wllm1313 - thanks for your advice- it was spot on and I appreciate your willingness to share it. Below is how my hunt unfolded
Day 1 - unfortunately arrived late at our hunting spot which was 1.25 miles from where we parked our vehicle. I was totally unfamiliar with the timing of the hike ans was relying on my partner who had been here before to factor in those considerations. My partner, needed a rest on the hike-in but instructed me to keep moving...did I say we were late. As soon as I crested a ridge, I saw three elk on the south facing, very steep hillside in the oak brush moving from left to right towards a stand of Aspens. I tried to spot or make contact my partner but to no avail. They were at least 900-1000 yards away (uphill). I immediately put a stock on them, hiking straight up with an idea of contouring from left to right through some very thick oak brush ranging from 3ft - 9ft tall. What I didn't count on was the bright glare of the sun making it almost impossible to see. As I navigated upwards to 9,900ft, which took a lot longer than anticipated as distance and ease can be deceiving from below, the elk moved into the Aspens. I then spotted 2 cows above me in the Aspen stand. I moved to within 50 yards but I could not get a shooting lane before the elk moved on deeper into the Aspens not be seen again that day.
Day 2, went back to the same spot but an hour earlier, no elk encounters. My partner decided to take the evening off but I had elk fever despite my lack of success the prior day. I ventured alone in my truck to a spot where I could glass the same hillside from the road. About 30 minutes before sunset, while I was chatting on my cell phone to my brother to check up on his hernia surgery, I see about 16-20 elk coming down the Aspens into the oak brush clearing & then disappearing into another stand of aspens.
Day 3 - Elk fever at a higher pitch. We go out in the morning and again no success in seeing any elk, lots of sign. After a bit of discussion, I convince my partner to do an evening hunt with the hope of seeing that same herd moving down the hill similar to the prior evening. After a quick 1 hour nap, we are feeling revitalized and hike back to get in position on the hillside, approx. 2 miles from the trail. Again no elk. We are exhausted but not discouraged!
Day 4 - We decided that based on all the current sign in our area....and the lack of hunters, that it was just a matter of timing. If we went back to same area, working it, it's just about as probable to be into the elk again vs trying a totally different place. Unfortunately, no elk that morning. My partner was done for the day- no evening hunt interest.
Day 5 - unfortunately my hunting partner is firefighter and with the issues back in CA, we had to cut our trip short which was a bit disappointing but understandable. We had 14 hours on drive back to discuss re-hash the details with thoughts of how we will hunt it next year. The disappointment of not being successful immediately faded when I got back to my beautiful wife - safe & sound!
A little snow would have helped greatly. I question if we should have been on the east side of 52 rather than the west side to catch more migration or if the lack of snow was the main issue. I also wonder if the lack of hunters in our area should have been a tell-tale sign???
