mdwest
AH ambassador
We just got back from an 12 day trip (3 days of driving each direction, plus 6 days in the woods) to hunt elk and deer in Northern Idaho..
Long and the short of it is.. after about $6K invested, almost 2 weeks off work, and damn near killing ourselves humping up and down incredibly steep and outrageously dense terrain, we came back empty handed...
and still had the trip of a lifetime..
We started planning this hunt a full year ago in early October 2023, and purchased licenses and tags for both elk and general deer in December 2023 (the out of state license and tag process for Idaho should be an entire thread in and of itself!).. then spent the next 10 months making sure we had the right kit (elk in Idaho isnt the same thing as deer in TX or gemsbok in South Africa), training (started routinely shooting at longer distances with larger caliber rifles.. started taking regular long walks with packs, etc..etc..) and researching...
Our hunt would be a semi DIY affair.. Ive got a good buddy that works in the forestry industry in Idaho that is successful punching his elk tag almost every year.. he spends most of his year walking around in the woods and had a pretty good feel for not only elk habits and habitats, but also is in permanent "scout" mode and is constantly logging patterns, sighting, etc. in his OnX account.. We would rely on him to figure out where we wanted to establish camp, and to tell us where we might have the best probability of success, etc.. but other than that would largely be on our own.. The buddy also has an excellent walled tent, wood burning stove, and other accouterments that make elk camp fairly easy and comfortable to live in, which is nice..
Long and the short of it, we spent roughly 29 hours driving from NTX to N ID (2.5 days).. and really enjoyed the ride.. We took our time and stopped in Sheridan, WY (really nice little downtown area with some great restaurants, etc.. highly recommended), spend some time in Bozeman, and a little time in Mizzoula on our way to camp, and on the way back wandered around Butte, Bozeman, and Colorado Springs a little bit to break up the drive and enjoy those towns...
Where we drew our tags (Units 9 and 10A) and where we ended up putting our camp made for some extremely rough hunting.. camp was at just under 6K in elevation and most of the places we hunted were between 5500-6800 ft.. there were very few meadows and fields, and those few that we found were small in size (the biggest was less than 200 yards square.. most were between 75-100 yards from one end to the other..).. and it seemed everywhere we walked was completely covered in chest high false huckleberry and tons of other undergrowth, not to mention there being huge deadfall trees everywhere as well.. walking in the woods, no matter how hard you tried to stay quiet, just wasnt happening... and hunting in the woods, where IF you managed to get a shot on something was going to be a 20-30 yard snap shot at best I saw very few shots possible past 30 yards in most places.. it was just too thick..).. the steepness of the terrain was also a huge challenge.... one particular trail we found was labeled "Cardiac Trail" in OnX... they werent lying lol.. about 2 miles into walking that trail I thought I was going to cough up a lung lol...
By the end of the 6th day of hunting we had seen exactly 2 whitetail deer (a doe and fawn) that we couldnt get a shot on.. and a couple of black squirrel and a couple of chipmunks.. and that was it.. while there was TONS of sign (poop, tracks, etc) that showed us there were absolutely big bull elk in the area.. luck was not on our side and we never saw one... (we did see multiple mule deer and whitetail deer on the drive in and the drive out of Idaho though.. just never saw any in the field)..
All of that said.. it was an incredible trip.. and honestly, excellent training for our New Zealand hunt we have planned in April 2025 (Southern Alps).. we got to test out a lot of gear to see what works well and what didnt work so well.. the views and vistas were simply outstanding (if youve never been to Northern Idaho, I strongly recommend it.. its breathtakingly beautiful).. and while we were licking our wounds and trying to recharge each night in camp, we had a great time with our friends that joined us for the hunt (2x Idaho locals, and an old Ranger buddy of mine from the DFW area that I deer hunt with regularly)..
On the drive back home I reflected on how many unsuccessful hunts that Ive put a lot of time, money, and effort into... and came to the realization that while Ive sometimes been disappointed in the results, Ive never regretted any of them.. while I'd love to have a freezer full of elk right now.. If someone told me up front that I'd never see one, I'd still get in the truck and do the trip all over again.. we had that great of a time..
Im not sure if we'll make another run at elk in Idaho in 2025.. Im thinking we'll chase them at our little cabin in Southern Colorado next year instead.. but Im not done with Idaho for sure... my guess is we'll try again in 2026..
