omegadef
FNG
Unfortunately didn't get to kill (or see) one this year, but we learned a lot. We had planned all of our gear for the chance of weather, except for the vehicle and couldn't risk being stranded past the weekend. Despite that, we are hooked and already planning for next season.
In no particular order here are some of the main takeaways and places where we screwed up:
-Sometimes trails that look like roads on ONx are not.
-Just because it was a road in the past, does not mean it will be open and traversable when you get there in September.
-Hunting the burn sounds like a good idea, but be prepared for the roads to be completely closed off going through the burn.
-If you are from a southern or eastern state, you will likely be uncomfortable with driving on some of the roads in the mountains, solely due to the rocks, roughness, and narrowness
-The road conditions will degrade exponentially with adverse weather
-Spend more time learning where the elk will be at the time you are going to be in the mountains. We didn't see or hear an elk the whole time we were there. We spent way more time learning what to do once we found the elk than we did on how to find them. All northern slope access we had defined was blocked or covered in hikers.
-If coming from flat land, everything will be steeper than you imagined. We had planned for 0.75mph to cover a lot of the area, but usually traveled much slower that that uphill. You need to be in shape cardiovascularly. We covered a total of 18 miles in the 5 days we hunted. Would have covered more if we could have processed the oxygen. My legs never got tired, for me the weak link was breathing the whole time.
-There is a significant difference between moving around at 10,000ft and 11,000ft.
-You need to pack gaiters for rain and snow. If not, your pants will get wet and it is very difficult to dry them off.
-Have a plan to dry off clothes.
-There is a likelihood that you will not be able to make a fire. Even if there is snow on the ground, they will not lift a burn ban the same day or even week of the weather.
-Don't expect to cover much ground the first two days of the hunt if driving directly from lowlands.
-Always store lighters out of the weather, you never know when it will get wet and not work.
-Make sure the food you pack is food that you will want to eat. It makes no sense to carry the same food out that you brought in because you didn't want to eat it. I had packed 3300 calories a day. I usually ate less than 2000.
-Keep some gallons of water in the truck. 20 miles across the unit could be a desert, where the section you're coming from could have a stream every 100ft.
-Don't carry more water than you need when in wet areas. Stop and filter more when you pass a stream.
-Be prepared for mountain house meals to cause heartburn, even if you never get it normally. Hydration supplements are hard to drink when you have acid reflux going on, they may even contribute.
-Bring Advil/Tylenol PM to help you fall asleep. Anticipation of the next day is 10 fold in the elk woods.
-The USFS and Game wardens that we came in contact with were very nice and easy to deal with. Not like most LADWF encounters.
-It is very easy to drop your bugle tube and not notice for a long time, especially if you are alternating bugles with someone.
-It is very easy to drop your release and not notice for a long time, especially if you are not seeing anything.
-It is very hard to find a release or bugle tube once you have dropped it. Bring a spare release.
-If you can, get a mule deer tag. They will stand and watch you at 50yds while you catch your breath. Not like whitetails. They will also stay 50 yards ahead of you for an hour and blow at you every 5 minutes while you run a ridge.
-There is a real likelihood that you will not be able to drive a tent stake into the ground.
-Technical hunting clothing is 100% worth the price.
-Call ahead and determine how many hikers are likely to be in the area and what trails are the most popular. Other hunters never affected us in the woods, but the hikers were out in force due to the labor day holiday and covid keeping then from having to work.
-People in Colorado camp and hike as their hobby, they are all over the woods. This may seem normal to most of you, but we didn't expect this at all. People in Louisiana just do not do this much.
-Thermals are going to swap directions when they want. The amount of sunlight hitting the side of the mountain can be very different in small bands of timber or where the slope changes. It is hard to predict when they will change, and it varies daily.
-If you identified a good parking spot from e-scouting, you are not the only one who thinks it will be a good spot.
-Learn the names of the roads. Locals will refer to them by that in passing and you will have a hard time following if you don't understand where they are talking about during the conversation.
