Birthday Present! Montana here we come.

[ron w]

 Cool Matt, Cyclic Rivers( Charlie) and I went a few years ago. We camped at 10,000 feet in Colorado . Great time was had. Take a ton of photos......!

[Paul Collins]

Listen close for five seconds and I'll show you the best elk call to use, starting . . . now . . .   Didn't hear anything?  Good.  Do that.

[Carcajou]

Hey Paul, 

[Chain2]

Every time I wanted to say something Handforged beat me to it. Sound advice. There is only one direction in elk hunting.....up hill. Good Luck.

[Friend]

Am looking forward to following this endeavor.

[pinky]

Also if you are planning on spike camping do you ship your fuel canisters out or buy when you get there. I am nervous about not being able to find some when I arrive.

Missoula a town geared toward outdoor recreation and they have a Cabela's , Sportsman's Warehouse, REI and more,   you will be able to find Iso-butane canisters or other fuel at any of these places and even the Hardware stores. 
There is a Missoula Map maker (Cairn Cartographics) that makes some amazing topo maps of local wilderness and other outdoor recreation areas.  If you have an idea of the area you are thinking about a good map would be handy to have in the planning process and in the field.   This trip should be a great adventure.
a couple Pics to get the blood pumping.

[pinky]

whoops.  one of those was supposed to be a spring shot

[BAK]

I'm sure elk hunting can be and usually is as difficult as it sounds.....but....I have a nephew who has worked on ranches in Montana for nearly 20 years.  He has taken numerous elk, and my brother has taken a couple and I've tagged along a couple of times.   We were able to drive up to both with the pickup and winch them in the back and drive them to the ranch and then to town for processing.  Ranch hunting must be a whole lot different than back country.

[Biggamefish]

This is all great info and I appreciate it. Keep it coming!! Lol I will need all the help I can get. I am going to try to keep this post going right till the end with all our endeavors! Thanks again.

[Biggamefish]

I tried out my tent for the trip. Works very well very easy to set up. Has great room under the vestibule/door area for gear and plenty of room for me and some gear inside. You are supposed to use a trekking pole but I ended up just using a stick I found near by. Very sturdy set up and small and light weight for the back pack. Good product from River Country.

[Biggamefish]

We are down to almost less than a month to go! Everything seems to be falling into place.  Shooting is good gear is coming together etc. I do have to buy a sleeping pad as the one I have has a few hole in it glad I tried it out!! Was good this spring. So No I am on a search to find the best pad cheap. Don't know weather I want an air or a closed cell.
 Some of the closed cell ones look great plus they can double as a camp cushion and glassing cushion. But they aren't nearly as comfortable to sleep on. Such a dilemma!!

[Huntschool]

I envy you young folks that can tackle the rigors of a pack in DIY elk hunt.  For me those years have long passed.

I am going to watch this thread and live this hunt vicariously through you.  Best of luck and be careful....  I hate turning around on a trail and seeing griz or a big cat following along behind me.  Been there done that.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I'm very excited for you Matt.  I'll keep checking back for updates. 

[TURKEYFOOTGIRL]

Don't get too stuck on staying near Missoula if you can help it. I have killed elk here on day trips and after work but find much more success and quality of hunting getting a couple hours away from the big city. I prefer to call a lot and don't have a whole lot of desire to kill a elk I haven't called in. Not saying I haven't stalked or ambushed them but to me calling is as big of a part as there can be.