Zone 21 sits in east-central Idaho, covering the lower Lemhi River drainage and the eastern slope of the Beaverhead Mountains along the Montana line. The country is high, dry, and wide-open compared to the panhandle—sagebrush valleys, mountain mahogany on the lower slopes, then Douglas fir and lodgepole on north aspects with aspen pockets in the draws. Elevations run from about 4,200 feet near Salmon to over 10,000 feet on the Beaverhead Crest. The intermountain valleys hold extensive ranch ground; the public country is generally up high. Salmon-Challis National Forest and BLM split the public ground. Highway 28 runs the Lemhi Valley north-south, with forest roads climbing both sides into the mountains. Salmon is your supply town—fuel, motels, a couple of gear shops. Leadore on Highway 28 has gas and not much else. Cell service is along the highway and along the river bottoms, dead in the mountains. This is mule deer country first—bucks live in the mahogany-aspen mosaic and the high cirques. Elk numbers have grown over the past two decades in the higher timber. Pronghorn use the open valleys. October weather is high-desert continental: warm afternoons in the 50s, hard frost at night, and snow possible at elevation by the third week.