Hunting High Elevation Meadows and Parks

[Bam Bam]

Over the past 2 years, I have become much more adept at locating post-rut elk on public land. However, I have found myself overlooking, or downright avoiding high elevation meadows (pictured). The truth is, I'm just not sure how to approach the darn things. There are practically no glassing spots, no steep terrain, and no lack of food or water that concentrates game into specific areas. Does anyone care to share how they approach areas like this, where long distance glassing isn't plausible?

 

[TOGIE]

Over the past 2 years, I have become much more adept at locating post-rut elk on public land. However, I have found myself overlooking, or downright avoiding high elevation meadows (pictured). The truth is, I'm just not sure how to approach the darn things. There are practically no glassing spots, no steep terrain, and no lack of food or water that concentrates game into specific areas. Does anyone care to share how they approach areas like this, where long distance glassing isn't plausible?


View attachment 336222

looks to me like burned boot leather.

 

[TOGIE]

But for real. I dunno what other, smarter, more successful elk hunters would do. But I’d hike across as much of that landscape as I could with the wind in my face until I discover fresh elk sign or become confident there aren’t any.

 

[ccc23454]

You just need to look harder, hell i found a moose, deer and a lobster just zooming into pic. They are there, go burn some boot leather as previously suggested.

 

[Rie Bread]

Timing, wind and slow approach

 

[ismith]

Hunt them like you're still hunting whitetails back east. IE, not long range.

 

[wytex]

Try hunting the dark timber travel corridors between the meadows too.
Sit and watch.

 

[R.K.]

Pray for snow. Get there in the dark.

 

[Bam Bam]

Fresh snow would definitely swing the odds in my favor- if the elk hadn't moved out of the high elevations, yet. I hadn't thought of checking for travel corridors between meadows, that is genuis, wytex.

 

[squirrel]

You may not see any food or water concentrating points but they are there. Elk will have tiny sections of preferred food, it may be the actual food or the secretive way it can be accessed with favourable winds. Easiest to find these spots with an easy snowfall. Back-track, it doesnt matter where they feed at 2AM, it matters where they pop out with 15 minutes of light left. Even knowing this a timber funnel may be a better choice, especially for a bull with a few birthdays under his pedicles.

 

[brymoore]

I hunt those types of areas in November for bull elk. My usual method is to find glassing points to glass opposing ridges. One of my favorite ridges is between two ridges. As I hunt up it, I’m glassing the other two ridges as pockets are available for elk. The whole area is elky but it’s hit and miss with bull herds. I might find them in that basin or they could be a few miles away. My normal technique is to check different basins each day until the elk circles of travel and my circle of travel cross paths.