GMU 12 question

[oldmossback]

Made our 1st scouting trip to the unit this weekend. I have a few questions for the masses. How much snow can be expected in the 9-10k ft range during 3rd season?
I have been studying lots of maps and we will possible bring horses, how fast do the camping spots on the east side fill up with outfitters etc?
Any info you guys would be willing to share would be most appreciated. Thanks

 

[Cohntr62]

I'm more familiar with the west side, but I suppose it's similar. Snow is always unpredictable, but yeah, in the 3rd season the potential for significant snow is there, so be flexible in your location. If there is a lot of snow, obviously, the animals will be lower. In fact, the deer will probably be lower, snow or no snow. The 3rd season is not nearly as heavily hunted as the earlier seasons, so I'd say you shouldn't have too much of an issue finding a good camping spot. If you get in on Thursday for the Saturday opener, you should be good to go.

 

[oldmossback]

Thanks Cohntr. Actually we were looking at the west side if we choose not to bring horses. We are looking at 3rd season elk. What can we expect on that side snow and pressure wise? We spent some time over there last weekend and there were alot of good camping spots but not very many tracks.

 

[Cohntr62]

>Thanks Cohntr. Actually we were
>looking at the west side
>if we choose not to
>bring horses. We are
>looking at 3rd season elk.
> What can we expect
>on that side snow and
>pressure wise? We spent
>some time over there last
>weekend and there were alot
>of good camping spots but
>not very many tracks.

As I said, pressure shouldn't be bad in 3rd season. We hunted a little below the NF in 23 last fall, just south of unit 12, at 7000-8000 ft. Three of us filled up on mulies and I got a 6x6 bull. Good hunt. We had a couple inches of snow, but of course, it is unpredictable. You just have to search for the elk as they should be on the move at that time of year. Where we hunted, tracks in the snow told us that a huge herd had spent time in the area shortly before, but had apparently moved on. We were fortunate on the 4th day to finally see a pair of bulls in the AM, but my son missed at long range and that afternoon we saw a single, which I got. They were the only elk we saw all week. It was a lot of oak brush and we could see aspen above us, but never walked up that high. We only saw other hunters on the roads, none in the woods.