I was lucky enough to draw the archery elk and earlier rifle deer tag this year. I thought both hunts were incredible. I love to hike elevation and cover miles. This hunt was exactly what I was looking for, hard but rewarding.
I would say this area is hard even for Idaho standards. It's the hardest place I've hunted in Idaho.
I'm not good at hunting areas the easiest way possible but from my perspective to hunt this area effectively you will either be hiking up 2-3,000 ft each day or down 2-3,000 ft just to get into the elk. In 8 days I hiked 60,000+ ft of elevation gain/loss.
It didn't seem possible to glass and find much game from roads. But maybe I was missing something.
Both of my hunts are in the Idaho forum. PM me if you have any specific questions.