Did not work out. So I'm finally telling my story, trying to decide whether to try it again.

Drew a Bull Elk Tag for a unit near Ketchum, ID. In the Sawtooth NF For this past Oct.
It was sure to be an Epic trip and I bought OTC tags for Mule deer and Wolf. Trained hard all summer to be in shape, carried good gear, I was READY! Flew out, rented a 4x4 F150 and got a hotel in Boise the 1st night. Got up the next morning and drove into Ketchum (3hrs) with Maps and plans to drive into chosen drainages and backpack into some really remote areas in search of those Elk and Mule deer. Deer season was already in but Elk didn't come in for 4 more days. Well, to start off as I was nearing Ketchum I saw that Fish and Game had set up a hunter check station at a 3 way intersection/ rest stop. There was a sign stating "All hunters must stop". I missed the first entrance and as the information sunk in I decided I should probably pull in, even though I hadn't hunted yet, but whatever, I'll do the right thing. Well, as I pulled in I could tell they were all excited about something. That something was me! The 4ft. Nothing female officer said she was about to come pull me over and if she had to do that I would have gotten a ticket.! I was very passive and apologetic and managed to get her calmed down.
After that fiasco I continued on into Ketchum watching for the roads into the NF.
The first road I had chose led me into the forest and I came up onto one of those info kiosk things. The ENTIRE drainage was CLOSED to human entrance due to a fire THE PREVIOUS SUMMER. This encompassed almost half of the entire unit!

In short, I found one drainage that I could access the NF and this area was limited to 3 DAYS MAX. camping " in designated sites only". Meaning no backpacking into the NF.
Had to camp along the forestry svc. roads. Remember, ELK season was not in for 4 more days. I figured Oh Well, I'll just camp along the road and change campsites every 3 days right? I set up my tent and hunted that afternoon and actually passed up a mediocre Muley, figuring I had plenty of time. I made it back to camp after dark and as I started looking for something to eat I noticed headlights coming, which ended up being a Forestry Svc. Dude. Guess what? He's taking tag numbers, and 3 days means 3 days.
You can't change campsites, you must leave the drainage for 14 days or something.
Actually a really nice guy that explained it was because hunters would set up campers or wall tents and leave them there for the duration of the season even though they weren't there half the time.
So there it is, my much anticipated 10 day Idaho Elk trip ended up being a very expensive 3 day camping trip.
Oh, you won't find a Hotel in Ketchum. Nearest one bout 2.5 hrs away in Mtn. Home.
Definitely a learning experience. But I hate to be beaten and I still need an Elk before I get too old to pack it out.

Sorry so long, just needed to tell the story.

Hate it turned out the way it did. I would have paid some rancher to camp in his yard before I left.

That was a hard learning experience. Hope it works out for you next time.

Really...

Tough luck, thanks for sharing.

I have to ask, what homework did you do before hand? The things you encountered seem like things that would have been common knowledge to a Game Warden for the area. Not criticizing cause anyone who has traveled out west has ran into these troubles.

Keep in mind that ranchers aren't quite like farmers around here. Like Yekrut said, I believe you had more options with staying in the area. Just gotta get creative sometimes.

Yep, probably done it for free too. Good folks out there.

There were actually several campgrounds around which seemed to be packed with hunters. One catch,....no tent camping.
Ketchum seemed to be a VERY affluent type community with no chain hotels, gas stations, markets, anything. Kinda felt like they didn't really want hunters there.
Very different out there. Not what I expected in Idaho. I certainly never expected to see the forest closed due to a fire the PREVIOUS year.
If there were any other places to stay, I couldn't find them.
Maybe I should have just backpacked in and took my chances with a ticket.
I've always played by the rules and felt like I was going to end up with a ticket if I stayed.

Dang right... Gave up to easy.. Should have improvised. Better luck next time

Drive back to Boise and rent a different vehicle. Go back and get 3 more days worth. Rinse and repeat.

How did they know you were a hunter at the checkpoint before you pulled it? If I understood you right it was on a main road with other traffic?

That was what I was thinking. How'd they know? And technically I wasn't a hunter until I had hunted, and that Huzz was talkin bout giving me a ticket! Yep on a main road with a rest stop.

The worst part was the place I had camped was where the fire had come through the year before. There was a lot of vegetation starting to grow back and was eat up with deer. Also saw some Huge bear tracks. Makes me want to try again. Hesitant though.

That is crazy...

When I hunted in Montana with my Dad a rancher let us stay at his house, his wife cooked us breakfast, and they let us ride their horses. Got a Christmas card from them for years after we moved to Alabama.

No tent camping? I would've slept in the truck before I came home....I hate it didn't work out for you, but those are some chit arse rules created because jackarses abuse public land. Is your hunt over? Is the tag transferrable? Hell, I'm bored and don't have anywhere to deer hunt worth a damn....let's go back!

When you got out there and bought your otc tag, I'm surprised they didn't tell you about the majority of he unit being off limits. That way you could've bought a tag in a different unit.

Me and a buddy are doing a backcountry, diy rifle elk hunt in CO next October, if you're interested.