I am leaving for Colorado September 8th for a two week DIY elk hunt in Routt National Forest. We will be backpacking in from the Walden side over the Continental Divide and hunting the west side of the divide.

Is there anyone in Colorado in that area, that can tell me how the weather is shaping up for the middle of September in regard to the temperature? Just about every time I go elk hunting I hit a heat wave in September. One year in Montana we had an El Nino and it was on average 100 degrees for two weeks.

Also is there anything going on in Routt or Mt Zirkel that I should be aware of?

Thanks
Gil

I will be heading in the same area 15th-24th .. would be interested too.

Good luck Gil!

I'm going there opening week........I'll be keeping my eye on this! Hunting just south of Mt Zirkel.

I'm with Ron!

I am been there many times and the second and third week can reserve any kind of weather,the weather change from season to season but it is been pretty warm in the last few years.

I'd plan on temps from the 20s to the 80s.  You won't get an accurate forecast until a couple days ahead of time and even then you can't say for sure.

As you know, the pine beetle has about devastated the forest in that area-- about 70% of it is dead or dying.  Last time I was there three year ago, it was difficult to find a place to set up my spike camp for fear of falling trees.

Weather can be anything the entire month of September, and you need to be prepared for it.  However, you're likely to get a lot more hot weather than cold weather if past experience is any indication.

You'll be sharing your second week with muzzle loaders, but most of those folks don't get too far off the road.  Good luck.

Thanks guys for the information, we may all be crossing paths coming in and going out. We should have a Tradgang Elk Jamboree.

Orion, I had heard that the pine beetle devastated that area. I was looking to get info on that in this thread also. Have the dead trees started to fall and cause tangles of blow downs in the area south of Mt Zirkel on the west side of the divide?

I have to figure that if it is going to be hot I will have to be hunting high, especially if the forest canopy is gone. Good thing I lost 54 lbs for this hunt!

Thanks again
Gil

Warm days cool nights up there in sept. Really, Kadbow has it right, be prepared for anything, in can change drasticly in a matter of hours...minuets. Beetle kill is bad in that area, and the state has even closed down some roads and camp grounds for fear of falling trees. Watch you butt, especially when the wind is up. In your travels around north park, if you see a camp with two dodge diesels, one silver,one grey.A wall tent, a twenty foot trailer and a carport looking awning with old glory flying from it, stop by for a meal, drink, conversation or what ever, be gladd to meet you. I'll tell ya where all the elk are hiding too, lol.     Welcome to Colorado, Good luck all, I know you will have a great time. Be careful out there...Watch yer topknot.

4dogs,

Shot in the dark, but do you spend time up near Dunkley?  I remember driving past a setup pretty close to your description last year.

Any other news from the Routte and Mt Zirkel areas?

Thanks
Gil

was there last season the week before muzzleloading, took our own horses, rode in for 8 hours set up camp, never saw another person for the whole time where we hunted, if you find pockets of green timber there will be elk, I saw elk every day, We saw some very nice bulls, got real close to a approx 350pt bull, 20 yrds but his vitals were covered up, he smelled us and blew out fast, lots of elk in the green pockets, we were hunting very close to the divide, real high and like I said no people but we rode in a long ways, snuck up on some bighorn sheep, had a great trip, but the tree kill is terrible so watch out of this, we had a good snowstorm hit us the first week

Sorry Mike, didnt see this again till now. I have hunted around Dunkley but not last year, we were a bit east of there...pretty fair area over around the pass though.

QuoteOriginally posted by Gil Verwey:
... how the weather is shaping up for the middle of September in regard to the temperature?...

We had a storm yesterday that changed the temperature 50 degrees in a few hours. It went from mid 90's down to the mid 40's. 2 inch hail.

Plan on anything from 80's to snow. No one can tell you what your weather will be. It may well be warm and sunny. Or not. The last two seasons the last days of Sept were hotter than they were the second week.

Joshua

Hey Joshua, Where did that two inch hail fall!  :eek:  

The beetle kill stuff might go over at any time if high winds set in.  Not enough has fallen yet to make it difficult to travel.  Give it a few more years and it will become impenetrable!

Also, there is a large area up there that was hit by a freak wind before the beetle era and it layed down many miles of green timber with only a tree here and there left standing.  If you get ahold of Routt NF people they could give you the perimiter description.  It was a huge area but may be south of your destination.

We had been there once before. We have been doing alot of research with BLM, rangers and some people we know there. I like to get some trad archers input too.

Our plan is reverting back to our original plan. We will wind up hunting more south and on the east and west side of the divide. The area we were going to do this year apparently has a lot of hiker and fisherman traffic. We were going to start out at the Gold Creek Lake area. We are bivy hunting so we can stay pretty mobile.

Dan I heard that there may also be some Mountain Goats in these mountains. Man my trip will be made if I just see a mountain goat this year. I hunted them in Atlin BC in 1982. I shot one on a mountain overlooking Lewellyn Glacier. What a hunt. It was the most rewarding hunt I ever had. I gained a great respect and admiration for them. Sure hope there are some in this area. I would love to see some goats and sheep on this trip, probably more than taking a big bull elk. I guess I am getting old.

Thanks for the info.

Gil

A lot of snow up there this year. There were 3-4 ft drifts in places and a foot of snow in the north facing timber when I was in the area over the 4th of July.  Tall, lush grass should make for great antler growth for the second year in a row.  Hopefully we get a good cold snap or two to kill off some of the mosquitos.  As others have said, beware of the beetlekill.  Check out the Forest Service website for road closures before you head up there.  I've heard of a bunch of access being shut down due to all of the dead trees.  Good luck and be safe.

So that area is not in a dry spell like much of the west?

We had an incredible snow year for much of the mountains. Most in over 20-=30 years. I am still seeing snowpack this month that was gone by mid-May last year.

I can't speak to the South western ranges but you are good in the Zirks. Belly high grass .

I'm doing a self guided hunt opening week with a friend up near Mt.Zirkel. Who do I contact in that area to see if roads are usable?