Scouting Trip
Late June 2009
Troublesome Valley
I drove to the end of GCR 22
and took photos in all directions. This
is the view looking north. The only
problem with hunting the area is the elk are very seasonal. It’s either boom or bust. It all depends on the weather. There are some nice State Trust Lands in the area. I highly suggest checking them out during
late rifle seasons. There are a lot of dirt
roads to travel so the entire valley is widely accessible if you have a good
4WD when it rains or snows. The closest
access point into the northern part of the
Looking
east along the Grimes Peak Trail that runs on top of this long ridge. The good news
is this puts you deep into the roadless part of the
Looking southwest you see
the
Looking west that high ridge
is where you want to hunt in Unit 27. Highway
40 sneaks through the valley below. There
is a
What? You can’t read this? Me neither. The only thing that stopped my was my conscious and the locked gate. I had thoughts of jumping the fence and
walking the road 2 miles back to the beginning of the Troublesome Wilderness
Study area. EXCEPT this faded sign kept me away. It
wasn’t the “NO Trespassing, Hunting or Fishing” that worried me so much. It was
the “violators prosecuted under penalty of law” that made up my mind. The last thing I want to do is make an enemy
of a rancher and the local judge. I’ll
inquire with the local BLM office in Kremmling about
letting me through to do filming and photographing.
You can hunt the Troublesome
Wilderness Study Area. However, it is a
5 mile minimum hike from the end of
Depressed that I won’t get
anywhere close to Buckhorn Creek in the TWSA I start taking photos of the
area. Remember that game trail in an
earlier photo? It heads right to the
mixture of aspen and pines. Most of the
aspen in the area was dead but a few remain.
That’s where you’ll find elk (and deer) in the winter. Areas like this as they hide from
hunters. Wait until December, January or
February if you really want to see a lot of elk in the area. This is just a transition area. The elk love hay and can’t resist. Bring a good pair of binoculars or a zoom lens
if you plan to see elk up close in the winter. Another tip for elkoholics
– big bulls will shed their antlers between the valley floor and in the woods
where the trees meet the wide open spaces.
Between 7500-9000 feet depending on the snow and the
moon. The amount of light in the day
will decide when the elk’s hormones trigger the antler to fall off (and when
the velvet is ready to peel).
The Grand County Antelope
herd is getting larger every year. As I
headed up the road to Slide Mountain STL I came around a bend in the road to see
5 nice antelope in the area. I don’t
think there area enough antelope to hunt but it sure is nice to see them. Reminds me of
I stopped here at the
intersection to get an overview of the STL.
The tall point left of center is where Slide Creek STL begins. Between that
I attempt to piece the elk
puzzle together one creek valley at a time.
Here’s where the
Here’s another view of that
ridge from a different angle. The long
ridge in the background is in Unit 28. The
high peaks in the furthest background are the mountains of the
Here’s the radio tower.
Parkview looms in the
distance. The valley below is a major
migration valley out of the Troublesome but that may not happen until December –
after any hunting season. It all depends
on the weather. Notice how many trees
have been killed by the pine beetle? As
far as you can see every lodgepole is dead. The only trees that remain are young pines,
fir and spruce. Aspens are immune.
This bullet-ridden sign is
the one that marks the road to Slide Creek STL.
At this intersection there are plenty of places to park and camp. It is on a nice saddle between the two major
valleys.
This road ends at a gate a
little further ahead. Again the best
camping is just a ways back in other direction at the intersection. This is the fringe so I would only recommend
hunting this area during a late season hunt in heavy snows.
Or you can drive further
down the main road to this point. There were several trees that blocked the
main road past this point. According to
the map there is a formal gate nearby but I didn’t verify it. The fallen trees prevented me. Because this area has plenty of access and a
decent road I don’t believe it has a lot of elk nearby in the fall. I’d only hunt this area if the weather was
forecasting a heavy snow fall. It is a
wonderful place to camp.
What appeared to be a brown
stump that started to move turned out to be a bear. This is on a small opening along a BLM road
that doesn’t appear on my map. The road is
The road winds down – maybe all the way to private property and a small reservoir on the map. It is a good road and I recommend following it to the end. I ran out of time.
