General distances from Car/Trailhead where crowds drop off.

[BrokenChicken]

So this will be my 2nd season hunting so still learning about general hunting tactics/etc. I do backpack/hike quite a bit. So going on a 8-10 mile day hike with the dog to fish is normal and not considered difficult with a mid size pack or overnight gear and plenty of elevation gain/drop here in CO.
My question is for those of you that hunt CO regularly (WY, MY, ID would be same i guess). Given your experience looking to get general distances on how far people hunting Elk are willing to travel.
- Those camping at the trailheads and are only day tripping in/out - ??? Is 3miles one way what seems to be the limit???

last year i hunted a very busyUnit. And seems like after 2mile marker it started to empty out quite a bit.I got my first Elk about 3.5 miles out one way and i don’t remember seeing more then few single hunters on foot after 3 mile mark. Is that pretty common?
This year i drew 1st rifle Bull tag in biggest/busiest group of GMUs “EM01101R”. (Im looking to focus on NW corner Units of that twelve (CO, GMUs: 11,12,13,23,24,25,26,33,34,131,211,231)GMU group) I have been out scouting few trips now (i had posted about my first scout trip about a month ago). Feel like i have few spots in mind, and all had Elk.

I plan on hiking in and camping around 4 to 5 miles in. And then hunting 1 to 2 mile radius.
so for those of you that have done similar: how many other backpack camping hunters do you usually encounter?
do i need to push further? Or is 5miles far enough to cut out 90% of the crowds?
**** my back up areas of interest are in the 3+ mile each way range for if Weather is warm and i would want to get meat out faster. But if forecast calls for cool enough weather where meat spoilage wont be an issue ill pursue the 5mile mark.
Bonus question: Horse/Mule Drop camps by outfitters- are ther enough of them past the 5-6mile mark to make it crowded, so essentially i would be getting away from day tripping foot hunters to only find myself surrounded by outfitters? Or are they typically spread out far enough?

Also am considering hiking in camp/water gear the weekend before 1st rifle. Have anyone had issues with leaving gear in the woods for a week ahead of time?
Thanks

 

[MTLabrador]

Impossible to say, it all depends on the area. I’ve hunted places in WY and MT where I’ve seen other hunters in 5+ miles on foot and I’ve hunted places where I was alone under half a mile from the road. Some variables would be trails or lack of trails, thick timber and deadfall, steep topography, easily glassable elk feeding areas, etc.

The only way to find out for sure is to just go for it and hunt. Packing an elk 4-5 miles on your own is an ass kicker.

Edit: Didn’t see that you listed specific units. Guys who are familiar with the area might have an idea.

 

[BrokenChicken]

Yea the areas i scouted do have trails. So my guess 5 miles will be minimum starting point in that case for drop camp setup?

 

[Phaseolus]

Whatever you do have a plan for getting your elk out of the woods, especially if temperatures are warm. You didn't mention what season. Five miles in is a very long distance for multiple round trips carrying elk. If you are solo you might end up spoiling meat and hating yourself

 

[Dsnow9]

Sounds like a good plan but as others have said make sure you can get your elk out 5-7 miles turns into 10-14 miles per trip and 20-60 miles depending on how many trips you take.

A steep 1 mile will scare off as many people as a flat 5 miles.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Yea the areas i scouted do have trails. So my guess 5 miles will be minimum starting point in that case for drop camp setup?

Mileage isn’t really the determining factor, 5 miles on a flat trail is nothing 1 mile bushwhacking down a 3000ft canyon full of oak brush it deadfall is horrific.

Honestly I’ve kinda done the gamut 1 mile from the truck 12 miles from the truck...Ive run into folks every, but I also always found elk.

Just focus on finding elk and don’t worry so much about other hunters.

 

[Trial153]

Depends.

 

[FlatlandHunter]

I camped right at 7 miles in a couple years ago. I saw 1 other hunter on foot in there and the rest had horses. It was ML season and warm. I took 3 trips to get my elk out and had her hanging in the shade where the wind cut around the mountain good. I didn’t lose any meat but made myself sick doing 3 round trips in about 36 hours. I will go back there and try to camp another mile or two towards the trailhead.

 

[thusby]

When you get off the trail and start having thoughts about turning back (due to steepness, vegetation, lack of visibility, bear sign, fear of death), that is generally where you want to go to be alone. If you're hearing the voice in your head, so are the other hunters.

