OK Guys- I could use a little advice here.

This year, we decided not to drive the hour every morning to our hunting grounds and then hike 2-3 miles back in the wilderness. We decided to get out to Idaho a couple days early, pack in 5-7 miles and set up a base camp.

We will be hunting near the sawtooth range of Idaho for the first 8 days of rifle season. We plan on setting up camp near a stream in the valley, so that the water masks our noise somewhat.

Is building a fire bad news at this kind of location. Will the smoke, etc...alert nearby game? I'm really new to this type of hunting and would appreciate some advice from your past experiences.

thanks