person does this time of year, what you're looking for and how that relates to what you'll do in the fall.

The one time I've scouted in the summer, I was scouting access roads and potential camp sites for the fall. I've done all my actual elk scouting the week before my tag was valid.

Can a person reasonably expect elk to stay in an area from June to September?

I didn't draw this year, so I will be going out in July to scout a new OTC unit. When I go to Montana or Idaho, I try to go up for Spring bear to learn the area and trails and use it as a scouting trip. After a few bear trips, I have an idea of where I can hunt elk. I can't do that in Colorado so I will go up in July and look around. I am not looking for elk in July per se but to learn the roads and trails, talk with the rangers and get maps. After I decide where I am going to hunt, I spend a few days hiking trails, find trail heads and campsites, find a grocery store with ice, find a place to get my meat processed etc. I like to see the area and terrain first hand. I sort of know what I am looking for when I see it, based on how I like to hunt.

 

[FYT]

Snowpack is very high across the state. I live in the central mountains and it's clear in the valley bottom and some mountain biking is opening up, but most of the stuff up high is still pretty snowy. This image is as of last week:

 

[johnhenry]

I'm still backcountry skiing off of Red Mtn Pass. Plenty of snow above 11,000ft. Lakes at 10,000ft closer to home are just starting to have the ice clear off.

 

[WTFJohn]

Picture 1 is Summit Peak (13k ft) in July 2017. Picture 2 is from the last week or so. Picture 3 is the summit of Mt Yale (14k ft) looking west on June 9, 2019 (yesterday). Remember that all this snow is going to end up in the creeks/streams/rivers, be very careful with any crossings.

Summit Peak · Colorado 81147

âââââ · Mountain peak

www.google.com

 

[Rprice]

Sometimes they have a local weather gather station that you can lookup to get up to date conditions report on a mountain in your unit

 

[WTFJohn]

Sometimes they have a local weather gather station that you can lookup to get up to date conditions report on a mountain in your unit

SNOTEL sites are what you're referring to, you can pull up the interactive map and then click individual sites to see the data. Some will have webcams you can access as well. SNOTEL Link

 

[Tejasbow]

Thanks guys. Pretty deep up in the area I am wanting to go from what I can gather. Now I am wondering if I will get to fish my favorite high mountain lake while I am there.

 

[backcountrymuzzy]

It sucks that I have to wait a month longer to get up there this year, but on the plus side, there will be much less hiker/backpacker action back there and I would assume deer and elk will be pushed around a little less because of it