Utah hunters, looking for hunt advice

[SightedIn]

Well gents after playing the Utah DWR lottery for a few years I just got a Pronghorn tag for second week of October in the San Rafeal/North Cleveland zone.

To be clear, i'm not looking for any advice on where to find them, nor do I wish you to offer any.

What i'm looking for is advice mainly on expected weather, terrain, and possibly good staging areas.
I have been to Utah a few times, only for sightseeing, and mainly to the higher elevation areas such as Boulder Top, with a few others like Johns valley/Bryce, Pine Valley etc.
I have only hunted California and Texas previously. California terrain is a b!%ch, Texas is not bad at all.

The hunt area has the towns of Price and Wellington to the north and Elmo and Cleveland to the south. Not much east/west. As pronghorn habitat dictates, its mostly plains and plateaus it appears.
1) I'm wondering whats the weather like in October? I've seen "average" weather reports, but are there any storms ect i might have to worry about that time of year? Any high winds to be expected there on the plains maybe? I'm tent camping it out for the most part, rough sleeping in tent that's blowing away...
2) I know the terrain is obviously mostly plains and sage, but any ideas on if the roads will be rough/deeply rutted,muddy? My truck is only 2wd and not great clearance.
3) Kinda would like to motel up the first night in town only cause its a 10hr drive for me. Any thoughts on which of the above listed towns might be better to stage out of?
Thanks guys, any help would be appreciated

oh and course this will be a Grendel hunt, no better rifle for a Pronghorn

[LRRPF52]

I spend a bit of time down there every year, know the area pretty well. One of my wife's favorite fishing holes is up there in the mountains just south of Price, and North Springs Range is just outside of Price.

It's a very dry area with buttes, rocky outcrops, dry tributaries, lots of elevation and relief that isn't apparent until you hit the ground.

There are a lot of oil rigs out there with access roads, so the road network is actually pretty developed for a remote area.

I camp there all the time, and personally don't take a tent, opting instead to use my Gore-tex bivy sack/sleep system with ground tarp, sleeping pad/mattress, and a poncho hooch if rain is imminent.

In October, your high temps average 58˚ F, lows 34˚ F, with 7-10mph winds pretty normal in the day. Storms are rare in Oct., and usually come from over the mountains to your West from Hiawatha. You can see them plain as day when they come.

It is very dry, dusty, with limited overhead cover.

There are some good motels in Price.

JBs is a good family diner right off the highway intersection. There is also a Wal-Mart in town.

You won't be too far from modern conveniences.

You'll be at about 5600 feet elevation or more out there. You can drive up to North Springs Range to practice shooting 18" steel from 200yds on out with 50yd increments, as it's within 10 minutes of your hunting zone. NS is open Thursday-Sunday and is a world-class shooting facility. Day pass is only $8 IIRC.

[SightedIn]

LRRPF52, you answered all my questions dead on. Appreciate it so much i couldnt ask for more.

You have a great state there that you live in. Keep the Liberals out and it should stay that way.

[maxxmojo]

LRRPF52 pretty much summed it up. Price is the bigger town around here, plenty of hotels and whatnot. There might be some in Huntington but I've never paid attention.

99% of the backroads from East Carbon to Mounds to Elmo to Cedar Mountain can all be traversed easily by a 2wd truck. Usually by October there's not a whole lot of moisture on the ground so ruts and fun spots should be minimal, though you're probably going to want to have a coat handy. The Green River Cutoff Road that starts from Castle Dale and ends at Hwy 6 south of Woodside isn't too bad. 2wd should work but I wouldn't take a car on it. If you're going to be driving around Clarks Valley NE of Wellington and west of East Carbon be advised you may need 4wd, even in dry weather.

[SightedIn]

LRRPF52 pretty much summed it up. Price is the bigger town around here, plenty of hotels and whatnot. There might be some in Huntington but I've never paid attention.

99% of the backroads from East Carbon to Mounds to Elmo to Cedar Mountain can all be traversed easily by a 2wd truck. Usually by October there's not a whole lot of moisture on the ground so ruts and fun spots should be minimal, though you're probably going to want to have a coat handy. The Green River Cutoff Road that starts from Castle Dale and ends at Hwy 6 south of Woodside isn't too bad. 2wd should work but I wouldn't take a car on it. If you're going to be driving around Clarks Valley NE of Wellington and west of East Carbon be advised you may need 4wd, even in dry weather.

Thank you maxxmojo. Appreciate that. You guys have saved me tons of headache.

[LRRPF52]

This is what the terrain looks like in Emery County:

[Texas]

Great pictures LRRFP52. That is some severe hunting.

[LRRPF52]

That area is really close to Moab where they filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade opening scene when he was a Boy Scout.

[grayfox]

Totally awesome country! The Mrs and I really love the west, most of our time there was in Idaho and N Utah however...
"These are God's greatest sculpturins...!" (Del-Gue, Jeremiah Johnson)

[Les]

This is what the terrain looks like in Emery County:

Breath taking, although I'm sure pictures don't do it justice. At least that's what I've found from personally taken pictures.