Zone 35 covers the country between the South Fork Salmon and the Middle Fork Payette in west-central Idaho, deep Boise National Forest country including the Bear Valley and Deadwood drainages. Elevations span from about 4,500 feet in the canyon bottoms to over 8,500 feet on the high ridges. The forest is ponderosa-doug fir at lower elevations, lodgepole pine through the mid-slopes, with subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce on the upper benches. Old burns from the Bear Valley fires of the past two decades have created huge brushy openings, and the meadow complexes along Bear Valley Creek are some of the best wet-meadow elk habitat in the state. Boise NF covers nearly the entire unit. Forest Road 579 (Bear Valley Road) is the main access from Highway 21; the Deadwood road provides western access. Both are gravel that turns to slop in October rain. Lowman has fuel and a small store; Stanley to the east has more options; Boise is the metro hub two-plus hours away. Cell service is essentially zero. Bear Valley is famous for its salmon spawning grounds and equally famous for its mosquitoes in summer—but in fall the mosquitoes are gone and the elk are there. Densities are solid, bull quality is good, and pressure is moderate because the drive in is slow. The wet meadows can be ankle-deep mud after rain; bring boots that can handle it.