Yes, they do seem supernatural at times.
One year, I found an old bull literally living less than a 1/4 mile from a trailhead. We got a few inches of fresh snow, so I tried to track him.
When I found his tracks that morning, it looked like a couple of hunters were already on him. But then I noticed that his tracks were on top of theirs....
I tracked him for over an hour in a circular route in the broken timber. Looking back, I realized that I wasn't paying attention to the wind.
He left his living area, and, in broad daylight, crossed a large open area, and then the road I'd used to get to the area. Tracked him all day. Never saw him.
The odd thing was that he wasn't there on the opener. We had snow that weekend, and I'd been there a couple of times. I found his tracks there almost two weeks later on some old snow. I believe he felt he could get away with living there, simply because he had alot of confidence in his abilities. He sure beat me.
Moral of the story, watch the air currents.
The other lesson was that they do move around alot during the season. I've seen this myself. Bull elk moving into areas where they don't normally go. Even areas w/o water for miles.
Yes, doing alot of looking, even in unlikely areas apparently pays off.
At my age, I'm limited as to how much of this I can do. A couple of dark to dark days, and I'm way down on energy and attention span. Like it or not, I have to pick and choose where and what I do.
The bottom line is that these are fascinating, majestic animals that are a privilage to hunt. E
