Hunting from top or bottom of drainage
Elk
There is a large drainage that I am focusing my elk hunt on this year. I have never been to the area before. I know there is a road that ends in the bottom of the valley about 5 miles from the headwaters of the river. THere is also a road that goes in another 3 miles just on the other side of the canyon rim. It would be a 500ft climb then I would be on the south rim of the drainage looking down into a large north facing, heavily timbered slope. I am saying the pros and cons. Hiking in from the bottom allows me to hunt up with the early thermals. It is a longer distance but easier terrain to pack.
If I climb over from the south, I am deep in the basin but have to drop in with thermals at my back then if I get one, I will have to pack it back up to the top or the rim(could be short but could be far). This option is nice for glassing the first day or so as well.
Just curious how most guys would attack this scenario if they had 10 days to hunt.
I would hunt it: going into the wind.
After the sun is up, your thermals will generally be going up not down in the morning. A lot depends on what the elk are doing. If they are feeding low and bedding high, coming from underneath in the morning can be frustrating.
My normal place is like that and I try and be above them in elevation by the time the sun comes up. Sometimes that means hiking past/around them in the dark.
Where we hunt up high, it takes several hours after the sun is up before the thermals start to change. We always try to come in from the bottom to work the elk, never from the top.
Thats kinda what I was thinking if from top. I could glass and find them, wait for thermals to switch, then drop in on them. I won't really know what they are doing though until I get there.
"A lot depends on what the elk are doing. If they are feeding low and bedding high, coming from underneath in the morning can be frustrating."
How much have you guys seen elk bedding low and moving up in the evenings? like % of time? I had this happening in one spot this past September in Montana. Before that i had only had experience with them feeding low and bedding high so I am trying to get a gauge on how prevalent this is.
"Where we hunt up high, it takes several hours after the sun is up before the thermals start to change. We always try to come in from the bottom to work the elk, never from the top."
Yep, I never come in from the top. If it's the only way in, I go around and in from the side. The sun's up 2-3 hours before thermals switch everywhere I've hunted.
"Thats kinda what I was thinking if from top. I could glass and find them, wait for thermals to switch, then drop in on them"
Are you talking about doing this method in the morning?
If so you will have limited time catching them on the move/hoof before they bed down. From my experiences, when the thermals start to switch they will "high tail" it to their bedding areas if they aren't already there. And 90% of the time, their bedding areas are where the winds swirl, all day long.
From top, if you know where they are in the morning, drop down to the side of them and come at em cross wind
I sometimes hunt at timberline and its common for them to feed high and bed low. Wind in the mountains is so squirrelly it requires modifying plans constantly. Especially if a weather front is coming through.
Feed low or feed high.... depends on where the feed is.
If the tops are ridges and peaks then most feed is going to be in parks and meadows lower. Several places we've hunted in ID and MT the high ground is plateau flats and the feed is on top with mostly gulches and washes lower. One place in ID we watched several antelope herds rut at near 9000 feet every day.
Thermals can depend on not just elevation but the orientation of the hillsides as well. Rough example, if the drainage or canyon runs N-S the easterly sunrise heats up the east facing slope first and while that air will rise, it will pull cooler air from the opposite more shaded slope down. And will continue to do so until the sun is nearly overhead and the temps equalize a bit, sometimes well into the day. Hunted one place several days counting on the thermals switching later in the morning which pretty much never happened, screwed up several good opportunities until we put two and two together.
Any prevailing winds with much to them will overpower thermals pretty easy and screw all that up as well. Best laid plans and all....
In other words.... every place is different..... =D
Spot them or hear them then you move in utilizing the wind.
You will have to hunt with the wind.
But I can recommend packing an elk out down! (unless you have no other option, then up is better than no dead elk, maybe)
I like hunting up but will do whatever the wind dictates... With the road system you describe I'd be more worried about other hunters... Roads = hunters in my experience..
Its pretty remote, either way won't be easy to pack an elk. I am thinking going in through bottom. THe drainage faces the east, so Im guessing the thermals switch earlier than some other but I will find out when I get there. Thanks for the input.
I like to hunt UP with the morning thermals.
Pack out DOWN for sure! ha
You could get into elk/harvest before ya get to your basin??
Good luck, Robb
I have notice in areas where you have to hunt down, then pack up there are less hunters. Probably for a good reason, but if you are willing to suffer the pack up you could get into dome good hunting, even near roads.
Just because you came from one way, doesn't mean you have to pack elk back that way. Sometimes it's easier to pack down to a road and send someone back empty handed to bring the truck down and around.
I was tossing all these options around, I guess the decision would be depending on where the elk falls if we get lucky. Wilderness, I was hoping this would be the case, a road goes in a ways on adjacent drainage but still doesn't make it an easy hunt.You still planning on some goat hunting in Kauai?
I would haul ass in there on the easiest trail in the dark and try to hear some elk bugling- then move accordingly- you have to find them first.
It might take a day of hanging back, so you don't get winded- to hear/see what they are doing.
