Our hunting camp has a sure-fire, garan-goshdarn-teed way of reading a topo map to locate elk.

1) Find a water source close to a road. That's where they were drinking and feeding yesterday (the day before the season opened).

2) Identify the tallest, craggiest and most thickly treed nob on the map. That is where they are today (piddling out that water they drank yesterday) calmly watching you huff and puff up the hill.

3) Lastly, locate the deepest, rockiest ravine that is furthest from any road and at least a mile from the craggy nob. This is where they will run to when you get close to the top of the craggy nob. That is also where they will run to die if one of them is foolish enough to blunder into your arrow.

4) Make sure you identify your campsite on the map. This is where they will bed down the day after the season closes.

Who said elk hunting was hard...