Question I can't find answer to

[RafterH]

Been a long time lurker and a short time member/contributor. I have a question I don't find an answer to. The area I hunt is, like most, pretty crowded. I accept that. I am a relatively newer elk hunter/ elk country learner.

During my e scouting for the area we hunt, I found a couple of parallel ridges the run mostly east and west and from 8500 feet to 11500 feet elevation. I have pored over this area on maps and GE as well as OnX. We really like this area. The tops of the ridges at the narrower end are about 800-1000 yard apart and the slopes between are moderately steep in places. On the northern ridge there is water and what appears to be good feeding areas. The southern ridge is fairly heavy timber and some blowdown. I have not been able to visit this summer so all my scouting has been electronic. My current plan is to be on the northern ridge before first light to try to locate elk moving from feed to bed. Then, if I find elk, set up for the opposite scenario in the evening Is this all washed up thinking?

I have considered setting up below for first light as well, but am unsure is this is a viable choice.

I know there are elk in the area as my research has proven this out. It is only about 1.5 miles from the trailhead but no atvs allowed.

There is an outfitter that operates close I am told. We hunted this general area last year and most of the outfitters went in deeper, though.

Am considering spiking the two days before just to get better intel. We usually have a base camp but we are fine with sleeping where we stop.

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

[Jbehredt]

Most sure why two days before means unless you’re planning a rifle season hunt but I digress. If I had a chance to gather on the ground info in the area I’d set up early on the south ridge looking onto the south face of that north ridge. A good glassing point might tell you all you need to know without any chance of blindly buggering up the northern ridge.

 

[RafterH]

Thanks. That makes perfect sense when I think about it.

And it is a rifle hunt.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Remember thermals are going to be flowing down hill until mid morning. Make sure you're below elk early in the morning. Don't know about your area but they tend to switch around 9 am where i'm at.

 

[Indian Summer]

Never spike Camp blind. I don’t care how much internet homework you’ve done. Use those two days to hike over there and see what’s going on “for real”. Then make your decision .

 

[307]

Never spike Camp blind. I don’t care how much internet homework you’ve done. Use those two days to hike over there and see what’s going on “for real”. Then make your decision .

Please explain "never spike camp blind". What if you don't know where the elk are and need to set up camp "somewhere"?

 

[Poser]

Never spike Camp blind. I don’t care how much internet homework you’ve done. Use those two days to hike over there and see what’s going on “for real”. Then make your decision .

I disagree. Since you often need both an evening and a morning to draw any conclusions about the activity, an overnighter can be a totally efficient use of your time. Now, you might hike over there and realize that it’s not going to be worthwhile and hike back out.

 

[Indian Summer]

It takes valuable time and effort to pack in everything you need to spike camp. Before I ever do that I hike in early from base camp and look things over. You don’t have to be there at the crack of dawn or until dark to see the sign and know whether ir not it’s worth hunting or setting a camp. I’ve hunted spots from a base camp for several seasons before pushing a little further and then deciding that a spike camp was worth the investment. If you hike into an area and find out it’s a dead zone you’ll be glad you don’t have a camp to pack back out. You might need to make tracks and go check out a different spot... your plan B.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

^especially when it's only 1.5 miles in like OP said.

 

[AaronMColeman]

Thermals are one thing that are pretty (very usually) predictable. Wind is another thing that is less predictable. Thermals down a north facing slope in the mornings can turn into wild swirls and unpredictable patterns if there is wind coming a north to south direction. So excouting is awesome and gives a good idea of what is going on, thermals are always something to consider, wind is something you'll want to find out.

My other thought is, I would love to get to a spot like that 2 days a head and scout. Escouting is a great thing and if that's all you have that's a nice start. Boots on the ground scouting is another. You say there are a lot of finger ridges maybe 1000' apart and a couple hundred feet drop may seem managable until you're going up and down all day long. Thick timber on GE can turn into impassible in real life. So, this isn't meant to be discouraging, it's just get there early if you can...even an evening of scouting.

Last thought...when I escout I always choose at least 5 places I want to go and rank them. It helps a lot to not be married to one single plan. That plan may go out the window within 3 seconds of seeing the terrain in real life.

 

[Poser]

It takes valuable time and effort to pack in everything you need to spike camp. Before I ever do that I hike in early from base camp and look things over. You don’t have to be there at the crack of dawn or until dark to see the sign and know whether ir not it’s worth hunting or setting a camp. I’ve hunted spots from a base camp for several seasons before pushing a little further and then deciding that a spike camp was worth the investment. If you hike into an area and find out it’s a dead zone you’ll be glad you don’t have a camp to pack back out. You might need to make tracks and go check out a different spot... your plan B.

I did 17 overnight scouting trips this Spring/Summer and only backed out of 2 of them. In some cases, I was able to salvage the trip by scouting a larger area than intended or glassing a far away location that ended up warranting a trip unto itself. In 15/17 instances, it was fully productive. I’d say the risk for a wasted effort only goes up when you are on a limited clock, say you have a 5 day window, then You best choose your overnighters wisely, but strolling through an area midday to look for tracks and turds can easily lead to false conclusions as sometimes the animals use the terrain in completely unexpected and unintuitive ways. Plus, there’s the whole glassing the larger area aspect. I’ve hiked through an area uninspired only to be pleasantly surprised at the time spent glassing the next morning at least as many times as I’ve found fresh sign and glassed an area with 0 results on multiple attempts. I don’t dismiss or put too much stock into a location until I’ve glassed an evening and a morning.

 

[Indian Summer]

I did 17 overnight scouting trips this Spring/Summer and only backed out of 2 of them. In some cases, I was able to salvage the trip by scouting a larger area than intended or glassing a far away location that ended up warranting a trip unto itself. In 15/17 instances, it was fully productive. I’d say the risk for a wasted effort only goes up when you are on a limited clock, say you have a 5 day window, then You best choose your overnighters wisely, but strolling through an area midday to look for tracks and turds can easily lead to false conclusions as sometimes the animals use the terrain in completely unexpected and unintuitive ways. Plus, there’s the whole glassing the larger area aspect. I’ve hiked through an area uninspired only to be pleasantly surprised at the time spent glassing the next morning at least as many times as I’ve found fresh sign and glassed an area with 0 results on multiple attempts. I don’t dismiss or put too much stock into a location until I’ve glassed an evening and a morning.

You didn’t read the original post. He isn’t spring/summer scouting. He said he has 2 days to look things over before he starts hunting. A very limited window.

 

[RafterH]

Thanks for all your responses. I do have several other spots I have marked to look as well. This one is my first choice. We all know that anything can happen and with boots on the ground, I might say nope. Gotta look though!I will have two scouting days before the season open so I intend to take a good look at all 5 or 6 spots I've marked, I just liked this one the best (of course since it is the steepest).

My number 2 is a 2 year old burn area.

Again, thanks for all the help. I may be older, but I like learning.