Palisades in eastern Idaho?

[wncbrewer]

Two questions about this area.

Is it doable without horses?

My preliminary research on gohunt indicates there are a lot of bears in the area. Have those of you that hunted there found them to be problematic?

Cheers and thanks in advance. Mike


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[kestump]

I live in Driggs and spend quite a bit of time in the Palisades country. I mainly hunt in unit 67. I don't think the bears are a problem. Grizzlies are around, and you definitely want to be prepared for the possibility of running into one (bear spray, proper food storage if camping, etc), but I wouldn't be terribly concerned about them.

I don't know what you are mainly looking at, but the elk hunting in the Palisades zone can be tough whether you have stock or not. Archery hunters do better in the early season. It is hard to track down a bull in the short rifle season. I would say the majority of hunters are after cows in the latter part of the rifle season. Unless it snows, a lot, the elk stay high. Most of the access will be up the drainages off of the reservoir and off the highway over Pine Creek Pass. It is all doable, but you will likely put in a lot of miles and cover quite a bit of country to find an elk. Don't mean to sound discouraging, there are elk in the Palisades zone and some nice bulls, but it can take some work. If you've got some questions about specific areas I can do my best to answer them if you'd like. Hope this helps!

 

[wncbrewer]

Thanks,
This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I've only driven through there, on my way to Jackson from idaho falls. Looks elky but hard to get around in from the road. I'd be archery hunting out of a backpack. Never hunted Idaho before and looking for an area before I commit to a trip out to scout around. Ok if I pm you with a few further questions?


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[CorbLand]

I hunted the other side of the highway a lot. Like stated before both 67 and 69 are very dependent on weather and can be hard if the snow doesn't set in. Most hunters go in after cow elk as the bull season is very short but if you can find the bulls there are some big ones in these units. There is a fair amount of private land so make sure you have a map with you.

Never had a problem with bears but never really camped in the areas, home was 20 minutes away. Did run into some wolves one day, it was the year before they opened the hunts if not we would of had three.

 

[Jeff Martin]

I agree with above. I have spent about 5 years between 69 and 67 as a NR. I have seen 1 bear in all that time and we were very deep. I would not do this unit on foot if you want to go in deep- if you do, pack a big boy lunch as you will be spent for the rest of the trip.

Ironically, I was covered in elk every year I went but we were deer hunting. I had a 320 bull with about 20 cows at 30 yards for 3 days in a row and had a deer tag in my pocket. Since this was later (for elk season) they were pushed up and deep, even with a little snow. Those elk were very comfortable and calm that deep for being late and likely hunted hard. Almost tame to me or very dumb. I still think about that spot, if I should go back in there with a bow. For some reason, I have a feeling they would not be there that early. they were back up to a Canyon where they had an escape route that nothing but a goat, elk, deer would ever traverse, but hung out all day in mostly the young aspen. They were sitting ducks and it drives me crazy to this day.

 

[wncbrewer]

Thanks for the input y'all, very helpful. I may send a few pm's once I get off work today and have a chance to get my thought organized a little better.


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[kestump]

I would be happy to answer what I can. Shoot me a PM when you have a chance.

Thanks,
This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I've only driven through there, on my way to Jackson from idaho falls. Looks elky but hard to get around in from the road. I'd be archery hunting out of a backpack. Never hunted Idaho before and looking for an area before I commit to a trip out to scout around. Ok if I pm you with a few further questions?


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[Huntrluke]

I am new to this unit, but I've been hiking miles in for the last couple of months and haven't seen much, interested if you might have some insight on possible areas i could hike in to...pm me if you like.

 

[bluetick78]

You're not alone. I've spent a few weekends scouting this unit too, with little success. Some areas of Idaho got hit hard by winter and it seems like this one certainly did. Lots of scattered skeletons but very few live ones. With as good as the forage is this summer I wish there were more bulls and bucks to take advantage of it, but the effects of this last winter will be felt for a few years in some areas. I've chosen to hunt further west, as it seems like the snow was kinder to the ungulates there.

 

[DDAM]

Two questions about this area.

Is it doable without horses?

My preliminary research on gohunt indicates there are a lot of bears in the area. Have those of you that hunted there found them to be problematic?

Cheers and thanks in advance. Mike


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hunted this area for bear this May. Once you go off trail, it's pretty steep. Doable without horses if you're "mountain fit."
I only ran into a sow with a cub on the last day of my 5 day hunt and we covered approx 10 miles/day. Didn't have any issues with them but where we saw mama bear was approx 300 yards away from our food that we hung in the trees. During that time we bumped a bunch of elk and plenty of deer around. Elk that we saw were only cows but kinda hard to get close to them. Best bet imo is to find where the elk are first, then plan a time of attack so that you're not out of breath and heaving from trying to reach to that location since its steep country. Your legs will feel like it's aged 15 years but doable. Good luck

 

[Huntrluke]

I hunted this area for bear this May. Once you go off trail, it's pretty steep. Doable without horses if you're "mountain fit."
I only ran into a sow with a cub on the last day of my 5 day hunt and we covered approx 10 miles/day. Didn't have any issues with them but where we saw mama bear was approx 300 yards away from our food that we hung in the trees. During that time we bumped a bunch of elk and plenty of deer around. Elk that we saw were only cows but kinda hard to get close to them. Best bet imo is to find where the elk are first, then plan a time of attack so that you're not out of breath and heaving from trying to reach to that location since its steep country. Your legs will feel like it's aged 15 years but doable. Good luck

Just curious around what area you saw elk...ive been all,around 67 and havent seen any elk for the archery hunt...any help would be appreciated

 

[DDAM]

Just curious around what area you saw elk...ive been all,around 67 and havent seen any elk for the archery hunt...any help would be appreciated

PM sent

 

[BradNSW]

PM Sent

 

[ericl33]

I back packed in to the upper Palisades lake last year for 5 days during archery, only saw one small herd in terrain meant for goats. No bears and a one mule deer. The lack of sign and game was kind of eery.

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[zachds93]

Anyone have any info about unit 64? I am looking at the shirt rifle season and am curious if anyone has done it there or has been through that area.