 

[TOGIE]

i'm working up a similar plan for 1st rifle as you

my piece of advice, don't put all your eggs in one basket

have 3-4 larger general areas in the unit you plan to work and plans within those general areas. don't keep a hammering an area that has lots of folks and a lack of elk. move to a new general area, even if it means packing out and packing back in somewhere.

i have a spot i intend to pack in couple miles, another area i would work from the truck, yet another area i would work from the truck, one more area i could pack in, i even have a couple spots in neighboring units that i would work barely more than a 3/4 of a mile from the truck

it's a short season, so realistically it would be hard to hit more than two, but having all of them mapped out and basic mental understanding of where and what i would do there is huge when areas aren't working the way you hoped

 

[Tradewind]

how far are yo willing to pack an elk out of any given area?

 

[BrokenChicken]

ok. Thanks for all the comments.
i did mention that this is 1st rifle CO (2nd weekend in OCT).while new to hunting overall, not new to hiking and backpacking. i know 1st rifle weather could be 70F to 10F all in the same day. Last year we (i will hunt with my BIL) had single digits at night, snow and 65F+ all in same few days.
I know packing out long distance is not easy but im still in decent shape that it doesnt scare me away. As long as weather allows it (aka its Cold). If it will be warm I already have spots in 3mile range that ill go to.
last years cow (my first elk and first serious packout) was about 3.5 miles each way (7rt). It was taken on 4th day which was also warmest around 65-70F but meat stayed in the shade and as soon as sun set it dropped to below 30F so meat stayed frozen actually. I did shoot her way down in the valley and packout was uphill whole way 1,600-1,800 gain in elevation. Was it hard?- sure, but i didnt mind it And would do it again.
This new area its actually the opposite (awesome). Hiking in would be Uphill most of the way (1,500-2,000ft depends on exact spot) so packingnout would be downhill mostly.
So is general consensus that 5 miles is far enough to leave 80-90% of people behind?
And are horse/mule people not that large in numbers or get spread out more?
thanks

 

[BrokenChicken]

how far are yo willing to pack an elk out of any given area?

If weather permits (its cold) abd if we’re both successful (BIL and i both have Bull tags). I feel comfortable with 7mile max one way (14m each round trip) if not bushwhacking. I figured even if it takes 6 trips (that would include camp packout). i know that sounds like alot of miles but last year i think I averaged 12-13 mile days all 5 days of my first Elk hunt. So in total its not that far off. And again: i do backpack n hike enough that 10mile hike is something i took my dog along on for this Saturday and was out by lunch, just an example. So i think while it would be a very long day to do 2 loads out and get bavk to camp 20-24 miles. Thats what i feel my max is.
Work if flexible enough that time should not be an issue even if i end up having to take few additional days to pack out.
i will have my drop camp but ill also keep 2ndcamp set up at the car. So if lets say i did 1.5 trips i wouldnt have to go back up just to sleep and can do so at the car.

 

[BrokenChicken]

Funny enough. Now that i spelled it all out jn terms of miles and vert out loud - all of a sudden i am thinking that it wont be too crowded.

 

[bullbugle307]

I'll tell you this. Guys with horses and on foot will go a long ways sometimes. And oftentimes, there's elk up and off the trail about a mile in that most people blow right past. I'd rule out that possibility before going deep if I was you.

 

[Fremont15]

In Wyoming crowds seem to drop off significantly after you’re in there about a mile. I hear it’s much different in a place like Colorado though. But I also hunt grizzly country so that thins the crowds out as well.

 

[beginnerhunter]

Horses are completely foreign to me. I bet horse hunters look at 15 miles like it's a day hunt. Must be pretty cool.

 

[BrokenChicken]

I'll tell you this. Guys with horses and on foot will go a long ways sometimes. And oftentimes, there's elk up and off the trail about a mile in that most people blow right past. I'd rule out that possibility before going deep if I was you.

i hear that, and yes one can get lucky and have elk walk just past your car-camp set up and you could take it.
i am looking to increase my chances in every and any way possible. i also dont want to deal with what i saw last year: for the first mile or so, on the opening morning hiking in, there was a guy shining a light at me from behind some tree every 50 yards, just dont want to deal with crowds around me.
if being further away from crowds, allows for less pressure, more elk, and and gives me higher success rate chance, then thats what i'm after.
so while getting lucky a mile is happens every year for some, its not what i'm after.

 

[Straight Arrow]

During the summer, we hike until we can no longer hear the Harleys screaming down the Montana roadways.

During elk season I hike and glass until I am dog-tired, then typically the elk are over the next ridge. (Usually I am overly eager and hike too much. When I relax, slow down and glass longer and more often, the success improves.)

 

[2rocky]

If you want the horse perspective 7-10 miles with a couple steep grades is the sweet spot. Reason being that you can pack a camp in and get back out to the trailhead with 6 head of horses in an 8 hour day. If you are gonna hunt on horseback you have a 6 mile range and you can go out to 10 from camp if it looks good. If you want to get away from the horses go where its dry and steep.