Zone 11A sits along the lower Lochsa fringe between Lowell and Kooskia, a slice of mid-elevation Clearwater country with the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness boundary creeping in from the south. Elevations run from about 1,400 feet at the river confluence to over 6,500 feet on the ridges. The lower canyon is bunchgrass and ponderosa with pockets of cedar in the wet draws; mid-slopes carry doug fir and grand fir; upper benches grade into mixed conifer and lodgepole. Old burns and timber sales create the brushy openings elk feed in at first and last light. Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest holds most of the ground, with Idaho Department of Lands and a sliver of corporate timber filling in. US 12 is the spine; FR 223 (Selway River) and FR 470 (Saddle Camp Road) climb out of the canyon. Lowell at the Selway-Lochsa confluence has a single store that may or may not be open; Kooskia and Kamiah are the real supply towns. Cell service ends past Kooskia. Fall storms here come hard—the canyon traps weather and the road can wash out, leaving you a long drive around. This unit produces good elk hunting for hunters willing to climb past the road; the brushy upper benches are where the bulls live but the canyon bottom is where most folks waste their time.