Avoiding trails

[TM0218]

Quick question, I’m doing some scouting on GE right and found what I feel is an awesome spot. It’s a huge basin but there’s a trail that runs right through the middle of the it. The entrance to the basin is about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. Should this spot be avoided? Or would the distance make the trail a non-issue? Thanks!

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Quick question, I’m doing some scouting on GE right and found what I feel is an awesome spot. It’s a huge basin but there’s a trail that runs right through the middle of the it. The entrance to the basin is about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. Should this spot be avoided? Or would the distance make the trail a non-issue? Thanks!

Depends on the state for one, also depends on how big the basin is and what kinda of cover the animals have to hide, and the season. I've seen elk and deer pretty close to popular trails in areas where they can escape and find sanctuary.

Generally speaking if it's CO, it's a high alpine basin and their is a trail through it, and it's archery season you should avoid it. 3.5 miles is nothing... you would see a fair number of people 7-9 miles in. 16+ mile round trip day hikes at not uncommon. I know a number of people who run 20 miles several times a week.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

Nothing you have said so far would keep me from checking that basin out.

I have a spot in Wyo that I hunt in an area very popular with the horseback hunting crowd. Big open basin, 3.5 miles from the trailhead with small timber pockets surrounding and a few in the middle. One trail runs through the middle and another along the southern edge of the basin. Morning and evening will be a steady stream of hunters on horseback. I have taken 4 bulls from this basin. There is one timber pocket on the southern edge that is roughly 45 acres. It is about 150 yards from one trail and 200 yds from the other trail. This timber pocket will have elk in it every day, all day. Sometimes I catch elk coming and going in the mornings and evenings. Other times I have to go right in the timber.

 

[TM0218]

Also, the trail is that faint white line to the left of the creek at the bottom.

 

[Bluejeep]

I would definetly check it out. Be up there AT LEAST an hour before first light. You will be able to see other hunters lights as they come in on the trail and watch how the animals respond once you can see well enough.

 

[Redside]

I don't know anything about Colorado or the area you are at, but I was able to find your area via google earth (since your pic had some identifying markers) and found a review of your trail on alltrails.com, sounds like you might have company...

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/willow-creek-falls-via-south-willow-creek

I particularly liked this review, sounds like there are some game animals around "sick trail. totally worth the longer than expected hike up. lot of variety and we even got to see a goat waiting for us at the end of the trail."

 

[TM0218]

I don’t mind at all. I haven’t picked a unit so I’m just playing around doing some e-scouting. Since we’re on the subject though, how does this area look? Minus the trail that is.

 

[Brow Tine]

In my experience the bulls will avoid the hillsides you can see from the trails/ roads. However, as long as you get off the trail to do your spotting/ hunting you should be able to find something. It looks like a great place to start.

Personally I would get on top of a peak to the extreme left or right in your picture. You could glass your basin and the next one from the same position.

 

[WesternRookie]

Well it’s CO, and it would be for a rifle season. Most likely 1st or 4th. Here’s a picture of it, the cursor about 1/4 up from the bottom is the glassing knob.View attachment 111963

If you are serious about hunting that I would take your post down. All I had to do was google the words in the top right corner of your pic, click on map, satellite view, and zoom out. Or maybe you are trolling? Not sure.

 

[TM0218]

Thanks! This is my first time really messing with e-scouting and I’ve never been on an elk hunt before. I’m sure there are others like me and I think it would be beneficial to have a thread where you can post pictures of your e-scouting finds for more experienced hunters to assess and give you tips on. What do you guys think?

 

[TM0218]

No not trolling. Like I said I haven’t even chosen a particular unit. I’m more “practicing” if you will.

 

[kansasdad]

How about picking areas to e-scout that will never see a hunter if you are looking for real world examples. Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, etc. You may not have thought about hunting in your example, but someone else may have, and with Al Gore's WWW and search engine tech, you are looking at the Hunting Fool effect magnified.

 

[TM0218]

Kansasdad, that’s even better. Like I said it’s just hard when you’re first looking at all this country to decipher the subtle nuances

 

[cedahm]

That trail complex starts in my wife’s old neighborhood. You are unlikely to see elk from anywhere near the trail. If it was more remote, I would agree with mulecreeks sentiment.

If you ignore the fact that you are literally inside a sizable town, which also happens to be the first town that tens of thousands of recreationists see after crossing the divide 70 miles from a major city, your analysis isn’t bad, but those things are, of course, very relevant.

From an e-scouting “practice” perspective - look to the north where there is a bunch of a dark timber with two creek drainages in it - that is in the middle of a semicircle of trails and has a natural barrier of the gnarly steep stuff to the west. That timber should hold elk (and, in point of fact - it sometimes does )

 

[TM0218]

That trail complex starts in my wife’s old neighborhood. You are unlikely to see elk from anywhere near the trail. If it was more remote, I would agree with mulecreeks sentiment.

If you ignore the fact that you are literally inside a sizable town, which also happens to be the first town that tens of thousands of recreationists see after crossing the divide 70 miles from a major city, your analysis isn’t bad, but those things are, of course, very relevant.

From an e-scouting “practice” perspective - look to the north where there is a bunch of a dark timber with two creek drainages in it - that is in the middle of a semicircle of trails and has a natural barrier of the gnarly steep stuff to the west. That timber should hold elk (and, in point of fact - it sometimes does )

Thanks so much for the help. Good to know I’m somewhat on the right track. I will say it’s pretty cool when you see a spit and just think “oh that’s a good one.” Even though let’s be real I have no clue.

 

[beginnerhunter]

How about picking areas to e-scout that will never see a hunter if you are looking for real world examples. Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, etc. You may not have thought about hunting in your example, but someone else may have, and with Al Gore's WWW and search engine tech, you are looking at the Hunting Fool effect magnified.

Wat is "hunting fool"? Does it give me locations to hunt?

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Wat is "hunting fool"? Does it give me locations to hunt?

The paper version of gohunt for all intents and purposes. Though they have a website

 

[ImBillT]

Could be a great spot, just like many other places that get hunted are great spots, but don’t assume that you’ll be the only hunter there or even one of few. People will travel 10X as far on a trail or over easy terrain as they will off trail. You can find seclusion .5mi-1mi from a road if it’s not the end of the road, isn’t near a parking lot, or the terrain is semi rough.

 

[TM0218]

Okay so good spot besides the trail. Also, it seems the “get at least a mile from the road” is maybe more so 1 mile from easy access?