Long and the short of it is.. after about $6K invested, almost 2 weeks off work, and damn near killing ourselves humping up and down incredibly steep and outrageously dense terrain, we came back empty handed...
and still had the trip of a lifetime..
We started planning this hunt a full year ago in early October 2023, and purchased licenses and tags for both elk and general deer in December 2023 (the out of state license and tag process for Idaho should be an entire thread in and of itself!).. then spent the next 10 months making sure we had the right kit (elk in Idaho isnt the same thing as deer in TX or gemsbok in South Africa), training (started routinely shooting at longer distances with larger caliber rifles.. started taking regular long walks with packs, etc..etc..) and researching...
Our hunt would be a semi DIY affair.. Ive got a good buddy that works in the forestry industry in Idaho that is successful punching his elk tag almost every year.. he spends most of his year walking around in the woods and had a pretty good feel for not only elk habits and habitats, but also is in permanent "scout" mode and is constantly logging patterns, sighting, etc. in his OnX account.. We would rely on him to figure out where we wanted to establish camp, and to tell us where we might have the best probability of success, etc.. but other than that would largely be on our own.. The buddy also has an excellent walled tent, wood burning stove, and other accouterments that make elk camp fairly easy and comfortable to live in, which is nice..
Long and the short of it, we spent roughly 29 hours driving from NTX to N ID (2.5 days).. and really enjoyed the ride.. We took our time and stopped in Sheridan, WY (really nice little downtown area with some great restaurants, etc.. highly recommended), spend some time in Bozeman, and a little time in Mizzoula on our way to camp, and on the way back wandered around Butte, Bozeman, and Colorado Springs a little bit to break up the drive and enjoy those towns...
Where we drew our tags (Units 9 and 10A) and where we ended up putting our camp made for some extremely rough hunting.. camp was at just under 6K in elevation and most of the places we hunted were between 5500-6800 ft.. there were very few meadows and fields, and those few that we found were small in size (the biggest was less than 200 yards square.. most were between 75-100 yards from one end to the other..).. and it seemed everywhere we walked was completely covered in chest high false huckleberry and tons of other undergrowth, not to mention there being huge deadfall trees everywhere as well.. walking in the woods, no matter how hard you tried to stay quiet, just wasnt happening... and hunting in the woods, where IF you managed to get a shot on something was going to be a 20-30 yard snap shot at best I saw very few shots possible past 30 yards in most places.. it was just too thick..).. the steepness of the terrain was also a huge challenge.... one particular trail we found was labeled "Cardiac Trail" in OnX... they werent lying lol.. about 2 miles into walking that trail I thought I was going to cough up a lung lol...
By the end of the 6th day of hunting we had seen exactly 2 whitetail deer (a doe and fawn) that we couldnt get a shot on.. and a couple of black squirrel and a couple of chipmunks.. and that was it.. while there was TONS of sign (poop, tracks, etc) that showed us there were absolutely big bull elk in the area.. luck was not on our side and we never saw one... (we did see multiple mule deer and whitetail deer on the drive in and the drive out of Idaho though.. just never saw any in the field)..
All of that said.. it was an incredible trip.. and honestly, excellent training for our New Zealand hunt we have planned in April 2025 (Southern Alps).. we got to test out a lot of gear to see what works well and what didnt work so well.. the views and vistas were simply outstanding (if youve never been to Northern Idaho, I strongly recommend it.. its breathtakingly beautiful).. and while we were licking our wounds and trying to recharge each night in camp, we had a great time with our friends that joined us for the hunt (2x Idaho locals, and an old Ranger buddy of mine from the DFW area that I deer hunt with regularly)..
On the drive back home I reflected on how many unsuccessful hunts that Ive put a lot of time, money, and effort into... and came to the realization that while Ive sometimes been disappointed in the results, Ive never regretted any of them.. while I'd love to have a freezer full of elk right now.. If someone told me up front that I'd never see one, I'd still get in the truck and do the trip all over again.. we had that great of a time..
Im not sure if we'll make another run at elk in Idaho in 2025.. Im thinking we'll chase them at our little cabin in Southern Colorado next year instead.. but Im not done with Idaho for sure... my guess is we'll try again in 2026..
