I came back with tag soup this year. I passed up elk twice on opening day partly due to it being early on opening day and partly due to the work it would have taken to get them out (would have been a cow each time). Came close to a big bull that day in thick timber but couldn't get a good shot at it before it sneaked off. Didn't see another elk the rest of the trip, after opening day pressure the elk disappeared and there was little to no snow to help find them. I still had fun trying the rest of the trip but I would like to have that meat in the freezer!
If that was a bedding area, you spooked them out and they won't come back until someone else spooks them back your way. That's a big mistake many hunters make. Stay out of the bedding area if you plan to hunt it more than once.