I parked near a saddle on the map and headed up to the top. I found this scrape within ¼ mile of the road. It’s fresh enough to be a rutting area for satellite bulls. There were several scrapes and a game trail in the area. It was in dark timber and also a staging point for other elk to hold up just long enough to avoid hunters and wait until snow or pressure pushed them lower. I’ve seen tree scrapes like this along trails and near roads. If the peak of the rut falls between seasons as it often does then THAT is time you want to be in elk country even if it is only to take photos and scout. You will learn a lot by being in the right place between elk hunting season when the elk are a little more relaxed. Don’t limit yourself to being in elk country only during the hunting season.
I found this shed near the game trail on top of the
saddle. It reveals two things. Elk love saddles to transition from one area
to the next and this young 3x3 or 4x4 dropped here. That means the bigger bulls with heavier
antlers and older bodies dropped somewhere in the valley below. Some elk will drop in January too. If the winter is difficult that would put
them along the
This cow died along the game trail that goes over the saddle. Winter kill according to the evidence I found. She must have been too sick to continue. An elk that makes it this far into spring probably isn’t starving. Elk can pick up parasite that they can’t defend against. In some cases no matter how much elk eat they still expire because of a parasite that robs them of their ability to digest.
This is what I love to see. A heavy elk trail down the mountain to a feeding area. A trail MUST HAVE fresh sign to be an active trail. Otherwise it is just a seasonal trail. To be active an elk trail must have fresh scat and prints. To be really fresh it must have elk in those fresh prints.
As I came into a clear cut I
found this. Hmmmm,
looks like bear scat.
Then I saw this! Another bear. That’s
two bears in one day. The difference
with this one was it was just him and me. No truck to protect me. He was busy eating and didn’t see or hear
me. However, I was soaked in deep woods
bug spray. I mean I recently dove into a
pool of bug spray just to keep the bugs off on this trip. It worked.
They could only follow me like paparazzi. Then the wind shifted, and blew on the back
of my neck. It was just enough to get
the bear’s attention. Bears have an incredible sense of smell.
I zoomed in to catch him
running off. Notice his back two feet
are up in the air as he ran off? It was
at this point I was feeling pretty safe and much more confident. I’m pretty
sure I could have taken him in a wrestling match if it came to that. I haven’t met a bear in
Further down a lush valley
of pine and aspen near an un-named creek I ran into some bachelor bulls
grazing. All animals seemed to be so
involved with grazing that they paid little attention to me. Why can’t it be like this in the fall?
Is that grey hair on the
neck of this young bull? He looks skinny
for June doesn’t he?
Here’s another bull (I found
4 in all grazing together). He looks
just as skinny but has grown an impressive set of heavy 5x5 antlers. This was a much further hike from the road or
nearby logging road. I’ve marked it on
my map. When I get around to it I will
post the area and update this page. Elk
can be found just about anywhere this time of year. The road is called
On my way out I took some
photos of this sulphur flat. Does anyone know if elk will graze on sulphur grasses? I
mean would it be like croutons on a salad compared with what we might eat?
This is a game trail, antelope
trail, migration trail or cattle trail. Ahead
is the
|
DOW Seeks Info on |
The Colorado Division of Wildlife is looking
for information about the poaching of a mature mule deer buck north of Kremmling early Saturday, Jan. 3. The incident occurred in
the Troublesome area along Grand County Road 2.
The buck was shot and severely wounded by the
poacher, who then left the area. It suffered for several hours until it was
spotted and reported to officers with the Division of Wildlife, who euthanized
the deer.
A cash reward is available through Operation Game
Thief for information that leads to issuing a citation or making an arrest in
this case. Anyone with information can contact the Division of Wildlife office
in Hot Sulphur Springs at (970) 725-6200 or provide
information anonymously through Operation Game Thief, toll free, at (877) 265-6648.
It is never cool to poach a
wild animal out of season. You either hunt
ethically or not at all. That includes
making ethical shots.
I took over 180 photos on
this trip. If you want more photos of
this trip e-mail me. I like this photo because it shows that even
in the driest, warmest, windiest and coldest parts of elk country beauty
abounds. In such a harsh environment comes the most beautiful discoveries.
My purpose of this trip was
to find a closer access point to the Troublesome Wilderness Study Area and to
find a way into the heart of the Troublesome.
However, no such access point exists.
The Troublesome is wrapped by private property on three sides. Your best and shortest route is via