Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting ELK HUNTING GMU12/23/24 2NDRIFLE IN CO.

I drew a cow tag and a couple of buddies are getting otc tags for the 2nd rifle season. We will arrive a few days early and will set up a truck camp. Have horses and are planning to spike camp too. Have been going to Salmon Idaho area for years and getting tired of the Wolfs. Would appreciate any help as to some good places to start.

I'd go in the road that goes east from Yellow Jacket Pass and hunt the north side of Sleepy Cat peak

Thanks Saddlesore. I've read several of your posts and it sounds like you should know where to go. I'll give it a look see.

I got a cow there a few years ago late in the 3rd season. Was so tired from packing out 2 bulls earlier in the week I just got 300 yards from the main road and sat under a tree with a paperback kind of watching a nice meadow that seemed to be on 2 escape routes to steep canyon country. There was some shooting in the area about 1/2 hour later a fat cow stepped out from a tree at 11 yards and ended up in my freezer.

In pressured areas like that it is nice to be on escape routes early and let the other guys push game to you later in the week particularly. With Horses you have lots of options in the wilderness areas and some of the more rugged or larger BLM etc. With early snow they sometimes move quickly down to Oak Ridge Wildlife area - not my favorite but productive for horseback hunters when the snow is deep up high.

Thanks for the comeback Specneeds. Has anyone hunted elk on the west side of Gondola Peak?

If you're interested in GMU 12, you might want to try the area between Sleepy Cat Peak and Three Points Mountain. We have taken several nice bulls in that area. There is a campground on Morapos Creek at the end of County Road 41 just past Hamilton. If you are looking for a spike camp, you might want to travel a little further West on Hwy. 13 and take County Road 45 to the end around Wise Reservoir. That will put you on the backside of Three Points Mountain and there is excellent hunting there especially in heavy snow as that is a migration rout out of area 24 and higher country. Good luck.

TO get to Sleepy Cat from Morapos, involves a circuitous route up and around to the NE and then back, or a major dip down into Mill Creek and then back up. The canyon south of Horse Ridge is probably a 800-1000 ft elevation drop

In addition, the two small parking areas at Morapos are very crowded in 1st and 2nd rifle seasons.. You almost have to take your own parking spot.

If you have horses, there is no close water.

True but very good hunting. I have never hunted 2nd season, but there are plenty of spots available during the third season. Also, a nice ride to Wilson Mesa which also has excellent hunting.

Thanks for the info. Are you talking about Milk Ck or Salt Park to be North of Sleepy Cat? It looks like good elk country everywhere up there. Is that area really congested during 2nd season? The road from Yellow Jacket Pass to the east looks really good, but, how bad will it get with a foot of snow pulling a horse trailer? Have chains for all around with Duramax power.

Salt Park would be NE of Sleepy Cat and you get there by taking the trail out of the old Morapos campground towards Baldy Mountain, but that is nasty trail that would be worse in snow. The trail that goes past Wymore Lake and then curls back around to the east of Baldy Mountain is a better trail, but longer. I think the hunting would be better north side of Sleepy Cat and that general area, then towards Salt park.

Milk Creek would be north of Sleepy Cat.

The road in from Yellow Jacket ,the last time I was on it was fairly rough. I'd sure drop the horse trailer and test it with just a pickup before committing as the first few miles is up hill.

With snow, either going into Morapos or in from Yellow Jacket is going to be a challenge.Coming out downhill more so. I think going into Morapos is steeper, but the road was better. Might think about at least one set of chains for the horse trailer to keep it from coming around and meeting you.

The hunters spread out, but that old Morapos Campground is filled up 1st and 2nd season. Within 3 miles it gets a lot of hunter pressure.

If you can get up past Baldy mountain, it helps, but there are plenty of DYI horse camps in that area, and J Bar H outfitters has three outfitter camps.

PM me and I'll direct you to a honey hole if you are tough enough to go down in to it.

The last two mile of road into Morapas is one lane can be very bad. If you were to meet someone coming down while you are going up with a horse trailer it could get tough. I just spoke with the outfitter up there and she said the second season is very crowded. You might want to look at going the back way to Thornburg there is a nice lake back there with good camping and the roads are better. You can access Milk Creek and follow it along to Sleepy Cat Peak if that is where you want to go. The area around the Thornburg battle area going towards Three Points has very good hunting as well. Jeanne does have several drop camps in this area however. Good Luck.

I know Jeanne Horne personally, I just bought two mules off her this spring and sold her my big mule. She knows what is up in the entire area.

I have hunted out of Morapos for about the last five years in ML season. I think sometime in 2013 the forest service graveled the last few miles of road because it was in better shape, but still fairly steep in a few places and is one lane.

I have always pulled a 20 ft gooseneck into there. So far I have been lucky and not met any traffic coming the opposite way coming or going. However, I go up the Wed. before the season and don't leave until the Monday after the season closes. My information about the crowding comes from several guys who hunt the rifle season up there and a few of Jeanne's staff.

After you get about two miles up the trail,it opens up and you can see some pretty big open areas on the west side if the ridge. The guys that hunt it tell me it is a sea of orange and shooting every where. These are mostly foot hunters going up from the old Morapos campground. Those with horses that go up and over the ridge and into Horse and Salt Parks do better, but the few guys who hunt the north side of Sleepy Cat do better. It's a bitch to get there though.

The big problem with horses is as I mentioned, "no water" at the trailhead. In the 2nd season, the small streams further up may be frozen or dried up. Morapos creek down in the canyon has been a trickle at best the last few years. Last year was better due to all the rain we had in ML season. I haul my water in for my mules in 55 gal pickle barrels.There are a few beaver ponds but they are surrounded by deep mud.

I don't know the area of Thornburg or 3 Points that ro1459 mentioned, but if the road is better you might do better going in there.

Found this old post and wanted to follow up. @saddlesore - Were you at Morapos Trailhead for 1st rifle in 2018? Anyone else in this thread there last year? If so, maybe we met you all there.