I'm going to cover here much of what I talk about in my seminars and presentations.  Here is a quick list of topics;  elk the animal, terrain, mapping, footwear, GPS, compass, packs, hydration, conditioning, equipment, and other things that come up from questions.

Elk, the largest of the deer family and originally a plains animal!  Wapiti, as the Indians called them, strong, majestic, ghosts of the hills.  If you hunt them long enough you will begin to wonder how and animal that is about 600 lbs., with antlers that hit every tree in sight, can slip through all those log pole pines, and not make any noise.  They have the uncanny ability to sneak up on you in exactly the opposite side you set up to shoot them, they sneak up without making a sound, yet as a group can make so much noise you think, geez hunting them will be easy.

Elk seek the same food source as domestic cows, so when you are looking to find what they like to eat, think mooo cow! 

Elk terrain varies from rolling, grass covered hills with few trees but lots of grass, to steep nasty rocky crags that will eat you alive if they can.  Elevations from sea level in California, to less than 3000 feet in Kentucky, to 14,000 feet in Colorado and Montana, and rocks, rocks and more rocks!  You can never outclimb an elk!  So, never give up elevation to elk, ever, if you're above them work to stay that way.  If you have to leave camp an hour earlier to climb above them, and keep the wind in your favor, then leave 90 min early.  Most elk seasons begin in September when it is hot and dry in the high country, and end with it cold and windy and wet in late December.  That change in temperatures can cause problems in the terrain your going to hunt, so understand the weather your going to be in and know how it will effect rocks, tall grass, wooded hill sides, aspen grove, creeks and drainages you will have to deal with. 

Elk need large wooded areas to nap in and rest in, so think of where heavy timbered, dark timber, areas might be.  Consider the time of year and the insects and bugs that are out, so in the early season they climb to get away from bugs and where it is cooler, hello 14,000 feet.  Having hunted in that terrain, it takes a long time to climb that high in the dark, not so long to get down.  Air is thin and it is cooler.  Preparation is not just your body but your equipment, water is at a minimum up that high and that can play in your favor.

Elk drink about 15-20% of their body weight in water a day.  So part of their need is for water, as you look at topo maps look for high mountain wooded areas where there is fresh water within a mile.

All elk hunting areas are covered by the TOPO map program owned by the USGS. There are so many different sizes of them that it is too hard to list them here and explain the size differences.  But the most important ones for hunting are the 7.5 and 15 min maps.  These get broken down into the 1:24,000 maps that we call topos. Normally they cover about 200 square miles and from experience, the spot you want to hunt is not inside one of those 200 square mile maps. It normally means having to purchase 2 or 3 of the maps to get what you want. In today's world you can order numerous TOPO maps into one larger map so you don't own a dresser full of maps.  Companies like, My Topo, or Google Maps provide various ways for you to get multiple topo maps on one map, costs a bit more but still less than all it would take to get 3-6.  The last thing about mapping, always ditch the longitude and latitude method of location and tracking and load UTM. UTM is simply breaking the map into 1 meter blocks and pinpointing exact locations to that block your in.  More about UTM and mapping and location work in the GPS section.  Just know that there are mapping sources out there for you to use to get the maps of where you will be.

Due to the various terrain that you hunt elk in, it is hard to find just one style of boot that works comfortably in all areas.  There are certain features that I believe make the right boot for where you hunt.

1 - It needs to be above the ankle to hold your legs firmly

2 - It needs to be all leather, the mixed material boots just dont hold up

3 - You need to be able to water proof the outside, I don't trust Gore products if they have needle marks in them they leak, even the booties leak.

4 - They need to have some sort of heel on the sole, not a large heel but at least 3/8 of an inch where the heal height can dig into the terrain going up and down hills

5 - Break them in before you come, you cannot afford to have sore feet.  Always have a small tube of "second skin" with you in your pack.  You can stop and rub it on any hot spots on your feet and ankles if need be and it works on burns, insect bites, any chaffing anywhere, so find it on line or at a local sporting goods, or running store.

6 - I personally do not wear insulated boots in any of the Colorado elk seasons!  They just make my feet to hot, so I use only uninsulated all leather boots and use different sock weights such as (Smart wool med, or heavy) and I always wear a pair of the thin, moisture wicking socks, under them.

