Hmmmm. Bone, I think you and I hunt the same in different parts of the state. I went in once this year to find seven camps, not including mine, in a 1 mile stretch of the road. However, in the holes I always hunt, I never saw another soul. Talking to each of the guys in the camps out there I have learned that nobody gets quite far enough back: "So did you make it back to the second fork of the creek back in there?" "Oh, no, I hit the bugle hard from the trail where the first fork is. That second fork is way too hard to get back to. I tried once a couple years ago, but I gave up after an hour of fighting the brush." "Hmph, well, good luck the rest of the season." "Thanks, you too." Meanwhile, I have a trail brushed out that only I know into and beyond that area. Hunting hard is very important in popular areas because the bulls know exactly how far they have to go to not be harrassed by hunters. That's the distance you have to go every time. Getting back to camp before dark is rarely a good option if you are serious about consistently killing a bull. That being said, I punched my tag on an average-to-good six point that was 4 miles in through brush that you had to walk on top of to move for most of the way (man, I need to start hunting with my buddies or closer to the road). I think I have found the limit of what one person can physically accomplish in the elk woods, and I don't plan on doing it again. That hole is a big red X on the map for me from now on because it is too tough to get a bull out of without a small army to help. But it is fun to have 5 bulls screaming every time you go in there; maybe another 11 months will remove that X off the maps. We'll see.
By the way, great pictures! I wish I would have had my camera with me several times. I was 5 yards from 4 cows for over 5 minutes that would have made a great video.
