Ann,

I will be hunting a public land unit in South Western Colorado. It is a self guided hunt with just myself and a friend heading into a high county basin. I found this spot a few years back while backpacking. It is very high, base camp being at 10,500 feet with the elk all hanging out about 1000'+ above that. The height alone keeps most other hunters out. It is the only place in Colorado where I have hunted for a week and never saw another hunter. But the elk are in there in droves! Some nice bulls to.

This will be my third trip to the same spot. So far my success rate is 50%. LAst year I huted teh full moon phase.....never again. The elk were very nocturnal and quiet during teh day. It was tough hunting. This year I will be out during a dark moon phase. Hopefully the elk respond the same way they did 2 years ago.

I hire an outfitter to ride myself and my buddy back in 12+ miles. Because of airline weight restrictions, I have started to use the outfitters gear for base camp. Like a drop camp hunt but the spot is chosen by myself....not the outfitter. This cuts down on what I have to take with me. I take backpacking gear to use for spike camps and packing elk meat out to a trail. We use a cell phone to call the outfitter to come in amd pack out our boned meat. He then takes it to the butcher for us. When we get out of the high country it is all cut, rapped and frozen. A pretty good deal.

I am consiering getting a mule deer tag this year combined with my elk tag. There are some HUGE alpine bucks up there. And NO ONE is hunting them