Virtual Elk Hunt

Labor Day Weekend 2005

Game Unit 38

The weather forecast called for warm weather and they weren’t lying. It was hot from the moment I stepped out of the truck. I rolled up the road to the parking lot with the window down at 6am Saturday. I wasn’t the first person as there were about 8 other trucks in the parking lot. The train had just passed through the tunnel carrying coal to its destination. Every time it comes through the tunnel big fans suck the fumes out and blow them into the air. Yes, it’s very loud. And the train comes by just as often as the Loop does in Chicago. I headed up the trail just a little ways before I decided to go cross country. The hills surrounding Moffat Tunnel are steep, scattered with aspen and pine. But it’s not long until you are on top and the terrain gives way to a gentle slope. It’s been very dry and walking was loud. Crunch, crunch, crunch, I walked up the hill towards the upper lakes. My destination had been Forest Lake. But my hike up revealed only old elk sign. Very old in fact. Like last fall. I was very surprised at the lack of elk sign. All the elements for great elk country were there. Elevation, water, dark timber, nice meadows. Did I make a big mistake by coming up here? Even the nice seep I found on a bench showed no evidence of elk at all. It was the perfect place for a wallow and the skinny pine trees that grew near the edge of the meadow were perfect for scraping. But there was no sign at all. In fact the only sign I did see was along a game trail. Like the elk passed through and this area was simply a transitional zone. A route from a distant alpine valley to another.

James Peak Wilderness is where I spent my Saturday. Along with A LOT of other weekenders out for a peaceful day in the Wilderness. But you had to walk a mile or so to get away from the sound of the train and the big fans from the tunnel. I would have bet money this would be the perfect place for elk on a hot summer day. Perhaps it is and I just didn’t hike back far enough. There are several alpine lakes back in there. There are many trails leading you to almost every alpine lake up there. And Unit 38 is full of old mining roads, Jeep roads, and private roads. You can’t walk far without finding some form of man made route. My suggestion is hunt the spaces in between the roads and trails. For example, check out Iceberg lakes and Clayton Lake. So far there is no trail up to them. The sheer number of people that drive an hour from Denver to hike up here is amazing. It seems the parking lot is never empty and is almost always full on the weekends. Even in the winter time. Just be prepared and bring a good map. James Peak Wilderness was made official in 2002 so make sure your map is newer than that.

Once you get on top the terrain flattens out (relatively speaking – it is the Rockies). There are some really nice spots up there to check out. Lots of small openings you’ll never find on a map. And there are a lot of old roads up there too. You won’t find them on a map but they are a nice break to the log jumping you have to do. The only problem, not a lot of elk sign or very old elk sign. It defies explanation.

Here’s the closest I got to any elk on Saturday. Those prints look promising but they were made in the moist soil and can be old. I followed the game trail for a while and they didn’t look any fresher. So I bailed off the trail and headed up to Arapaho Lakes. It’s a steep climb to above timber line. I mean like climbing stairs for nearly a mile. You follow the creek up.

And it was nice on top. I had the whole place to myself too. The area had many levels to it. The lakes are up another level. There was sign of elk in the area but it was very old. Maybe even from last summer! The place had great potential. It’s at this moment in my hunt that I thought there just aren’t a lot of elk in Unit 38. I had been use to seeing a lot more elk sign in places like this. But there just isn’t. I need to find out the herd size in Unit 38. I just don’t think there are a lot of elk in the unit. But elk numbers are the result of suitable winter range and hunting pressure. In 2004 over 1,000 hunters chose to hunt this unit but only 180 elk (mostly bulls) were taken. That’s not a lot of elk considering the size of the unit. But then again most of the unit is private and winter grounds are very small compared to summer range.

If it weren’t for the main trail running through the lower valley it would be a great place to hunt. South Boulder Creek runs through it. This sign is about a mile from the parking lot. The valley is very lush and the timber is very dark. Few if any people ever attack Nebraska Hill (in the background) from this direction. It’s worth a look because it is one of those places in between roads and trails.

