Hungry Horse

http://www.themeateater.com/2017/so-youve-decided-to-go-on-a-big-time-hard-core-western-hunt-now-what/ Article from Brody Henderson from the MeatEater staff on western hunts. Just some brief overviews on some western hunts. HH

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11920041/1 Interesting thread on elk kills in Colorado over the last 10 years... a steady decline. Also some thoughts on why it was a bad hunt season in 2016. HH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CP3wQdj0L0 A 2013 Gunnison Colorado elk hunt with some good old boys who scored. The things they do in motel rooms... LOL ! HH

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/11919561/Colorado_elk_hunt__2016_statis#Post11919561 This one comment thread from saddlesore, one of the elk guru's on 24hour campfire.com on Unit 54 elk hunting. Maybe think twice on hunting Unit 54 this season. With the bad winter of 2016-2017 and the herd being at objective level by Colo FWP and with unlimited OTC elk tags issued this year in 2nd and 3rd season, elk kills may be disappointing. HH

3/27/17 **** Just received my 2017 Colorado Big Game regulations booklet. Took almost a month to receive it, so beware thy are slow in coming to your home if you are a Non resident and hoping to mail in the draw application. I understand 2017 will be the last year they accept paper draw applications. HH

wtnhunt: Wyoming is beautiful also Was in the Jackson, Dubois, Pinedale area in 2007, saw lots of big game while on vacation. Visited GTNP and Yellowstone for 2 weeks in late Sept early Oct 2007. Saw 10 different moose in Jackson Hole area and Pinedale area. Antelope outside Dubois, and all the big game in YNP, except cougar. Seeing & photographing a grizzly was my special time. As they say GO West... young man ! I hope you enjoy time with your son and wife out west in time. HH

I understand wtnhunt, it is scenic country, first time I saw it I was so impressed, all of Ohio Pass and Kebler Pass is beautiful. The San Juan and Mount Sneffels around Telluride and Ridgeway are as scenic, maybe even more. I hope in time you will be able to enjoy Colo again.

https://www.gohunt.com/read/news/colorado-tries-baiting-to-save-deer-and-elk#gs.UGVQxlw Another article from www.gohunt.com/ on FB about the efforts to bail & lure deer and elk away from Highway 50 around Gunnison due to deep snows. Gunnison has received 145% more snow than usual and with freezing made it difficult to find food under the snow. Perhaps... this is what was posted earlier. HH

Charlie: Please unblock me, and see your PM's. HH

Charlie: I am sorry to hear of your upcoming surgeries, and I wish you well and a full recovery. With Charlie out due to surgery & recovery, Jeff in Wyoming with his old boss, cow elk hunting, and his son getting married in Oct, Steve in Ak, and having the expenses of flying back, and a seeming lack of Realtree members interest, I think this thread should die. This year I cannot do the hunt financially, and bad winter weather in Gunnison on the herds also complicates things. With so little interest from members and all the above, I think perhaps this desire of a gathering & thread should die until a better year. Gunnison does have an airport with service from several major airline, 1 mile s/w of Gunnison for Charlie's information, but usually the short hop from Denver to Gunnison is not cheap. Flying into Denver and renting a vehicle is a better proposition as you can enjoy the drive and countryside, pretty scenic, and you will have wheels to get around during the hunt. It is a long drive, 200 + miles. It is best if you have time to drive out, hunt, and drive back with your elk meat on dry ice. From Denver, taking I-70 west to Minturn, then getting on Rt 24 S to Leadville, Buena Vista and finally Salida will take you past the Collegiate range, and then getting on Rt 50 at Salida to Gunnison and then Rt 135 to Crested Butte, turn left and get on Kebler Pass Rd Cr 12, or Rt 50 to Gunnison then Rt 135 to Cr 730, a few miles out of Gunnison approx. 3 miles to Ohio Pass Rd Cr 730, then up to Kebler Pass Rd Cr 12. That is the scenic route. Turn right to go to Lake Irwin Campground. Turn left to go to Lost Lake campground. Or from Denver take I- 70 west to Glenwood Springs, get on Rt 82 to Carbondale and take RT 133 south to Paonia reservoir then Kebler Pass Rd Cr 12 on the west side, or continue on RT 133 to Rt 92 south and see Crawford park campgrounds, 2 1/2 miles south of Crawford. **** It all depends on which campsite you select. Lost Lake campground is on Kebler Pass Rd Cr 12, about 15 miles west of Crested Butte. Lake Irwin campground is also on Kebler Pass Rd Cr 12, and 5 miles west of Crested Butte. The links to those campgrounds are in the thread on Pg 1 or 2. There is also a campground called Erickson Springs on the west end of Kebler Pass Rd off Rt 133 a short distance. I am not familiar with that campground. I believe it is smaller with less spots. If you choose Beaver Reservior as a campground see the link to the post I offered in the thread on Mt Gunnison, the directions to Beaver reservoir are towards the bottom of that page. If you want motels hotels condos see Crested Butte or Gunnison. I have stayed in the Super 8 at Gunnison. It is crowded in hunting season, and a long drive to the hunt area on the north side of the West Elk Wilderness area. Not all that far if you use the Rainbow Lake trailhead see Fr 724 off Rt 50 west of Gunnison on the south side, Fr 724 is a more difficult road to Rainbow lake trailhead. There are also campgrounds along the Blue Mesa reservior, and a campground off Rt 50 onto Rt 92 a short distance then onto Fr 721, it is more primitive but a good location to hunt the Soap Creek area of the West Elk Wilderness, in the southern portion of the West Elk Wilderness. It is a few miles on Fr 721, a gravel road. Yes a lot of land and a lot of locations for Trailheads and access, and this is not all of them, but many of them ! LOL I will leave this up for anyone who would like to hunt the West Elk Wilderness. It has taken a long time to gather all this information. HH Richard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeCwQo8EmgU Here is a 6 min video 3 miles east of Gunnison, I am assuming on RT 50, from Big Game Forever showing the hardship on the local deer and elk in the area. Just a heads up. I heard the weather is letting up some, but the deer are still struggling with the concrete like snow, the elk are doing better. HH ps perhaps the Gunnison valley might not be a great pick this fall for deer and maybe elk !