-Running in to town will likely take over an hour each way. In our case 2 hours each way.
Thats all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully this gives others something to think about when planning. Feel free to add below.
In no particular order here are some of the main takeaways and places where we screwed up:
-Sometimes trails that look like roads on ONx are not.
-Just because it was a road in the past, does not mean it will be open and traversable when you get there in September.
-Hunting the burn sounds like a good idea, but be prepared for the roads to be completely closed off going through the burn.
-If you are from a southern or eastern state, you will likely be uncomfortable with driving on some of the roads in the mountains, solely due to the rocks, roughness, and narrowness
-The road conditions will degrade exponentially with adverse weather
-Spend more time learning where the elk will be at the time you are going to be in the mountains. We didn't see or hear an elk the whole time we were there. We spent way more time learning what to do once we found the elk than we did on how to find them. All northern slope access we had defined was blocked or covered in hikers.
-If coming from flat land, everything will be steeper than you imagined. We had planned for 0.75mph to cover a lot of the area, but usually traveled much slower that that uphill. You need to be in shape cardiovascularly. We covered a total of 18 miles in the 5 days we hunted. Would have covered more if we could have processed the oxygen. My legs never got tired, for me the weak link was breathing the whole time.
-There is a significant difference between moving around at 10,000ft and 11,000ft.
-You need to pack gaiters for rain and snow. If not, your pants will get wet and it is very difficult to dry them off.
-Have a plan to dry off clothes.
-There is a likelihood that you will not be able to make a fire. Even if there is snow on the ground, they will not lift a burn ban the same day or even week of the weather.
-Don't expect to cover much ground the first two days of the hunt if driving directly from lowlands.
-Always store lighters out of the weather, you never know when it will get wet and not work.
-Make sure the food you pack is food that you will want to eat. It makes no sense to carry the same food out that you brought in because you didn't want to eat it. I had packed 3300 calories a day. I usually ate less than 2000.
-Keep some gallons of water in the truck. 20 miles across the unit could be a desert, where the section you're coming from could have a stream every 100ft.
-Don't carry more water than you need when in wet areas. Stop and filter more when you pass a stream.
-Be prepared for mountain house meals to cause heartburn, even if you never get it normally. Hydration supplements are hard to drink when you have acid reflux going on, they may even contribute.
-Bring Advil/Tylenol PM to help you fall asleep. Anticipation of the next day is 10 fold in the elk woods.
-The USFS and Game wardens that we came in contact with were very nice and easy to deal with. Not like most LADWF encounters.
-It is very easy to drop your bugle tube and not notice for a long time, especially if you are alternating bugles with someone.
-It is very easy to drop your release and not notice for a long time, especially if you are not seeing anything.
-It is very hard to find a release or bugle tube once you have dropped it. Bring a spare release.
-If you can, get a mule deer tag. They will stand and watch you at 50yds while you catch your breath. Not like whitetails. They will also stay 50 yards ahead of you for an hour and blow at you every 5 minutes while you run a ridge.
-There is a real likelihood that you will not be able to drive a tent stake into the ground.
-Technical hunting clothing is 100% worth the price.
-Call ahead and determine how many hikers are likely to be in the area and what trails are the most popular. Other hunters never affected us in the woods, but the hikers were out in force due to the labor day holiday and covid keeping then from having to work.
-People in Colorado camp and hike as their hobby, they are all over the woods. This may seem normal to most of you, but we didn't expect this at all. People in Louisiana just do not do this much.
-Thermals are going to swap directions when they want. The amount of sunlight hitting the side of the mountain can be very different in small bands of timber or where the slope changes. It is hard to predict when they will change, and it varies daily.
-If you identified a good parking spot from e-scouting, you are not the only one who thinks it will be a good spot.
-Learn the names of the roads. Locals will refer to them by that in passing and you will have a hard time following if you don't understand where they are talking about during the conversation.
-Running in to town will likely take over an hour each way. In our case 2 hours each way.
Thats all I can think of at the moment. Hopefully this gives others something to think about when planning. Feel free to add below.
