That's been my experience the last couple of times. Early season has been a complete bust. They're all up in the northern end of the unit in the wilderness.
My best friend lives in Pinedale, so I get to hunt a lot around the area. I also get weekly updates from him (he's in his late sixties, but lives behind a spotting scope!) & last year, the first elk he saw in the lower portion was weeks after the first heavy snows. I want to say that he didn't report anything to me until early November.
The other issue with 97 is there isn't a huge amount if easy access to the northern end, even with a local. Most of the access is within 10 miles of the town & although you won't see many people midweek, bearing in mind that deer season is also open, you'll be covered in people on the weekend.
We bumped into a guy last year that arrived on opening day & had been camped for 3 weeks when we meet him. Hadn't seen a single elk in all that time. Talking to the possum cops at the check station at Daniel Junction, they told us that in the first 4 weeks of season only 2 elk had been checked out of the unit.
Were I you, I'd look at a leftover for 96 or 98, or go way late in the season & risk I80 closures. Unless there's a very early snowfall, the lower portion of 97 isn't a great option. I burnt a few points last year figuring that out...