Idaho St. Joe River hunt

[NorthIDHunter]

After an 8-year hiatus from hunting, my 16-year-old son and I headed out this weekend. In the past, we've discovered old Forest Service cabins repurposed for public use, and we found one high up the St. Joe River—perfect for a mountain getaway. We originally planned to leave early Friday, but my sophomore son got the chance to suit up for varsity football that night, so we shifted to early Saturday instead. The drive from our house took just over 3 hours. It was my first time exploring the St. Joe past Avery, entering from St. Regis and exiting via Avery and Moon Pass. Both routes were stunning.


The final stretch to the cabin was classic backcountry: a single-lane dirt and gravel road winding through a steep canyon. I'll admit, I was a little nervous—I'm from Idaho and have roamed the state, but I haven't ventured deep into the mountains in years. We made it without a hitch, even with 5 inches of fresh overnight snow on the higher elevations. No driving issues all weekend, and we had an incredible time in that amazing country.


Now, to the main point of this story: We saw zero elk or deer—no sightings, no fresh or old sign, not even tracks, droppings, or game trails. Most of my hunting experience has been in the whitetail woods around Clearwater County, with some trips near Elk River and Clarkia. This terrain is worlds apart—steep, thickly vegetated, and rugged. I didn't expect to harvest anything, but I figured we'd at least spot some animal sign. What are we missing? Is this area just sparse on elk, or were they simply in a different drainage? I've heard North Idaho elk hunting is notoriously tough due to the extreme terrain and dense cover, which we experienced firsthand; it makes sense they'd avoid the few open hillsides. Could we have been just one or two drainages off from where they're holding?


We did spot a few other hunting camps, but not many, and didn't come across anyone in the woods—being a several-hour drive in should thin the crowds, right? Or is low hunter pressure more a symptom of low animal numbers? I will admit we didn't get to far from the road, mainly due to limited time, nasty weather that rolled in, and not being familiar with the area. It was the kind of place that I would consider going back, but the lack of sign has be questioning that. Any insights from folks familiar with the St. Joe would be appreciated! Just simply responding that the Upper Joe is a tough place to hunt works as well, lol!

Regardless we had a great time, dedicated time spent with my boy who is growing up fast is always welcomed. Good luck to everyone out there.

 

[Red33]

That area suffers from too many people and too many wolves. But, there are elk there. They hide in the nastiest, deepest canyons around most of the time. Finding them is extremely hard during season, harvesting one is even harder. Welcome to north Idaho.

 

[mavinwa2]

see any wolf tracks in the snow?
that's the problem with the St. Joe, wolves.
Used to be good elk area in the 1980's

 

[NorthIDHunter]

I was wondering about wolves for sure. I was happy to see there weren't more people then there were. I kept thinking we just weren't in the right nastiness to find them. When we left I found myself thinking that maybe this is a place to "not" come back to, but now I think I see it more as a personal challenge, not to be successful, but to just find animals! I was thinking that spending some time pre season next year would be a good start as well. We didn't have the time to do anything scouting this year, but its being added to the calendar for next.

 

[westbranch]

Pretty sure I know what cabin you were staying in. I have not elk hunted around there but have done some scouting nearby and found good elk sign. But it is definitely in pockets. I find the canyons around there a lot more intimidating than other parts of the state I have roamed. I am surprised you didn't find any elk sign but you need to cover a lot of ground to get an idea of how the elk move around those canyons. I am sure you were a lot closer to elk than you would want to know. lol.

In the early 90s that unit had 1,500+ hunters and 30%+ harvest success rates. Now there are <600 hunters and 12% success rates.

 

[NorthIDHunter]

see any wolf tracks in the snow?
that's the problem with the St. Joe, wolves.
Used to be good elk area in the 1980's

No we didn't, we literally didn't see any tracks in the mud or snow, I was excited about the snow thinking we might cut a track, but nothing. Granted we were only in the snow for about 5 hours, so likely we just didn't cover enough country.

 

[NorthIDHunter]

Pretty sure I know what cabin you were staying in. I have not elk hunted around there but have done some scouting nearby and found good elk sign. But it is definitely in pockets. I find the canyons around there a lot more intimidating than other parts of the state I have roamed. I am surprised you didn't find any elk sign but you need to cover a lot of ground to get an idea of how the elk move around those canyons. I am sure you were a lot closer to elk than you would want to know. lol.

In the early 90s that unit had 1,500+ hunters and 30%+ harvest success rates. Now there are <600 hunters and 12% success rates.

Yea it seemed like we had quite a bit stacked against us, much of which was self imposed. The weather which I knew was going to roll in, cut the limited visibility to almost nothing, the fog was brutal, and then the heavy snow just added to it.

I kept thinking we just weren't in the right drainage, which I'm guessing a drainage with a drivable road isn't the drainage to spend any time in.

 

[Ross]

46 year experience here.

Elk are still there, but where you to find them in every pocket, you now find them in every 2-4 pockets.

I shed hunted very close to Avery this spring. I snuck up on 3 wolves bedded in the morning sun, laying on ridge top. The wolves have changed that country beyond what someone would expect, unless you have experienced it. They roam a lot.

That being said, you can find pockets of elk to hunt, with ok numbers. You will work harder than pretty much any other place you can hunt elk, due to numbers, wolves, the nasty brush, the weather and steep factor.

As to hunters, you can remove 90% of your competition by working harder. This means know the area better. Find the elk before season. Be up earlier and out later.

Case in point. This 62 yr old man with a titanium knee was up at 3am opening day. Started hiking at 5:00. In place at 7. Wind came in hard. Bull starts screaming chasing a cow. I was pissed I could not pinpoint him due to the wind Around 9:30 wind died down. Pinpointed the bull. Had my chance around 10:30 as the 6pt chased this cow all over. No clear shot as he continued to bugle till noon. The woods were packed with hunters on the road. Never saw a sole all day, as you had to climb 3000 ft to get into them. When I came out the next day, there were hunters walking the pavement, riding side by sides and sitting in camp.

I was out many days with friends in September calling and we had bugling bulls in close 6-8 days, but we covered a ton of miles.

Good luck the satisfaction factor is high when successful in this country.

You can see the flat spot is the elk bed he dropped his antler