https://14erskiers.com/blog/2012/11/more-snowless-exploration-mill-castle-to-storm-pass/ Some more photos of the Castles, rock outcroppings, I have not seen before along the Mill Creek Rd CR 737. Once you get back into Storm Pass you are in a good hunting area, but a long hike. This would be Unit 54. HH

This is what you could not see in the 5 part video of Ohio Pass unfortunately. HH

Here is a photo by John Fielder of the Castles and the Anthracite Range as you drive along Ohio Pass Rd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbUBJ7DxuE Ok folks... bear with me. I found a very long 5 or 6 part video that shows the whole length of Ohio Pass up to and including maybe 1/3 of Kebler Pass heading west. I made some notes, each section is around 11 min long some 14 some 9 or 10 min. The video starts at Rt 135 out of Gunnison maybe 3-4 miles and turning onto Cr 730 Ohio Pass Rd, it is around 18 miles to Kebler Pass Rd. The area along Ohio Pass Rd is all in Unit 54. You will see many ranches along the road. Some are guest ranches, some are $1,000,000 beef cattle ranches. The video was filmed on a cloudy day... so the Anthracite range and mountains off Ohio Pass Rd and Kebler pass Rd are not shown unfortunately. In the 2nd film at 1:27 you will see a road to the left which I believe is Mill Creek Rd Cr 737 which will take you past the Castles and to the West Elk Wilderness trailhead, one of them. Perhaps it is farther down the road but looks very similar. There are several Trailheads off Ohio Pass Rd and Kebler Pass Rd. I did this road in 2004, they have made the switchbacks at the end of Ohio Pass Rd much less severe and seemed to straighten the road. It was a narrow switchback steep hill to climb before, you needed a 4x4. At 3:30 min in the 4th segment you are approaching Kebler Pass Rd at the flashing warning light. Turn right and go 5 miles and you end in Crested Butte Co. The Lake Irwin campground is to the right also, a short distance and before Crested Butte. Turn left as in the video and you begin a 23 mile drive along Kebler Pass Rd to Rt 133. At 7:15 Kebler Pass Rd becomes dirt. At 8:55 you see elk running across the road. The Cr ?? to Lost Lake campground is beyond where the video maker turns around. I am sorry the beauty of this road trip is lost due to clouds. When I traveled the road in Oct 2004 I saw at least 30 deer, no elk, and a flock of turkeys. I know folks who have killed elk off this road hiking back into the nearby hills. Once you are on Kebler Pass Rd, actually while on Ohio Pass Rd at the end, Unit 54 ends, and Unit 53 begins on the left, with Unit 521 on the right. During 2nd and 3rd rifle season for bull elk, all the Units are OTC. Unit 53 will cross the Wilderness area to the left and ends at RT 92, many miles away . Please watch the videos, their will be a prompt to continue in a small window as a video ends, just click it and continue to watch. There are many videos on www.youtube.com that will show Ohio Pass on a sunny day. This video is unique, as it shows all of Ohio Pass Rd well. *** See the free range cattle on the road. HH

