Elk in the San Juan herd might be on the smaller side, but last year hunters found some that topped 350 inches. Photo by Brian K. Strickland.

The cadence of horses' shoed hooves slapping the ground filtered through the damp air as we eased up the pack-trail. With each step, my well-used saddle creaked as it shifted from side to side. As we went from thick fir to the sparse alpine treeline, the lead wrangler pointed to a distant ridge and indicated my camp would be in the small cluster of firs.

I eagerly studied the emerald-green carpeted ridges around me, and it wasn't long until brown specks of feeding elk appeared. As if on cue, a lone bugle rang out, and I knew I had found my elk-hunting nirvana.

Five days after my drop-camp began in this vast expanse of public wilderness, I stood slack-jawed over my 6x6 San Juan prize.

No question about it, the Centennial State is an elk mecca. With some 250,000 elk to be found out across 12 national forests and countless parcels of Bureau of Land Management tracts, you can understand why this state easily claims the title of "Elk Capital of the World." Add to this more than 90 game management units that offer over-the-counter tags, and you can see why orange-clad hunters descend here in droves each year.

However, with so many over-the-counter areas to choose from -- and the mighty wapiti roaming virtually every hidden basin and steep ridge -- it can be a daunting task to choose the region in which to fulfill your elk-hunting dream. But if you want to hunt in massive amounts of public land, with solid numbers of elk, and a chance at a quality bull, then you might want to consider the impressive San Juan Elk Herd.

This Southwestern Colorado gem, stretching across game management units 75, 77, 78, 751 and 771, offers everything from leg-burning wilderness hunting, to simply jumping out of your 4WD and hitting the woods. On top of that, second and third rifle- season tags are just a quick trip to the local sporting goods store, and this region is definitely worth a look.

Who knows? If you work hard and do a little homework, you just might hang your tag on one of the residents.

Ted Dooley of Circle Divide Outfitters (www.rcguestranch.com) has been packing hunters into this prime elk region since 1974. Over the years, he's no doubt seen the good, the bad and the ugly the area has to offer. His conclusion is that it's about as good as it has ever been, as far as quality elk are concerned.

"Not only are there a lot of elk, but there are some really nice bulls in there right now in both the over-the-counter and the draw areas," said Dooley. "Hunters just have to get in there and get after them."

Last fall, Dooley reported, his hunters did really well with a couple of them tagging 300-inch bulls and one smoke-pole hunter dropping a 360-plus-inch monster. Although bulls of this caliber are an anomaly, there are numerous 280- to 300-inch bulls roaming the hills there. And every year, some fall to modern ballistics.

Need a second opinion? Consider Pagosa Springs-based Dick Ray of Lobo Outfitters (at www.lobooutfitters.com). "There are a good number of elk throughout the region," said this 35-year veteran outfitter. "And at any given time, you will find them at about any elevation,"

The region offers every kind of habitat, from alpine meadows, stands of fir and aspen, to thick and nasty piñon-juniper -- everything elk need to survive and thrive in.

Ray is not only an area outfitter, but also a member of the Colorado Wildlife Commission and has a good grasp of the current condition of the region's elk herd. According to him, the additional cow tags the DOW has been offering for the past few years have steadily decreased elk numbers throughout the area.

That's starting to put the area in line with population objectives.

Though some hunters look at this as a negative, Ray reports that his clients are seeing and harvesting more 300-inch bulls than ever before. And more hunters are leaving the woods with toothy grins and a truckbed full of rack.

According to Andy Holland, a DOW terrestrial biologist, this region is a good place to hunt, especially when Mother Nature behaves herself and produces a good dose of the white stuff. In this region, said the Durango-based biologist, weather is a key ingredient to hunter success -- and that's exactly what happened last fall.

"We had a good 2-foot snow early that really pushed the elk down, making them very accessible during the first and second rifle seasons," said Holland. "And hunters took advantage of it."