Snowed Out!

[oldfortyfiveauto]

Two years ago we called off our hunt in Montana. My buddy out there called the day before we were to leave and said snow was coming down 1 foot/hour. He ended up with 4-5 feet. Up the hill from him where we were to hunt was worse. Basically the snow drove the elk out of the area for the season.

 

[cohunt]

Cohunt... will be north of Craig 20+ miles for the 4th rifle season....elevations of 6200 to 6700 if I remember correctly....any predictions or suggestions?

4th season is still a cr@p shoot at this time--- snow gets to deep for elk to find food, they start moving--- problem comes with where, they often will go to lower private crop land but you'll want to keep an eye on the snow level, as long as they can eat through the snow cover they will stay. Suposed to get another storm starting around 4am tomorrow morning-- reports show the cold system could stick around till wed or Thursday--- cold doesnt bother them much, but too much snow will push them to lower altitudes

 

[1Moose]

Brother and I had to leave our backcountry elk hunt (2nd rifle in CO) as the snow was making for a treacherous scramble back to our vehicle and weren't certain we could safely haul an elk out. On way out, passed a temporarily stuck truck that was road hunting who said their group took a couple of bulls and a few bucks nice and low in the drainages (couple thousand feet lower).

 

[teesquare]

Brother and I had to leave our backcountry elk hunt (2nd rifle in CO) as the snow was making for a treacherous scramble back to our vehicle and weren't certain we could safely haul an elk out. On way out, passed a temporarily stuck truck that was road hunting who said their group took a couple of bulls and a few bucks nice and low in the drainages (couple thousand feet lower).

Thanks for the info! It all helps...

 

[teesquare]

4th season is still a cr@p shoot at this time--- snow gets to deep for elk to find food, they start moving--- problem comes with where, they often will go to lower private crop land but you'll want to keep an eye on the snow level, as long as they can eat through the snow cover they will stay. Suposed to get another storm starting around 4am tomorrow morning-- reports show the cold system could stick around till wed or Thursday--- cold doesnt bother them much, but too much snow will push them to lower altitudes

We will be in the ..."plain" West of the mountains, which - I am hopeful - will be the migration path from the higher elevations. Very little cover - other than scrub oak in patches. - some dry washes, and canyons and a watering hole or 2. Don't think there are any food plots, or large acreage planted areas. Yep - that snow.....have dealt with it before...Had one day that started at -25F...and reached a high of +12F...Snow blowing sideways. Got off the mountain, went to town for chili. The next morning - Bluebird skies, 2 feet of snow on the ground, and zero wind. And - everyone tagged out. So...I know that conditions change rapidly.

 

[WY02K]

You made a good choice Muddy. I'm just north of you on the Wyoming side. It was an absolute wreck on the mountain during and after the storm. 4 search and rescue operations, 1 guy still missing a week later, videos of campers in the ditch and 1 dangling off a cliff. The forest had 16-30" of snow for you to walk through at 9000'. The drifts were 3-4'. Alot of places you are not getting through regardless of what truck you have.

 

[Clarkw]

My wife and I were up there just north of Clark. She is 5.3 trudging around in thigh deep snow. Such a trooper. We heard about the missing hunter and sorry to learn he is still missing. We left last Friday and the snow was compacting down a little with some sun and warmer weather. I understand it has gone back to snowing. Elk were beginning to ball up and move west.

 

[del2les]

Over a foot this morning with 8 inches last week, and predicted 4-8 inches more tomorrow into the nite. THEN temps down to -4 Wednesday nite, and we live in a valley.

 

[Don A Parsons]

There's no snowed out up here in the North,,, either your there or your not...

Pack 2 sets of tire-chains,,, snow shovel,,, all the winter gear,,, and a buggy with tracks...

We give up on the words Summer and Winter now,,, its either Winntummer or Summinter... Both seasons into 1...

Nothing like a winter storm rolling in in August... Ha

Cheers from the North

 

[Muddyboots]

We were north of Clark by Three Forks and it was coming down pretty hard week ago Sunday and with forecast of 3-4', we bailed late Sunday and even then chains were a good idea getting out. Looking at the snow this past week, I am glad we did the right thing when we did. I wonder what some of the guys did that were way back on the 2 track with travel trailers in this mess? Maybe spring camping for the bears? Ha!

 

[del2les]

We were north of Clark by Three Forks and it was coming down pretty hard week ago Sunday and with forecast of 3-4', we bailed late Sunday and even then chains were a good idea getting out. Looking at the snow this past week, I am glad we did the right thing when we did. I wonder what some of the guys did that were way back on the 2 track with travel trailers in this mess? Maybe spring camping for the bears? Ha!

Even the bears need a place to hibernate, and if left behind, snacks. Another winter cabin for the snowmobile crowd, until the roof goes.

 

[GDKinCO]

Went back near Granby on Saturday - some new snow over the week, ranging from 3-4" up to nearly a foot in the north facing areas. I saw 2 bulls traveling together and thought i had an ambush set up as they came towards a trail I've seen used before. They apparently had a heads up on that plan, popped over one more ridge and came up the next ridge, giving me a nice view of nearly straight away and nearly straight down their back about 800 yards away and maybe 500' lower than me. Stood for a while and then crested the ridge and skirted a clearing at the top, giving me a few unobstructed views of both. The lead was a typical legal bull (too far away to see for sure if a 4 or 5x), and the smaller companion was hard to tell - maybe a big spike or slightly larger. I tried to hustle these old legs down a trail in deep snow, hoping to cut them off in a clearing I remembered from a few years ago. Well, I almost made it ... they probably only beat me by a few minutes... yeah, no - they beat me by a mile ... ...
Anyway, I assume they bedded down on the steep slope completely covered in blowdowns. No way to go uphill toward them undetected, and a long hike to circle around above them. Turns out this was less than a quarter mile from where I took a nice 6x6 last year.
Sunday, I took 2 of my son's friends who've never hunted, and wanted to learn about elk hunting. So we headed out on a ridge near Saturday's adventure and worked our way along the top. I found elk tracks, assuming it was the pair from Saturday, and followed those along to yesterday's beds. It was fun explaining typical elk movement, favored cover, bedding areas, and having all that confirmed by physical evidence to them. The storm started blowing in during the afternoon, so, anticipating a forecast and expected mess on I-70 back into Denver, we agreed to hike back to the truck and call it a day. No elk spotted, but 2 young novice hunters got excited about hunting!