Used to live in Denver and had pretty fair spots in the Flat Tops and greater Gunnison area. Moved to the San Luis Valley area (southern Colorado) and have been literally working my ass off finding a decent spot in the near by Sangre de Cristo range. Sometimes I feel a little discouraged.

There are deer in the navigable areas, the elk like the higher ground of course. The problem is that the neighboring Sangre de Cristo's are pretty much....just brutal. Very steep and very rocky. I see more black bears than anything else. Not used to finding so many elk hooves with part of a leg bone attached. Clearly the work of a black bear.

I have a great Jeep but there are almost no Jeep trails around. Unless you want to risk your life on the road that is rated "toughest in Colorado".....the Como Lake Road, aka: Blanca Peak Road. Walked it once and definitely didn't want to try climbing the surrounding terrain without ropes, carabiners, and climbing axes. A big snowstorm would strand your Jeep until next July.

To top it off, there is a lot of thick and thorny brush. Hiking is just tough and visibility is limited. There probably are plenty of elk if one toughs it out and climbs as much as hikes. Then carrying it out may be very difficult.

#Challenged in Colorado