High uintas wilderness vs Frank church

[HighUintas]

Hey all,

I live and hunt in Utah. I've hunted 20+ years, but I'm only 4 years old to Utah and western hunting in general. I archery hunted in the Uintas last year and found success, but was actually pretty darn close to a road and not that far into the high wilderness boundary. I was only there because I happened to decide to check the place out, happened to find great sign a week before season, and sealed the deal the next week. Otherwise, the plan was to go way back into the high Uintas, maybe 10 miles or so in.

Reading the biologist's report on Utah's interactive hunt planner, it sounds like most of the elk are at lower elevations in the unit, closer to private land. They say the high wilderness is mostly sterile ground and the elk stay lower close to the Aspen/sage/pine mixture altitude. Well, the high country isn't mostly sterile ground, and I know there's elk up there. This year I'm definitely heading way back in the Uintas, 10+ deep. I'll be trying to have a child this year, and I want to be able to do a 10 day hunting trip into the wilderness without worry.

I'm wondering, has anyone here hunted both the Frank Church and the high Uintas? I ask because my wife and I plan to move to Salmon in about 6 or so years, and I am really looking forward to getting deep into that nasty, steep, wolf ridden Frank Church, regardless of elk numbers. I was just reading a couple of threads about the Frank and was wondering if there's anybody here that's done both. How do they compare, as far as finding elk? (Disregarding wolves, of course) I know the high Uintas aren't as steep as the Frank, but they are heavily wooded, not suited to glassing, and very very vast. If you ask any of the local guys about hunting in the high Uintas, they'll say you're nuts for wanting to pack 10 miles back in there to not find any elk.

 

[brettdunn7]

If it’s not necessary, Why are you wanting to pack 10 miles in? Just for the experience? You realize you have to pack that out and likely not going to in one trip.


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[HighUintas]

If it’s not necessary, Why are you wanting to pack 10 miles in? Just for the experience? You realize you have to pack that out and likely not going to in one trip.


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Yes. Completely aware of all that comes with it.

 

[brettdunn7]

Yes. Completely aware of all that comes with it.

I figured. Get after it then man. More power to you. Wasn’t trying to be rude btw if it came across that way. My questions were honest also. Hell let me know and I’ll even come out and help pack out. That seems to be fun. My first year in Utah and first year western hunting. I’m looking forward to it.


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[HighUintas]

I figured. Get after it then man. More power to you. Wasn’t trying to be rude btw if it came across that way. My questions were honest also. Hell let me know and I’ll even come out and help pack out. That seems to be fun. My first year in Utah and first year western hunting. I’m looking forward to it.


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Ha.. you never can tell in the forums! I'm just in love with the Uintas and want to be able to get to know an area way back there like I do some of the places I hunt closer to home. Being exposed and humbled by the wilderness is something I've always enjoyed. Combine those feelings with a big goal that's seemingly impossible and I feel like it gets me just a bit closer to really being connected with my favorite places. If I get to hump some meat out over the course of 3-4 days, the meat tastes that much better and I've got a story to tell my kids!

 

[Nickofthewoods]

I'm only 4 years old

I would wait until you are a little older to hunt 10+ miles into the Wilderness.

 

[StopMakingSense]

South or North? I’d prefer the High Uintas, it’s what I hunt every year because of the solitude it provides. Frank Church will get you that as well but it’s definitely more brutal and lower elk from my experience.

 

[idahohikker]

I've hunted the Frank but not the HU. A close friend who lives in UT hunts the HU with a buddy with horses. There seems to be a noticeable difference in elk numbers from my perspective as we have shared notes. If you're like most Idaho residents, once you move you may enjoy an occasional trip into the Frank but most move on to other country just because the hunting is so tough. I mean there's animals back there no doubt, you just have to look at 2-3x more country and more days to find them and all in ruggggged terrain. You can really enjoy the Frank experience in the summer with a flyrod, floating, spring bear, etc. and it's not necessary to spend your precious hunting days chasing the ghosts of the Frank critters. A few just can't leave it to hunt elsewhere. All good, everyone should do what makes them happiest.

 

[HighUintas]

I would wait until you are a little older to hunt 10+ miles into the Wilderness.

On that note, I should wait a bit to have children too

 

[HighUintas]

South or North? I’d prefer the High Uintas, it’s what I hunt every year because of the solitude it provides. Frank Church will get you that as well but it’s definitely more brutal and lower elk from my experience.

That's sort of what I gathered from reading about the Frank Church.

I've only actually been backpacking, hunting, etc on the south slope. I think the north sounds great, but it sounds like finding the elk is a bit harder due to there being supposedly fewer elk and more trees.

South slope has more hunters, but that's definitely not true for the first week of archery season. Then again, packing meat out 10mi one way in mid August temps is somewhat nuts. This year, I'll be out the last ten days of archery, so hopefully the weather will be a bit cooler.

 

[HighUintas]

I've hunted the Frank but not the HU. A close friend who lives in UT hunts the HU with a buddy with horses. There seems to be a noticeable difference in elk numbers from my perspective as we have shared notes. If you're like most Idaho residents, once you move you may enjoy an occasional trip into the Frank but most move on to other country just because the hunting is so tough. I mean there's animals back there no doubt, you just have to look at 2-3x more country and more days to find them and all in ruggggged terrain. You can really enjoy the Frank experience in the summer with a flyrod, floating, spring bear, etc. and it's not necessary to spend your precious hunting days chasing the ghosts of the Frank critters. A few just can't leave it to hunt elsewhere. All good, everyone should do what makes them happiest.

