I'm about to give you the best advice on the high hunt you'll ever get.
Take the first day off and drive the areas you're considering, check out the trailheads. Yeah you lose a day of hunting but you're investing in your long term success. I'm telling you right now, the second you find a basin with no other hunters, that's when you will find the deer.
I too am relatively new to the backcountry scene, having moved here from Wisconsin in 2015...but my first season up high in 2016 I blew a chance at a 175" toad and passed up a legal buck in 2017 that wasnt quite what I was there for....
Here's a case study to illustrate the importance of understanding the human traffic in your high hunt spot:
My first season (2016) I had located 6 bucks that were crusing together all summer, the smallest one probably went 140". I was pumped to finally get to the trailhead for the opener...only to find about 10 rigs and a horse trailer. After a few choice 4 letter words I hiked up anyway. No deer and an outfitter tent on the exact hillside those bucks liked to feed, 9 miles back.
I sucked it up and went over the top of a ridge, down a scree field that could likely kill a man, and into a basin without a trail, and what do you know...about 15 deer, including 7 bucks, and a herd of elk led by a giant 6x6. Had the whole place to myself about 2 miles off trail. 13 miles total from the truck....
As mentioned above, there are very few places that are a secret. Find one (like I have) and you're not going to send a pic to your damn girlfriend for crying out loud lol.
My best hunting buddies don't even know where my high hunt spot is. GPW, ALW, Pasayten??? Who knows
The high hunt is like anything else in life, if you do things differently than the vast majority of people you will be way more successful.
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