Forgot to answer your original question.... I've never really been lucky enough to hunt an area that isn't a high pressure area, and I'm always doing some sort of calling. When the people get thick, then the elk go where the people won't: that's where you have to go to be successful, and calling works well in the cliffs and pucker brush patches because the elk know that no hunter is crazy enough to be in their hide-away area. Once you find an area that they go when the people start chasing them, then that'll be a top producing area for years to come. It won't be an easy area, but it will give you plenty of action and probably your best shot at a freezer full of meat year after year.
If you don't know the area well enough to know where the elk go when everyone says they "disappeared", then look for cliffs or very steep areas on north-facing ridges for 2 reasons: first, hunters shun steep areas like the plague, thus attracting elk, and second, north-facing generally means cooler, wetter, and brushier; food, water, shelter, and space is all they need to live another year. Unless you're in there to ventilate one!
