first week of archery is already over... I was out there above timberline the whole week.
Elk hunting was a lot tougher this year than years past for me... I don't know if it was due to the late spring, but the quality of the alpine grass was poorer this year than years past. As a consequence, I was on fewer elk than in years past.
Elk were completely nonvocal, no bugles, no sparring. I still managed to get on elk every day which was better than many I heard reports from. Last Thursday I got under a nice 320" 6x7 right at daylight. At 80 yards I cow called to him and he just moved up and away over the top of the mountain. That was frustrating.
I'm thinking about hunting the week of ML next year to get into a little bugling action, but of course, the elk may not still be on summer patterns and may be more difficult to locate. A mixed bag for sure.