Elk hunting sw. CO
 

Drew a either sex tag for unit 75,751 for 1st season rifle. This is my first time elk hunting so i am in search of a mentor of sorts. Havent hunted a whole lot, but i am ready to put in the effort. If anyone is in the durango area and is interested in helping me out a little, please let me know. Thanks

First season the elk are generally up high -- between 10500' and 12500', maybe most particularly between 11000' and 12000'. Talk to the biologist at the Ranger Station in Durango -- call him on the phone -- ask him for some suggestions. Maybe he has a good place in mind for you.

Looking at your profile next to your post, you look like you live in Durango. I bet if you get out there and befriend a few locals you can get some tips. Go down to Gardenswartz on main street and chat up the clerks during slow time. Talk to cooks in restaurants. Go to a rifle range and talk to other shooters. You're bound to bump into someone who can give you some hints. Be careful about asking for a specific hot spot, as they may wish to keep their best place secret. Sometimes, though, they aren't averse to pointing you to a general area. If you have a general area that seems promising, then go out there and scout on weekends. Finding a good elk hunting spot is about putting in some sole searching hours . . . and that wasn't a typo! I mean walkin the mountains with your eyes looking for sign. Talk to that biologist in Durango.

Will do. I have some buddies at work that i think are going to help me out. Ive been living in durango for 5 years so i have been on a lot of trails. But unfortunately most of my friends are not into hunting.

I have a trail cam up right now in a spot looking for a muley buck, and i have some places that i will be scouting in the next few weeks. Thanks for the help!

Lak,
Some buddies and I just got back from a six-day backpacking trip in the Weminuche Wilderness northeast of Durango. We covered 45 miles and saw little elk sign and one herd of cows/calves at 12,000 feet. WE spent several days between 10,000 and 12,500 feet. I know there's got to be more elk in that area, but we just didn't see much sign.

I think the general rule with elk is cover a lot of ground until you find them. Then, don't push them out.

I'm hearing elk from 8000-12,000ft right now. I'm not going to lock myself into one altitude this year. I'll try all altitudes.

fishguts: This question is not about elk hunting but your backpacking trip. I've backpacked twice in the Weminuche, same route each time, but some 23 years apart: from going up Elk Creek, across Hunchback Pass, go down Nebbo Creek and down Valecito Creek, up Johnson Creek, across Columbine Pass, down into the Chicago Basin area and down Needle Creek to the Animas River. We rode the Durango-Silverton railroad to get to Elk Creek and from Needle Creek to return to Durango.

What route did you follow? Was it pretty dry up there? Hard to find drinking water?

FWIW: On my two backpacking trips described above I never saw any elk sign, not that I was particularly looking for any. Also, no actual elk cited. We did see two mountain goats in Chicago Basin, quite close. Maybe the elk stay away from the backpacking trails? We probably were never more than 100 feet off the backpacking trail, and at least when I backpacked the path I mentioned above, there were several other parties on the route.

We went up Vallecito, over Nebo pass, around the Ute lakes, back over the divide, up and over an unnamed pass on an unmapped trail over Rock Lake, down to Emerald lakes and out at the trailhead at Pine River. Water was abundant everywhere, even up above treeline. We were told it would be dry, but it seemed very lush everywhere we walked.

It could be that elk avoid the trails. However, we studied openings on far slopes for elk and other critters as we hiked. The one herd of elk we saw crossed the CDT on the divide about a mile away from where we camped. I can't imagine hunting elk up that high, at least not without horses to get an elk out.

I just did a quick backPacking trip from Andrews lake to crater lake and I saw a good amount of sign and a few Muley bucks as well. That is between 10000 and 12000 there. I'm going to check the camera I have set up tonight, it's been there for 2 weeks so I hope it's got some good news for me

I don't live in your area , I wish you the very best season and hope you get a Big One and most of all that you have a safe hunting season .