http://www.chrisgerber.com/images/SP-images/beckwith-n-ridge-lg.jpg Looking down the North slope from the summit of East Beckwith Mtn, Lost Lake and campground at it's base in the bottom, Mt Owens and the Grand Dyke across the valley and the Ruby Mtn range. The Raggeds Wilderness on the distant far left. Unit 521 and Unit 55 in the distance, Unit 53 by East Beckwith Mtn. Crested Butte would be approx. 15 miles + in the distance in the far mountains. HH

http://images.summitpost.org/original/332325.JPG The view from Mt Gunnison summit looking East, you see West Beckwith Mtn, Mount Marcellina to the left right off Kebler Pass Rd and the Ragged Wilderness mountains on the distant far left. West Beckwith Mtn would be in Unit 53, but Mt Marcellina's backside would be in Unit 521 and the Ragged Wilderness mountains to the distant left is in Unit 521 or Unit 43. Quite the view ! HH

http://www.summitpost.org/east-beckwith-from-lost-lake-campground/231336 East Beckwith at sunrise off Kebler Pass Rd and the Lost lake Campground view. There is a link to the Lost Lake campground earlier in this thread, pg 1 or 2. Lake Irwin Campground is closer to Crested Butte off Kebler pass Rd CR 12, there is also a link & video earlier in this thread. Reservations are required at the campgrounds. Good Luck. HH

http://www.summitpost.org/fall-colors-below-the-grand-dike-mount-owen/171854/c-171580 Mt Owens and the Grand Dyke as seen from Horse Ranch meadows and Kebler Pass CR 12. This would be Unit 521 and one of the mountains in the Ruby Mtn Range. Unit 53 would be across the Kebler Pass Rd. Click the link, them click the photo again to enlarge. HH

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-gunnison-from-beaver/130412/c-154805 Mt Gunnison from Beaver Reservior. Click the link, then again click the photo to enlarge. This is the only photo I have found of Beaver reservoir. I am suggesting this as a campsite if available. It will be a primitive camp area, versus a campground like Crawford State park, which would be more enjoyable, but farther away from the hunting area. I think I have offered about all I can offer from s/w Pa. Good Luck ! It is time to do some scouting, and time to hear offerings from other folks if you want this gathering in fall 2017. HH

http://www.summitpost.org/mt-gunnison-from-the-chain-mountains/325560/c-154805 A photo of the south side of Mt Gunnison from the Chain Mtns. Click on the link, and again click on the photos once it loads to enlarge the photo. HH

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-gunnison/154805 Here is the most significant page of the West Elk Wilderness from www.summitpost.org/ . I am suggesting a hunt from Mt Gunnison area near Beaver Reservior side into the West Elk Wilderness using Trail 870 as a starting point. The blue links on the left side of the page and in the article will give you significant mountain locations in the area. This will be Unit 53. As you go deep into the Wilderness you will enter Unit 54 way deep inside the Wilderness area. Watch jjlovich's video to see the interior of Unit 53. It is listed in this thread on Pg 3. Remember this is designated Wilderness so foot & horse travel only... NO Quad use. It is a long hike to access good hunts areas. Learn to use the summitpost.org/ page for information. This will conclude all I had originally offered you folks in the beginning of the thread on Pg 1 where you see I deleted my entry. I am omitting known "honey holes" but, I am suggesting you listen carefully to jjlovich's video offered here. Good Luck and enjoy ! HH

http://www.coloradoswildareas.com/wilderness_area/west-elk-wilderness/ Here is the article from FB and Colorado's Wild areas. This would be Unit 53, 54, 521, with Unit 55, 63, nearby all OTC units in 2nd and 3rd rifle BULL season. There are COW elk tags available through the DRAW. HH

http://www.coloradoswildareas.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/WestElkTrailheads_map.jpg Here is a Trail map showing all the trails in the West Elk Wilderness. Enlarge to see clearly. I hope this is just the map. Click on the map to enlarge once it shows. HH

In the above video... At 20:00... perhaps before, he shows the small town of Marble and at 20:54 he shows the small lake. The somewhat dangerous 4x4 Rd starts right past the lake to Crystall Mills, and eventually to the well know and dangerous 4x4 road... Scholfield Pass, then Gothic, and finally Crested Butte. HH