Camping at high elevations

[Mikeha33]

I know that this has been thrown a little bit around before, but I have a little bit of a question when it comes to elevation camping.
Last years camp site was about 11,100' elevation, and we had a nice little stand of timber with flat spot in it that made for a nice site. However, I'd like to camp a little higher this year, maybe 11500 or so. I was wondering if you any of you guys hesitate to camp higher? My main concern is lightning. Our first day in, we waited out a tremendous lightning storm tucked under our tarps for about an hour. Saw a lot of cloud to ground lightning, that made us come back down a couple hundred feet to choose our spot. What are your thoughts?

[Swamp Buck]

Camping at or above timberline is frightening due to lightning, oh yeah. I think that weather is so much more unpredictable at that elevation. Odds of getting snow and lots of it fast are much higher the higher you go.

I also found that hunting later in the season the elk were not that high so we had to hunt down and then come back up to sleep, which sucked! We ended up moving camp lower and the hunt went better.

[JohnFitzgerald]

+1 Swamp Buck
Depends, where are the elk and your water sources? High or low?

[>>>---WW---->]

Not much water up there. Just something to think about!

[Ghost]

I always try to camp low and hunt high, you get a much more recuperative sleep at a lower elevation, not to mention if you have to pack something out, the pack is down hill

[Mikeha33]

WW, we are fortunate in the water aspect, as we have quite a bit of 12,000'+ peaks with constant flow streams in our area, that we could camp near, at least be within 1/4 mile from camp. Last year at 11,100', we had 2 streams within 150 yard of camp either direction, one of the reasons we chose that spot. As far as elk location, I couldn't tell ya, because we didn't see one after the first morning. As we were heading out our last day, we talked to another group of guys that had seen several good bulls way above treeline, one said a whole small herd of em up about 12,500' on a late afternoon. That's one of the reasons I'm even considering it. The chances of killing one that high for me with a bow are slim to none, but if they're up that high, I'd rather be 400' of elevation closer if possible, I just don't know if it is stupid or dangerous. It's not a horrible trek to get that high, as our truck will be at 10,900', with us hunting above and below there, but mostly above (lot of high country in there)

[Jaquomo]

After dealing with 16" of "wet cement" snow for five days at our camp at 8,300' in CO, plus many, many other sloppy September snowfalls at that altitide, I'd never camp that high unless I knew for a fact that there were no elk down lower anywhere.

I get the "timberline romance and aura" factor. Plenty of opportunity to do that in the summer. Bowhunting for big game is enough challenge without adding-in amplified harsh elements on top of it.

Just curious, Mike, if you didn't see any elk for the whole week, why are you going back to the same area, even higher? If those other guys saw the bulls and weren't able to kill them (likely bulls passing through or else the other guys spooked them) seems like it would be a better idea to hunt where the elk go, instead of where they "were". Just my .02.

[cnelk]

Something to consider.

I have talked to ranchers about how the elevation affects cattle grazing and haying operations.
They said that 1000 ft higher typically means about a month difference.
This would be in reference to 8500 - 9500.

Anything above that all bets are off concerning weather

[Mikeha33]

Just curious, Mike, if you didn't see any elk for the whole week, why are you going back to the same area, even higher? If those other guys saw the bulls and weren't able to kill them (likely bulls passing through or else the other guys spooked them) seems like it would be a better idea to hunt where the elk go, instead of where they "were". Just my .02.

Lou,
Even though we didn't see any elk, we did see relatively fresh sign (rubs, droppings, tracks, etc...) and I know that there are elk in that immediate area, based on conversations with guys with experience in that area, and my partner scouting it in the summer, and seeing a good herd in the area we are in. I also know of another guy who killed last September not far from us. Also, there weren't any other hunters where we were. I know that is subject to change year to year, but there wasn't much pressure to speak of. It's pretty quiet for an OTC unit, and you can get a long ways back in there if need be. ANother reason is because I can only get out there once a year, for elk season, and I want to become as familiar as possible with the area as I can be. It's not that I wouldn't like to hunt at 8500', but you cant find a spot for miles back in there with an elevation lower than 10,100', so it's overall just a high place. (maybe one of the reasons there's not a ton of pressure???) If you look back at my post "Location, Location, Location" You'll see some of the thoughts on my area.

[Jaquomo]

Ok, gotcha. One of the most important factors in achieving yearly success is learning the micro-habitat of the area you're hunting. Even if there are few elk, if you learn that you an figure out how to kill them. So you're on the right track.

In another season or two in there you might figure out that you'e hunting where the elk "were", and not where they are when you're there. You may very well be driving and hiking right past the elk that left the sign.

[Mikeha33]

Honestly, I think that is exactly what happened last year. I think the elk were there, but we missed them for several reasons. One, we didn't know
"where" to hunt. Sure, we were in the right "area", but as far as thinking like an elk and focusing on certain map points, we were way off. Two, if we were in the right location, we didn't know "how" to hunt. Looking back, if either one of us would have killed an elk last year, it would have been because of pure luck. (A thing that I hope I still have plenty of) The guy I was with had hunted before, but not killed an elk, and the more I learn, the more I learn why. We were so focused on getting away from roads and trailheads, I think we overlooked some obvious prime habitat, right in front of our noses.