Here’s a photo of the map at the trailhead. I ran into another bow hunter in the parking lot and he said he saw a few elk. But we both expressed how surprised we were about the lack of elk sign up there. There are very few elk and they are very spread out. He said he hunted the space in between Forest Lake Trail and Rollins Pass Road. It’s a pretty large, road less area on the map. Worth checking out. In fact you might consider hunting the saddle in the next photo. Rollins Pass Road is the border between Units 38 and 29. Unit 29 is a draw Unit and the big valley below the Tunnel is where elk winter (and give birth in the spring). I did see a guy with a spotting scope looking at something in the direction of the saddle. It looks like a great place for elk to feed at night then bed on the saddle during the day.

This photo was taken at the junction of Rollins Pass road and Forest Service road 176 that takes you back to Mammoth Gulch. Across the tracks is Unit 29. You can’t see the road in this photo but Rollins Pass road crosses in the pines just above the aspens. I know elk hate roads but they can’t help crossing a road in Unit 38. The elk (and deer) may very well eat and water in Unit 29 but bed on the saddle there in Unit 38. It’s worth checking out because it is the space in between roads. I’d be willing to bet nobody hunts there because of the road. This is exactly why it has potential. I’d guess 99.9% of the people on the road are heading up high and they’ll pass right by this spot. This open meadow is entirely private property and there are cattle in the area.

FS road 176 starts here on Mammoth Gulch Road. It’s rocky and requires a high clearance vehicle. See the ridge in the background? That’s Nebraska Hill. Also a very good place to check out as it lies between to roads but has access to private property, water, meadows and dark timber. I didn’t make it there but it is worth checking out. There is an old Jeep trail that goes to the top of Nebraska Hill from this side. Not sure if it’s drivable or not.

I took Sunday off to recover from my 6 mile hike. Monday morning I was back at it and just down the road from where I was on Saturday.

I parked at the Jumbo Mountain Picnic area. There is another nearby pull out if the parking lot is full. It rarely is. The hike up to this point in the photo above is STEEP. Little did I know there was an old mining road that I could have walked up because I left while it was still dark outside. If you hunt this area do yourself a favor and hike eastward after entering the woods just across the road from the picnic area. You’ll come across the road and will enjoy the walk more.

I was on the first false summit of Jumbo Mountain when I started cutting fresh elk prints. The area is so dry that the elk were leaving tracks in the pine, in the dirt, etc. It was easy to follow their hoof tracks that appeared to cut into the ground better than my big boots. The sign was fresh. No fresh scat yet so I kept walking southward. Near one of many small openings that looked like great feeding areas I found this scrape. The pine was 7 foot tall where it was broken off on top. That had to be a large bull that made this scrape. I made a note of all the scrapes in the area that were fresh and I counted five within a mile. And two of them had the tops broken off like this one. All of them were on the north slope of Jumbo Mountain. There was enough elk activity in the area to say it was certainly worth returning. Even for later rifle seasons too. Not far from here I jumped a bull. I didn’t see him but the sounds were all too familiar. It was either the wind or the sound of my terrible selection in camouflage clothing that gave me away. I heard a thump then a click and a few moments later another click but further away. It was clear it was something heavy with antlers touching tree limbs as it quickly walked away. It’s amazing how elk can completely disappear in just a few steps. Just like that an opportunity is available and a few seconds later you’re all alone in the woods again. I didn’t give up so easy. I walked quickly along a game trail trying to flank him. My plan was to get to another spot and then use the lost cow sound to get him to respond. But there were flaws with my plan. First of all he was alone and he knew he was the only elk around. Second, he spooked for a reason which was my stinky smell or the sound of my clothing on a branch. I should have bought the wool gear but there was no subduing the sweat. I took it slow up the hill and was still sweating like a pig when I got to the top. Hunting in hot weather is difficult. The wind was a cross wind and I was hunting straight ahead. Instead of hunting on top of the hill I should have been just below the top where most game trails are. At least it would have made me appear to be another animal instead of some hack walking around with no plan on top of the hill. After a solid minute of the lost cow sound I waited and listened. The lost cow sound worked perfectly last year with a herd bull and his cows early in the season. I waited and waited. I kneeled down, looking under the tree limbs for legs walking and listening for anything. Nothing. He was gone. I would continue south and wrap around the way he escaped on my way back to the truck. But my feeling was he headed to private land below. I wouldn’t see him on my return trip.

