Great first post! :applause: (sarcasm)

Before you get to beat up, try the search feature...

And welcome to Ifish!

 

Great first post! :applause: (sarcasm)

Before you get to beat up, try the search feature...

And welcome to Ifish!

 

Thank's

 

sorry just learning how to use this.

 

Paul, I told ya these guys are harsh on new guys asking for help. sorry
Look, I told Elky to Join and told him there is a bunch of great guys on here that are willing to help.
I have looked or searched on here for desolation with very little info.
Elky is a stand up guy who has helped me and my daughter last few years with hunting or guns and packing elk out twice. Good guy.
Im sure he'd welcome PMs if you can help.

 

Apparently my words weren't clearly understood? :doh:

 

My best tip is to find out where I'm going opening morning, and then don't go there. I've yet to see anything, seen some good sign, but that's about it.

 

Hunt the burn.

 

Fish jump off Joe and visit olive's little sister. Hike along the wooden aqueduct and a fella might find a lost meadow with a trickling stream chuck full of little cuts ,fools gold and elk.

 

go out like I just did last week and drove over which I spent 300.00 in gas and then 200.00 in food and walked in and scouted.
that's my suggestion, this being 4 days until it opens. just saying

 

French diggins, chicken hill, black butte areas

 

Don't forget Chittum creek! Bigguns up in there!

 

Don't forget Chittum creek! Bigguns up in there!

I think its called Chittum Crick not Creek,hope this helps.

 

Start at the TOP and slowly work down. Used to be good when I hunted it. Now it's the sumpter unit.

 

Scout , scout, scout. Desolation is a big unit in terms of public land and the wilderness is accessible from all sides if your willing to put in the miles. Most the road hunting happens in the south with guys driving laps around each other. If you go that route then make sure to bring the lazy boy recliner so you'll fit in with the crowd. LoL

 

Hunted there for a few years and did see a Lazy Boy in the back of the truck. Not kidding

 

Rabbit butte, mt ireland, baldy lake those arr all good places ti start

 

So i dont know why people are being so helpfull and genuine on here.

... Sarcasm. ..it is customary to introduce yourself on your first post tell us a good hunting story and about yourself. Someone could have just said that.
Idk anything about desolation unit. But welcome to ifish! There really are some good peps, I have got great info on here and meet life long friends.

 

North Fork of the John Day - keep your pack on your back..

 

2nd that basin creek area

 

Take it out the bottom it's not all that bad... pretty flat just a decent walk..

 

Ah, out the trail to the campground?


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No offense to the OP, as I'm not directing this towards him. I've always wondered why people ask about this unit and a few others. Heppner, desolation, starkey, ukiah etc that have a ton of tags for deer and elk, a lot of public land and A LOT of people.
It seems to me that when you have this situation it would be pretty obvious that it will take some work to get away from the bubba hunters and that there probably isn't much virgin ground.
But that's just me. Good luck, with your season, it's always fun exploring a new area.


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Bear creek...

 

I second or is it third, ...Chittum Creek area

 

Is that S. Chittum Cr or No. Chittum Cr? I like No. Chittum Cr myself.

 

I haven't hunted the desolation unit much but the last time was about 8 years ago and I crossed the north fork john day and went up the 5505 road to the top and the was a trail head near some meadows. The trail went out towards lost horse meadows in the kelsay butte area I think. The first evening I had set up camp I hiked out the trail towards the north fork wilderness area and used my cow call a few times and had a spike bull come running in like a lap dog. I shot him at less that 15 yards. Got dark so I went to camp and got my lab and my lantern and followed a fairly short blood trail to the bull. Hot weather you got to find them quick and pack them out quick. Saw lots of elk in that area, might be worth checking out still. good luck.

 

My 360 bull that's pictured in my moniker was taken with a rifle in Desolation in an area that hasn't been mentioned yet so I think I'll just keep it that way

 

Here's all the honest help I can give. We hunted there a few seasons and quit because of high hunter numbers, rude hunters, and declining elk numbers. We hunted out of the Moon Meadow area, south of Ukiah. Hike in east or west from there for a couple of miles to get away from folks and stay in the wilderness to stay away from ATVs (unless you're part of that group). We killed a few cows in there and saw a couple of bulls. If you're hunting the spike season it's a real zoo. Get there a few days early to get a camping spot. Bow season is not so bad. It is good country and there are elk. Let's just say that to get our elk out from where we found them was a day and a half effort. Buy a cougar tag. Most folks would agree that's one of the reasons the elk have declined in there. I'm on the fence about the predator/prey argument most of the time and I don't want to get off subject, but I'll have a tag from now on. In to the south of the John Day River is also good, although I don't really know where to tell you to go in there. Scout, explore, stay out from dark to dark, listen, smell, use your binoculars.

Above all, have fun and good luck,

Pete

 

This is truth, Desolation sees a TON of people. Its took my group about 10yrs to figure out how to hunt around all the people. A few years ago I got a bull going right at first light and after 2hrs had him into 80yds. All of the sudden a guy comes "running" down the hillside behind me and start cow calling at the bull. I flag him down and state that I had been working the bull all morning and would appreciate if he backed out. He said "nope, I am going after him" and took off down the hill and up the other side towards the bull. My buddy and I made sure that bull didn't stick around for that jerk. That kind of BS has happened to us a lot in Desolation but we've mostly figured out how to avoid it now.

 

Tile guy....... Please keep it that way. Congrats to you. He was quite the bull.

 

Thanks.

 

Thanks Bud.