I've never managed to actually get out and go big game hunting in WA, always hard to line up time off work and family obligations with the incredibly short seasons. I was all set to go a few years back and got dropped by a severe fever the day I was set to leave. This year I am determined to make it work even if just for a weekend. However, I have no idea about where to go. I know that hiking even 4-5 miles off any accessible roads leads to a lot better chance of finding undisturbed animals, and I'm prepared to do the hiking and have a rough camp for a couple days.

So, I'm looking at deer, elk, and beer. I may have a line on a place for blacktail, friend's parent's place. But elk and bear, I have no clue. I went with west side elk, which I realize is maybe not ideal but I'm hoping it will work out. I've heard that the Olympic peninsula elk tend to be large bodied (more interested in meat than rack) and not have as much hunting pressure. I know when I lived in North Bend I was always seeing herds but I think most of that area is off limits.

So, any thoughts on units to look at? What should I be doing to prepare, I'm working on the physical conditioning aspect and I'm unfortunately limited on the amount of time i can take to scout. But I need to have at least some idea of where I'm going before I can scout it.