Noticed this thread and had a memory come up re elk and terrain:

One Fall we hunted was exceptionally hot and dry. Elk were concentrated in a string of swamps along a river. I was astounded to see the first one, a bull out in the middle of a vast sea of swamp grass and cattails, purely luck to notice it. Then we started looking and hunting them there, wading as needed, etc.

The elk gets to pick the terrain. We adjust location and tactics to meet them there, or we can have an enjoyable time hunting terrain we choose. Elk do have patterns but there is a big range and the key is to find where elk are right now when I am hunting.