Lewis River gmu

[zmhayward]

First timer forum member.  My hunting  party tried our luck in the Lewis River area last year for modern rifle season.  We mainly hunted the southeast corner of the area (closest to trout lake).  The area we hunted was very thick!  I know this is an enormous gmu and was wondering if anyone out there knew of some more friendly timber in the area. 

[Alan K]

I'd imagine you'd be hard pressed finding anyone willing to point you in the direction of any specific patches of timber.  Best bet would be to download Google Earth and comb the GMU under the latest aerial photo.   

[zmhayward]

good tip thanks

[elksnout]

You need to hunt where the elk are.....most likely not in the "friendly" timber. 

[Huntbear]

In that unit, most of the "friendly timber" is on slopes to steep to stand on.. 

[p-ohana]

 

[bowhiker]

I've hunted that area quite often and feel your pain. It only gets better when you get an elk down and have to pack it out of that mess. I concentrate my hunting in the Mt. Adams wilderness area to get away from the quads and road hunters. Some good hiking, but I've seen elk every year. There are areas in there that are not to bad considering where your at. I have a couple ridgelines in mind, but... Send me a pm if you need more.

[Crunchy]

There are a lot of elk in the Lewis GMU, problem is the number of hunters.  You need to find a good map, locate an area with miniimal road access, and get to hiking.  Elk will go to areas with the least amount of human pressure.  Trick is to find that area.

[Sliverslinger]

I grew up hunting that unit with my Grandfather and dad. Still my favorite area for a multitude of reasons. In that unit most people seem to drive around and admire the jaw-dropping steepness of it without ever creasing the leather on their boots. That country is loaded with elk, typically several smaller groups depending on the time of year, but it's not like Weyerhauser land where there's a road every mile and the elk have no choice but to be reasonably close to a road. The elk can sit two ridges over and stay miles from the roads and the people who won't get farther than a mile from the truck. I recommend heading farther north in the unit, we always camped at Cat Creek or there in the vicinity. While the thick stuff is great when the pressure is on, if you want some more open areas I recommend using Google earth and some terrain maps to find areas that are above 4000 ft. It starts to take on more of a subalpine character with open patches. When I hunted up there as a kid I absolutely loved it and hated it, but either my dad or grandpa (or both) got an elk almost every year. Their philosophy was "You need to look around and find the areas that are so steep, nasty, rugged, and ridiculous that no sane person would ever go there, and then go there and find the elk that no one else knows about." Then they would drag me out of bed to start walking an hour before daylight, up some Godforsaken mountain, only to go down the other side and up some other Godforsaken mountain. I'll never forget my Grandpa leaning down about every half mile and saying "50% of hunters would stop now..." After the next mile "the other 25% would turn back here..." Eventually, I'd hear "No other crazy a**hole would go up that, now we'll find the elk." Usually we did. Now I drag my hunting friends out there but they usually won't go with me a second time... can't be ruining that brand new pair of boots.
 
Based on my experience there here's my best advice on that unit:

-Get away from the roads
-Get away from the quad trails if you can
-Get away from the main hiking trails if you can
-Hunt the northern part of the unit- big tall thick timber with meadows if you research and find them.
-Have a pack with everything you need for a night in the mountains, the weather and fog rolls in unnervingly  fast and you won't be able to find the right saddle on the right ridge until it clears. It is damn cold spending the night up there.
-Hunt with a partner, that country is steep and rugged. I broke my arm and sprained my ankle in a rockslide one year. Wouldn’t have gotten out without help.
-Trust your compass, I get turned around on the same forking ridges every year and swear each time that my compass has broke. My back-up compass is always broken to. That country plays tricks on you.
-Enlarge an aerial map to about 18”x24”, laminate it, it makes it a lot easier to estimate where they are going after you jump them.
-Use google earth to find some dry lake beds at high elevation- the y are often filled with grass.
- Have stuff in your pack to build a fire easily at a moment’s notice. If you fall off of a snow covered log into a large creek, you’re hands won’t be able to operate a lighter very well.
-Don’t cross large creeks on snow covered logs.
- I’d try around 46 25’38.97N 121 35’49.21W  and 46 22’33.09N 121 46’48.56W Without giving away my favorite honey holes, those are good places to try. Still, there are places even further from roads that are better.
-Go where others won’t
-Don’t bother wasting gas driving around for hours- you’ll come to believe that no animals live there.
-PM if you want to know more.

PS- I know this is long a rambling but I’m sitting here running on 2 hours sleep holding my three week old and have nothing else I can do at the moment.

[Bigshooter]

I always liked hunting around the toutle and Loo-wit boundaries.  Always seemed to get into elk.  Just make sure you know the boundaries.

[Huntbear]

Lots of elk in that unit.. but you will usually pay the price of a 2 or 3 day pack out, if you really hunt it right.

Oh, and sliverslinger,, you are spot on with that country! 

[cwuwildcat]

Lots of elk in that unit.. but you will usually pay the price of a 2 or 3 day pack out, if you really hunt it right.

Oh, and sliverslinger,, you are spot on with that country!

+2 what silverslinger said.  Good luck with the newborn, silver.  It'll get better in 20-24 years!

[zmhayward]

Silverslinger--Thank you very much for the info!!!  Im a new hunter without a kill under my belt and that info is very much appreciated. 

[iRem]

Lots of elk in that unit.. but you will usually pay the price of a 2 or 3 day pack out, if you really hunt it right.

Oh, and sliverslinger,, you are spot on with that country!

+2 what silverslinger said.  Good luck with the newborn, silver.  It'll get better in 20-24 years!

  
 great job on the tutorial