1. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to GoHunt.com/insider. GoHunt Insider will allow you to choose the area best suited for your interests and preference points you have acquired. GoHunt will help you narrow down your unit search fairly quickly.

2. As others have said, train, train, train, and add some more weight to the pack and train some more. Spend the money and purchase a good pack. Your pack comfort can make or break your hunt. You'll be able to hunt harder and longer with a good comfortable pack.

3. Find wilderness. The wilderness areas are defined by limited or no road access. Thats where I have found the elk.

4. Develop a list based on every possible weather scenario you can imagine. The weather in the mountains is entirely unpredictable.

5. Once you've found your area you would like to hunt, do as much E-scouting as possible. Look for benches in topo, north facing slopes, green edges in meadows, and saddles in the terrain.


Give yourself time to learn prior to your hunt, My buddy and I spent 2 years developing the best plan we could think of. Put in the time, do your homework, and you will have a blast regardless of success.