New Elk Hunting area advice

[crazywednesday]

I will start with I hunt coastal elk. We are in elk all the time and almost always kill one or two between me an my partner. This year we were tipped off to some new hunting grounds that is not familiar to us. We have been gearing up to the whole backcountry hunting experience for a while, he is a gritty freak for god sake, but we apply it to how we use it minimally. There is nothing like a a shower and custom bed to sleep in every night. Dont get me wrong, we hike 6 - 12 miles a day, add in some bike miles, but we are comfy every night. My partner and I are going to join the millions of excited western elk hunters into the great west.... western Washington where nobody goes, lol, but there is huge bulls. Lets get serious. I am looking for a bit of advice.

We are going to be hunting 5000+ feet for archery elk. We are doing a scouting trip 2 weeks prior to the opener. Other than dont over call the elk, what advice do you have for us? We are not used to this type of terrane. Should we focus on water? Should we focus on shade? Should we focus on feed? What do elk eat at 5000+ feet? I know what they eat at sea level! Is it a mistake to camp in a basin 2 weeks prior to the elk opener? So many questions... So few answers.

Any good advice is appreciated. Obviously I have been given my own spot to discover. Trolls keep trolling.

Justin

[crazywednesday]

OMG im all alone here. No worries.

[jaybirding]

Can’t help much as I’m new to elk hunting, but this post might help quite a bit for coastal mountain elk.

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,272711.0.html

[mburrows]

Dude if you guys kill 1-2 elk a year between the two of you I would do what you’ve been doing 

[MADMAX]

Dude if you guys kill 1-2 elk a year between the two of you I would do what you’ve been doing 

Thats a no chitter
Id be right back
Same place
Same tactics

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Dude if you guys kill 1-2 elk a year between the two of you I would do what you’ve been doing 

Right, don’t leave elk to find elk!

Anyway sounds like a fun adventure, good luck!
Maybe camp on a ridge due to thermals switching constantly blowing scent at anything in a drainage. Get on hot sign and watch wind. It’s way different higher up. Have plan b, c, d and e ready if the area is a ghost town. Elk will go miles daily for water so you can ambush them anywhere along that route. Have fun and good luck

[444Marlin]

You are ahead of the game killing one to two elk every year.  Don't pick up a happy baby.

And I'm not sure from your post what you are asking for in advice?  It seems to me that if you're killing elk every season, hiking 12 miles a day, you should be telling us what works for you.  It sounds to me that y'all will do just great...and if you don't, you'll learn something that will make you better than most next season.

[bkaech]

Most elk I have seen at high elevation spend time eating in open meadows, might bed in the open during night or on a foggy day, but will move into cool shady areas by mid morning and likely head to water at that time. Not that much different than the elk I Hunt in the lowlands. They will easily move up over a 500' ridge without thinking about it, they might move to the bottom of the canyon for water, then back to the open meadow to feed, or feed at the top of the ridge. It all depends on the specific terrain. I would plan on camping in the timber if there is any, or in the rocks, get high and glass and move and look for sign. The elk will likely move through the same few spots over and over again, Just look for elk and look for trails, it won't take long and you will figure out what they are doing. If you can find elk on the coast figuring out elk at high elevation will be easy. Good Luck.

[crazywednesday]

Most elk I have seen at high elevation spend time eating in open meadows, might bed in the open during night or on a foggy day, but will move into cool shady areas by mid morning and likely head to water at that time. Not that much different than the elk I Hunt in the lowlands. They will easily move up over a 500' ridge without thinking about it, they might move to the bottom of the canyon for water, then back to the open meadow to feed, or feed at the top of the ridge. It all depends on the specific terrain. I would plan on camping in the timber if there is any, or in the rocks, get high and glass and move and look for sign. The elk will likely move through the same few spots over and over again, Just look for elk and look for trails, it won't take long and you will figure out what they are doing. If you can find elk on the coast figuring out elk at high elevation will be easy. Good Luck.

Thank you for the advice. It sounds quite solid. Camping in the timber was also suggested from the friend that turned us on to this place. If this turns out to be a bust, we are going back to our old stomping grounds. We are just looking forward to a change of pace. I think my hesitation is that we dont know every inch. We are pretty excited about this opportunity.

To be fair, we dont hike 12 miles every day. Those are the days we are looking for them. When we find elk, we stay on them until we blow them out or kill one; most encounters are unsuccessful.