Mike, My sons and I are hunting along the Utah border this year. We start in Sept for bear and then the first rifle only draw season for elk -if we draw. If not, an over the counter bull tag and maybe a left over cow tag for the last season. We have some freezers looking cavernous at the moment. No deer this year while I save preference points for a big mulie area -someday if I live long enough )
Good luck with your hunt, you will be in one of the top areas around this part of the world. The Grand Mesa is nice but the Uncompadre is everything, alpine to high desert/canyon country. Bring the best optics....
Oh, and don't forget to look down. One of my sons found an arrowhead up there in perfect condition. It is made out of marbled mahogany obsidian, the closest source of that is eastern California I think. Lots of Ute Indians summered and hunted the Unc and at least one traveled or traded long distances. Of course, no one saw any elk after that.