Yeah it’s kind of sad watching the area deteriorate the way it has. Drought and predators has done a doozy on it. I have family in Blanding and have been in those mountains for different hunts and camping many times over the last damn near 30 years. Father in law drew late season rifle elk year before last and trying to find him a big bull was tough, and then trying to find a decent bull that wasn’t busted up was hard too. And these guys are all retired with plenty of time to scout and they know that area like the back of their hand. There’s always a few big bulls killed in the first rifle season but there’s a lot of leg work that goes into finding them and staying on them. If your gonna hunt it , I’d do it as soon as your able to draw, the good old days are today!