Here’s where it started getting good. I had seen several elk prints all around the top of the mountain. There is an old road up there to follow. The elk sure did. This photo was taken on top of Jumbo Mountain. You can see the top of the valley. That is the top of Jenny Lind Gulch. There are some nice open areas up there and stands of aspen. A spring feeds the creek that runs down the gulch. The small opening in the foreground is on a saddle and that’s where I ran into the freshest sign yet.

I swear I was standing on top of Jumbo Mine when I smelt the sweet, pungent odor of elk. There was no mistake. That’s the freshest sign I could have found. It was a windy morning and yet the smell was very strong. The tracks I was following at this point spread out into this open area. Behind me is a large pine and in the grass in front of me is a fresh elk bed. It was still warm but that could have been deceiving as the sun was blazing hot at this point. I had just missed my best opportunity of the day. I was about an hour or so from walking up to a bedded bull. The size of the bed and the tracks leading away were huge. I spent the next few minutes kicking myself and cursing silently for getting up here too late in the day. This is that saddle I spoke about above. And it was a bedding area. Below to my left are upper Moon Gulch and a very nice meadow. Over the hill is Jenny Lind Gulch. Hunting is very good in a 2-3 mile diameter from here. It seemed the further back I went the better it got. And there is water in the valleys and springs on the map. I didn’t cross a single source of water in my hunt today but knowing there was water below was enough for me.

See the nice meadow below? It is small but very nice. After further inspection of the map it is HUNTABLE despite the picnic table and custom fire pit and dirt road that run through it. And despite the squatters I saw camping just down the valley about ¼ mile. I know those are distracting from the fact there are elk in the area but it favors the elk you see. There is private land on either side of Jumbo Mountain and many of the old mining claims still show up as private land on BLM maps. But you can hunt as far as you can see in this photo. Not once did I come across a fence or any signs saying it was private property or hunting was not allowed. I came in from a unknown route but I knew I was on Roosevelt National Forest land the whole time. I don’t want to scare anyone away from this area but you should know there is private property nearby and to be respectful of that. Because if you got an elk down back you’d appreciate the land owner’s permission to travel through and pack it out in your truck rather than on your back (which would take several trips).

The road that runs through that perfect meadow is so inviting. I didn’t go any further because I was running out of time. But the road hadn’t seen a vehicle in a while. There were no fresh tracks of any kind on the road. This is the location of the spring on the map and you can follow the road back further south from here. You can see it connects with other roads as there are plenty of roads in Unit 38. I highly recommend hunting hard from Jumbo Mountain back to Dakota Hill and Apex. Hunt as far West as Baltimore Ridge and as Moon and Gamble Gulch (but beware of private property).

Here is the photo from the dirt road looking east. It’s so lush in there. The aspens were large and the timber was dark. It looks way too good. An inspection of the meadow showed some sign but the human activity (picnic table and fire pit) were also fresh. The squatters made me nervous so I hiked north, back to the truck along a series of game trails through the aspens and old mining roads through the pines. There are many more roads NOT on the map.

My feeling is the weekdays are THE best time to hunt (any unit really). This unit sees A LOT of human activity every weekend. There is plenty of space to hunt between roads and private land. If you are willing to put in some miles walking this could be a really nice place to hunt. The elevation is around 9 and 10,000 feet which, makes it both summer and potentially wintering grounds for elk depending on he snow depth. Look for more details for James Peak Wilderness and Jumbo Mountain in Where to Hunt in Colorado series.

See you next week as things get more intense with the peak of the rut coming soon.