I' m kind of surprised at the drop off in topics and postings here on our big game hunting forum at this time of year; at least for those that venture beyond the local deer patch for their big game hunting. Now is a key time to be getting one' s act together! Three factors come to play: " compression" of both time and money, and scouting.
For anyone who has ever tried putting together an organized " 10 days out of the nearest town and without intent of going back early" elk camp/hunt starting just 2 weeks prior to the season, they know what I mean. Lack of planning and preparation almost guarantee minor (and sometimes not so minor) emergencies, inconveniences, and disappointments come hunting time.
In the weeks prior to departure, there is already the tendency to work more hours than normal before leaving because you are going to be gone so many days and you want things to go well in your absence thus your available prep time per day is even shorter. There are plenty of things that can be done well in advance in terms of preparation: repairs to or acquisition of shelter and heat, new equipment, rifles set ups, ammo acquisition, sight ins, menus, grocery lists, maps, clothing, horse rentals, packing school, and all the things you said you needed extra or different the year before.
You' ll find that each item you check off your elk camp/hunt list either took time or cost you money or both. The more you save for the month of departure the more it is going to hit you in the pocket book -- all at once. The time to pull all this stuff together is now and on thru the summer -- spread out the purchases and it won' t be such a burden later.
Now is also the time to start planning the hunt and the scouting. We plan on doing two scouting trips this year to check out new areas we haven' t been into yet and to orient old and new hunters alike to the routes and the old standby spots so we don' t have to " hold their hands" in the dark of the opening morning at 330am in order to get them to their ambush spots. We even had out of state folks join us for these scouting trips BUT the key is talking to them about it NOW (is already a little late) before folks summer schedules fill up. (I' ve found the non-resident hunters in our camp to be more prepared, serious, and committed than most of our resident hunters.)
Thus I' m a little surprised folks aren' t posting about the issues involved with getting ready for a measured, successful, enjoyable hunt. I guess folks are either hiring outfitters to take care of " the details" for them, are blissfully ignorant, are all organized and ready to go, or they are " bolt away hunters" .
Bolt away hunters are those that " bolt away" from their job at 300PM Friday, drive like a bat out of hell Friday night and into Saturday morning (opening day), can' t get out of bed to be on their stand by sunrise, never get far from the road, hunt half a day Sunday, do some target practice in " camp" Sunday afternoon so they can say they " shot" something and then " bolt away" back to town to be on their jobs on Monday. A sorry way of doing things and usually because they didn' t get their act together earlier. On the other hand " bolt away" hunters can be useful -- as if you position yourself correctly (and early) they inadvertantly can drive the elk right to you! 
Oh well, I guess it takes all kinds to make a world..... Good luck on your hunt this coming fall -- it' s just around the corner and will be upon us in no time. I can' t wait!
Never Go Undergunned,
EKM