I think Chicago Basin is the area that the needle creek drains. There are several 14 k peaks accessible from there. If you follow the trail up through Chicago Basin it crosses a pass (Columbine Pass?) at about 12,850' and over into the Columbine Basin, the area drained by Johnson Creek. You may well have gone in the way I came out. You are right about Chicago Basin having a lot of people. We didn't see any elk, but we weren't looking. I have only recently -- fall 2002 -- gotten into hunting. It is amazing how much game you can see when you start looking for it. I see pronghorn antelope all the time when I drive to Taos, NM, now. I have driven this road many times before, but never saw a pronghorn until I started looking for them. Ditto with seeing deer off the sides of the road in various parts of the country.

Good to know there are plenty of elk up there. I'm not looking for a whooper 7x7 bull elk, just a decent cow elk!!! I figured this was the best way to get a toe hold into the elk hunting game. The license is half the cost of the bull license. The odds of scoring are higher. I have no place in my home (8' high ceilings mostly) to mount an elk head, so what do I get with a bull, tougher meat and a rack I can't display? If I fail, I'm out less money (and I read various success rates, mostly in the 20% range, for elk hunters).