I am still here, but you are fair to call me out as I did not report back as promised. Here is a better late than never report to hopefully pass along the help that i found on here.
Spoiler alert: I did not fill my tag, but had a fun hunt and got a decent lay of the land for part of the unit. There was no snow out there, and most days were high 40's to 50's, so not ideal hunting weather vs fresh snow.
Overall it was a fun hunt. This unit is very rugged country as others have said. I glassed up elk twice: once was just after shooting light, and once was about 2 miles away down a canyon, which for a novice hunter like me is a success to at least see them and have my hunt plan prove not a waste.
Did i mention this unit is rugged? Multiple times i made a plan on OnX for how i wanted to try and access a spot, or a spot to go to, and the in-person reality was much more rugged and not practical.
I talked to a guy out there that said the year before had deep snow, which makes access hard but of course helps the hunting.
Coolest thing i saw was a big 4x4 muley fully rutting with some does about 50 yards away, chasing them around, without a care that i was there.
This season overlaps with the end of the big bull season out there, and i saw a lot of camps set-up for that. most spike hunters seem to be DIY, and the big bull guys seemed to be running out of camps or guides (obviously not all for either, but that was the sense i got).
Overall was a fun hunt in a rugged unit. I see why the success rates are low, but i would go hunt it again.
