i am very excited to go on my first elk hunt to Co. it will be 5 full days of hunting and we are packing everything in! would love to hear ANY advice you can give me and PLEASE post some pictures and tell your stories to fire me up!!!!

You're in for a treat. Soak in the mountains. As an easterner by birth I can tell you that there's something about the rocky mountains that is so incredibly different from anywhere else.

My first elk trip with archery gear was a solo trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness with my Damon Howatt hunter. I spent the one night that I will never forget laying under tree on a small cliff overlooking the drainage I was hunting. Three bulls bugled back and forth all night long. I didnt sleep a minute.

Enjoy every minute of it no matter what. I've been two times and never saw an elk. I did hear a few bugles but no elk sightings. Non the less both were the most exciting hunting trips I have ever been on. It hard for me to imagine what it would have been like if the elk had attended. d;^)

Welcome to the Colorado Rockies. Enjoy it. Come early to get used to elevation. DRINK a lot water. Pay attention for signs of high altitude sickness. Where are you going to hunt? Wilderness areas?

If you can....make it longer than five days...and read Gills thread on elk hunting.

Get ready for the time of your life! The only thing better than the whitetail woods is elk country in the rockies. Hunt the north slopes in warm weather,find spots where you can see,let your binoculars save you some walking.Take some kind of water purifier. Get in the best shape you can those hills are steep.

You'll never be the same!!

Best tip I got

Squat alot when searching for elk in timber.

Good luck with the hunt and trip to the Rockies it can be addicting that is why I live here after all. Along with the other suggestions offered so far I would encourage once you know where you are going to google scout as much as you can and then buy the  7.5minute maps of your area so you can mark down places you want to hunt while you are here.

I have to agree with britt that one of the most important things that can completely ruin your hunt is altitude sickness.  If you are not used to being at altitude then come a few days early to let your body adjust.  Enjoy...Shawn

If your packing in, 2 liter bladder in your day pack, a water filter bag for camp, and electrolyte water flavoring becuase if you doi it right( always sip water every 20 min. never be thirsty) you will get sick of staight water. The other thing I would say is plan your energy  bars n granola for the day and carry at least two days worth every day. Eat something several times a day while out. I take mostly bars. If you dont you may crash, once you experience a crash you will never let happen again. Happy hunting!
By the way, anyone can do this. Be yourself not somebodies idea of a mountain man. Clint Eastwood said it best, "a mans gotta know his own limitations".

Lou

Learn to use a mouth call for mews. I blind-called in a herd of cows/calves on opening day a couple years ago while taking a break hiking back to camp along a finger ridge. Two big cows stayed there for a while looking around, both with trees blocking the goodies. While this was going on I had others hanging around across a thick shallow draw with no shots. Most exciting time ever in the mountains other than another time I had a bull raking trees below me and grunting. Never did see him, but the next day I climbed down and saw the trees he tore up...



It's addicting to say the least. Here's a few pics to get ya pumped for the trip.











Take your time to get used to the elevation and like others have said, drink A LOT of water.

Another thing, before making a fire be sure there's no fire ban in effect by the county OR Forest Service for where you hunt. Also, check out the Colorado COW website, it has maps and info to keep you entertained for a while.

Good luck! I can't wait to go back out there.

QuoteOriginally posted by adkmountainken:
i am very excited to go on my first elk hunt to Co. it will be 5 full days of hunting and we are packing everything in! would love to hear ANY advice you can give me and PLEASE post some pictures and tell your stories to fire me up!!!!

Advice... Start thinking about trip number two...after you get a taste of chasing elk you will not be able to let it go    

I would advise you to get all of your pack and supplies ready as early as you can and make sure you are comfortable with your setup. Don't over complicate things though you really only need the essentials, shelter, food, water and Stick bow. Your going to have a blast regardless of the outcome! Enjoy the experience and take time to let it all sink in when your out there.

There is a lot of great info at the CO website.  Contact folks that live near where you are hunting.  They can tell you a lot about what to expect in that region.  As mentioned before, get used to your gear with practice camps.  Most first-timers forget to bring a good lip balm.  Once you arrive west practice shooting different ranges.  The distances are very deceiving with higher altitude.  Most of all, enjoy and respect the surroundings.  You have just signed on to a very addicting event!

Elk are not in every drainage. Be prepared to move if they are not where you are at. Sometimes that could be one more drainage over sometimes several.

Good luck.
John

thank you all so much! i plan on doing a few weekend hunts around home to test all my gear. have already started to get in shape as i am an avid runner. need to learn A LOT about calling though.

2010. You will be hooked... I guarantee it!!

Look closely... some food suggestions. I transfer my MH meals to a plastic boiling bag. Then I take a couple of the original mylar bags (that MH meals come in). That way I can drop the boiling bag into the mylar, add boiling water per instructions, eat and then burn the bag. This way my mylar bag doesn't get dirty and becomes my "bowl".

Have fun (believe me, you will).

Everyone is different... but I liked a hot mid-morning breakfast. I would start the day before sunrise with a granola or breakfast bar. Then after hunting the first couple hours of daylight... sit down and have hot oats and cocoa.

we will be hunting in the San Juan National Forest. its a lot of fun just in the initial planning of this hunt!

I have only hunted Elk for 12 days, so that makes me a greenhorn elk hunter at best mate.

My tips ; 5 days will fly, so don't bother with heading back to camp during the day time...more so take your daypack with enough food and water to last the day and walk/hunt/stump shoot all day long...soak up the Rockies...it will change your life.

Have good boots AND socks as well as some sort of blister prevention kit.

Be as fit as you can. I was in good shape and still felt it when charging up mountains 13 000 ft high!

Take heaps and heaps of photos. I did, all day long and still look through them now. Camp shots, field shots, morning shots...hell even shots of walking in and out as well as the town we stayed in before hand.

Get upwelling before sun up and enjoy the lads in camp of an evening. Sleep when you dead I say. What's 5 days.

Finally... Don't come back with ANY regrets.....period.


Enjoy, life is short and not a dress rehearsal.


ak.