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Scout, scout and more scouting. Put some boots on the ground. Start now and by season you should have an idea on some areas that hold elk. You will find areas that get pressured more then others. I will say that if you find a herd in a drainage in September. Doesn’t mean they will be there come late season. If your 4x4 isn’t equipped for deep snow. Then stay low. Nothing will ruin a hunt more then it turning into a survival situation. That goes along with your gear. Mt Adams area is no joke come late season. Weather turns quick. Just try and be prepared for it. Scout a dozen different areas in that unit. That way you have back up plans for your back up plan. Good luck. One other tip. Carry a shovel, axe or saw. Least a shovel and axe. Never know when a tree can fall across a road and block you in or a shovel to help you get unstuck in snow or mud. Something you might have over looked.
Elk areas are almost all special permit only, unless you are a master hunter, then you can hunt the Pumice Plains. I hunted the Lewis River unit last year muzzleloader season and it was the Normandy beaches all over again. I saw just a couple cows, but with the lava beds, it is definitely the coolest place to go. I saw a huge 5-point up there a few years ago and have seen a few nice 3-points and 4-points. WARNING: elk hunting is like drugs, you try it once, you will be addicted for life.
Bring the best rain gear money can buy.
You mentioned upper smith creek which is not a general tag and is a special permit only. Study the boundaries and compare to the game regs. I’ve hunted up and around the Lewis river for years and there are good spots and good bulls. It’s an extensive unit and I’ve seen elk all over it. Like others have said there are a lot of people but don’t let that discourage you. Not everyone hunts the same. Scout as much as you can and then hunt. Are you planning on archery or modern?Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI will be hunting modern so I am expecting a ton of people. I’d like to get away from them if possible. People have told me that scent will be all over and the elk will be hard to pattern
you will hit the monument which you can not hunt and that is about the limit. you did say you use onx maps and that should have the boundaries of the monument. but if you hit just out of the monument you should run into elk. i live maybe a half hour drive away and we hunt up there quite a bit. if you hope to jump a bear as well try hunting Cinnamon Peak. parking is mostly just along the road and if you get far enough in to where it's more brush, you can lose the crowds that turn the southern part of the unit into Omaha Beach
Regarding what I consider to be the "Mt Adams" area of 560.....In a normal November rifle elk season there will likely be snow. This area will ball up quickly down to 3000' elevation and lower. I would highly recommend you camp no higher than that or at least have a solid camp and a well equipped 4x4. Hope like hell you're not planning on going alone. I've done the deep snow and ice thing with an R.V too. That's even harder to get a snow bound camp out of there. Better is a wall tent camp or similar.Good luck.Elksnout
Quote from: elksnout on June 10, 2018, 09:23:47 PMRegarding what I consider to be the "Mt Adams" area of 560.....In a normal November rifle elk season there will likely be snow. This area will ball up quickly down to 3000' elevation and lower. I would highly recommend you camp no higher than that or at least have a solid camp and a well equipped 4x4. Hope like hell you're not planning on going alone. I've done the deep snow and ice thing with an R.V too. That's even harder to get a snow bound camp out of there. Better is a wall tent camp or similar.Good luck.ElksnoutI have some friends that might go with me but if they flake out I’ll be doing a solo elk hunt One more thing to ponder. You say this will be your first elk hunt and perhaps solo. When you get a bull down far from the road and the rain and/or snow is dripping down your butt crack as you break the animal down it can be overwhelming by yourself. Guys do it each year but they usually know their area and it's not their first rodeo. Elksnout
Quote from: Ajj828 on June 11, 2018, 08:42:39 PMQuote from: elksnout on June 10, 2018, 09:23:47 PMRegarding what I consider to be the "Mt Adams" area of 560.....In a normal November rifle elk season there will likely be snow. This area will ball up quickly down to 3000' elevation and lower. I would highly recommend you camp no higher than that or at least have a solid camp and a well equipped 4x4. Hope like hell you're not planning on going alone. I've done the deep snow and ice thing with an R.V too. That's even harder to get a snow bound camp out of there. Better is a wall tent camp or similar.Good luck.ElksnoutI have some friends that might go with me but if they flake out I’ll be doing a solo elk hunt One more thing to ponder. You say this will be your first elk hunt and perhaps solo. When you get a bull down far from the road and the rain and/or snow is dripping down your butt crack as you break the animal down it can be overwhelming by yourself. Guys do it each year but they usually know their area and it's not their first rodeo. Elksnout
Magnum Willys has good ideas for you.Also, nobody says you HAVE to pack the entire bull out in one day solo in one series of death marches in steep wet/snowy terrain. Gutless de-bone the animal. In early November rifle season, temperatures are cool enough that you can just hang the meat game bags with a tarp above it to keep the rain/snow off and take your time with the pack out. Take as many game bags to your truck per day as you can handle. Get some sleep, eat some food, then get up and take more. If it takes a few days, that's fine.
Quote from: kselkhunter on June 12, 2018, 06:57:34 AMMagnum Willys has good ideas for you.Also, nobody says you HAVE to pack the entire bull out in one day solo in one series of death marches in steep wet/snowy terrain. Gutless de-bone the animal. In early November rifle season, temperatures are cool enough that you can just hang the meat game bags with a tarp above it to keep the rain/snow off and take your time with the pack out. Take as many game bags to your truck per day as you can handle. Get some sleep, eat some food, then get up and take more. If it takes a few days, that's fine. Never said he HAD to do the “death march”. Just giving him an example of the closest thing he can do. That would resemble a pack out. You train hard before season. Besides. Most people don’t have DAYS to pack an animal out. You know with work, family etc etc going on. Also I’m an early season hunter. So yea my pack outs are on a timer. Depending on where one falls to me. Also with the weird weather we been having around here lately and last year. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was 78 degrees during late season this year. Heck we had snow in September last year. PLUS snow in June just a few days ago up in that area.