I saw your posts on the threads about it. It sounds like it can be really tough. I guess we'll see how I feel about it after getting there and doing it a couple of times!

 

[idahohikker]

One more thought- the UT friend regularly takes and has on trail cams pictures of 320”+ bulls in the HU. You’d have a better chance at finding a wolverine and a wolf in the Frank than a 320. They just don’t get that old and nutritional deficiencies stop many bulls at or below 300.

 

[StopMakingSense]

That's sort of what I gathered from reading about the Frank Church.

I've only actually been backpacking, hunting, etc on the south slope. I think the north sounds great, but it sounds like finding the elk is a bit harder due to there being supposedly fewer elk and more trees.

South slope has more hunters, but that's definitely not true for the first week of archery season. Then again, packing meat out 10mi one way in mid August temps is somewhat nuts. This year, I'll be out the last ten days of archery, so hopefully the weather will be a bit cooler.

I just hunt North because it's faster to get to from where I live.

Send me a PM if you're interested in scouting together in the wilderness, it's all I hunt and always looking for new spots to explore.

 

[Donk]

I hunted the North slope several years and camped on the South Slope for several years when stationed in Utah. I hunted in the Frank with a Sawtooth tag a couple years ago. Never spent a lot of time really deep in either. The Frank is awesome but it was tough. There were times I hiked hours to a spot I e scouted and couldn’t even turn up a track. I haven’t hunted Utah in about 15 years. So how it now, I can’t really compare. Both really cool places.

Long story short: I’ve been to both but don’t have a good answer to your question. Go to the Frank at some point for some kind of adventure if you haven’t done it.

Let me know if you have more specific questions.

 

[GotDraw?]

Hike, camp and have fun and "experiences" where it's steep and nasty.

Hunt where you can kill something w/o killing yourself.



JL

 

[Hnttillmt]

First of all ,there’s not a town in Utah that’s as cool as salmon. Move there.
Second...long second, the terrain between the two areas is not even comparable. I’ve killed elk in both. North and south slopes, eventually liked the north slope better with a little less pressure at least on the archery hunt. I was prepared to bivy way back in but never got more than a mile or two in before finding elk. Thick dark timber is fine for archery hunting but I just prefer more open country country in general. The frank is much more open country. Long range glassing is just what I prefer. You will have a tougher time finding success in the frank. My biggest bull yet came out of the frank (310) so not a monster but glassing far I have seen other bulls of the same caliber. You will need a better game plan going into the frank than picking an area in the Unitas. There is also a lot of other great hunting areas in every direction out of salmon. Move there and you will never run out of options for great hunting and fishing.

 

[hooker]

Your moving to Salmon? Lemme know when you get there.

 

[HighUintas]

First of all ,there’s not a town in Utah that’s as cool as salmon. Move there.
Second...long second, the terrain between the two areas is not even comparable. I’ve killed elk in both. North and south slopes, eventually liked the north slope better with a little less pressure at least on the archery hunt. I was prepared to bivy way back in but never got more than a mile or two in before finding elk. Thick dark timber is fine for archery hunting but I just prefer more open country country in general. The frank is much more open country. Long range glassing is just what I prefer. You will have a tougher time finding success in the frank. My biggest bull yet came out of the frank (310) so not a monster but glassing far I have seen other bulls of the same caliber. You will need a better game plan going into the frank than picking an area in the Unitas. There is also a lot of other great hunting areas in every direction out of salmon. Move there and you will never run out of options for great hunting and fishing.

I have to agree with you. I'm only in Utah until my stepson graduates high school. 5 years. Yea I gathered from other threads and posts that FC is probably an apples oranges comparison to the Uintas and is much harder, but just curious about the details. So thanks!! I've been wanting to give the N slope a try, but am hesitant because I want to learn a drainage or two reasonably well before I leave here. I'm looking forward to kicking around Idaho!

Your moving to Salmon? Lemme know when you get there.

I'm planning on it! Hopefully I can keep my wife excited about it. She lived in Rexburg for a long my time, so she was scarred by the long cloudy winter days. We've visited McCall and Ketchum a fair bit, but McCall may be too close to Boise for how quickly it's growing and property around Ketchum is just too unaffordable. Stanley.... That's really my jam. But, I figure there's no way I'll convince her to try that unless climate change makes Stanley a year round town sometime soon. That, and I'm not sure what kind of job I'd be able to get that would allow me to live there.

So, Salmon is just about right for me. Perfect size, affordable, right next to awesome mountains in all directions, all the people I met there seem really nice, and far enough from everything that it might be resistant to over development and billionaires jacking up real estate prices. But, my wife is worried that it will be too cloudy all the time... She needs the sun. Looking at climate data, it is much drier than McCall, but doesn't have as many "sunny" days per year as McCall and Ketchum. We were recently looking at cheap houses in Salmon to potentially buy one and rent until we move there, but since the covid thing hit that has changed everything.

So I assume you live in Salmon?