7 - I personally use two different boots but from the same company;

     Kenetrek Mountain Extreme - these have a 10 inch throat on them

     Kenetrek Hardscrabble - these are the same boot but with a 7 inch throat

     Danner makes good all leather boots

     Schnee makes top quality boots

     Crispi makes one of the finest boots

Don't skimp on your foot wear!  When you put 80+ lbs. of elk on your back and have to go up and down mountain trails to haul your trophy out to a truck, you will want all the support you can find and these companies make top quality boots.  You will be happy you spent the extra money and have the extra height on your ankles if you have to haul that elk down a steep mountain side!

This is a tough subject to cover properly here, but I will give it my best shot.  There are a lot of good GPS units out there, but there are about as many bad as good.  I do not suggest you use a GPS application from your Smart Phone, they tend to make your phone a Dumb Phone and will not help you get home, or to elk!  Use your phone as a texting machine, a camera, a phone, but NOT a GPS when hunting!!!!!

Set your GPS to UTM as your method for location.  If your map comes to you with the grids already marked, or you have done it yourself when you got the topo's, then locating spots is very simple.  90% of topo's have the long/lat markings on them as well as the UTM marks, so coordinating your effort from map to GPS, or visa versa is not hard.  Look up UTM on the internet and you can find simple instructions on how to understand it and use it, and it comes now as part of the owners packet when you purchase your GPS.

When you get your GPS, read the instruction manual carefully and practice it around your home, use it taking walks so you understand tracking, waypoints, directional compassing, magnetic vs. true north and set your compass the same as the GPS on north settings you can be as much as 18 degrees off depending on necessary adjustments to location. Use the track back capability, or Goto.  Learn how to type quickly on your unit so you can set new locations quickly and easily using your headlamp, or a candle, if necessary.

In all the years hunting, and managing ranches/guiding, I have had to go look for lost hunters 3 times.  In all cases the major complaint with them was; their compass was wrong!  Now, 2 of them also said their GPS units were wrong.  Problem is, all of the units were good and so were the compasses, they just didn't trust them.  Moral of the story - learn your compass and GPS well enough you actually trust them!

Learn how to use the maps and compass and your GPS as the triangle of home!  Using them all together will allow you to move freely around the mountains and not have to get overly worried about being lost.  It is good to remember that if you just use your GPS and head home, don't forget that GPS's dont tell you about terrain changes they just give you direction.  Your map will tell you about the terrain changes, so use them all and you'll get along just fine.

I think the older I get the more comfortable I am in how I hunt.  That sounds funny to some people since I am in my 60's now, but I know realize that I have to work at staying in shape all year round.  I can't just turn it off and on like I once did.  I have a workout routine now that is tough but good so I stick with it.  I also suffer from 3 herniated discs (L3, L4 & L5), so I am on a regiment of stretching exercises that I do every day even in hunting camp, or surgery comes next.  Your will easily get your heart rate above 140-160 hiking the steep terrain of some areas in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, so aerobic exercise is a must.  You need to work at getting your heart rate recovery down to single digit minutes so you can often take short breaks as you hike to recover, then go again.

Another benefit of conditioning is a quicker acclamation time.  Altitude sickness is a real thing and must be accounted for in any hunting trip.  Plan at least 1 early day to get used to the altitude your camping at and get the feel for your body at thin air.  Learn the symptoms of AS and how to cope with them, here are a few hints on how to keep it from getting you.
1 - no caffeine for the first couple days in camp, if you use it then do things slowly after consuming it
2 - no alcohol in camp the first couple of days
3 - no fast hikes, slow and easy
4 - take lots of breaks
5 - biggest hint - drink in excess of 80 ounces of water a day!
6 - I use G2 (grape is best) no soda of any kind during the hunts

Stair climbing at our church, or the local stadium

Weight lifting, not for bulk but strength and flexibility

Walking/running at least 4 times a week - 3-5 miles at least

Walk carrying a back pack with 20-30lbs of sugar or flower in it (leave it in the bags)

When possible, I go hike in the mtn. trails near me or I go out and hike the prairie areas around us, uneven terrain helps build the ankle strength.

Walk up stairs, no elevators if I can help it - knee strength and legs are a must!

See the page on "Decoying elk"