Unit 36B-1

Challis and the historical site at Garden City provide reference points for access and resupply. The creek drainages are the primary navigational features: Camp Creek, Warm Spring Creek, and Challis Creek run through major valleys and serve as travel corridors. Daugherty Spring and Gooseberry Spring mark reliable water sources on higher benches.

Several gulches—Daugherty, John, Klug, Leaton, and Cartwright—provide tributary drainages that break up the rolling terrain and offer cross-country hunting routes. These feature names appear on maps and help orient hunters in relatively straightforward country.

The unit spans medium elevations with a median around 5,700 feet, meaning most of the country sits in the lower-to-middle elevation band. Lower benches are characterized by sagebrush and grassland with scattered juniper and aspen. As terrain rises, sparse ponderosa and Douglas-fir timber becomes more prevalent, creating a mosaic of open slopes and light forest cover.

The sparse forest designation means timber is interspersed rather than continuous—hunters will encounter open glassing country frequently broken by timbered pockets rather than solid forest blocks.

Nearly 300 miles of road provides solid access throughout the unit, with the Connected badge reflecting good logistics from Challis. Roads range from highway standards near town to rougher forest service tracks higher up. This accessibility makes the unit approachable for hunters seeking moderate terrain without requiring extensive backpacking.

However, roads also concentrate hunting pressure—the easier terrain and reliable creek access mean other hunters will be present, particularly on opening weekend and during rut season. Pressure tends to focus on creek bottoms and immediate road corridors.

Unit 36B-1 encompasses the Challis area of Custer County, Idaho, anchored by the town of Challis to the south. The unit boundaries follow county lines and natural drainages, creating a moderate-sized block of terrain ranging from roughly 4,800 feet along valley bottoms to over 8,300 feet on higher ridges. The landscape sits in the central Idaho transition zone where Great Basin sagebrush habitat meets mountain forest.

This position makes it a corridor for mule deer movement between seasonal ranges.

Water availability defines hunting strategy in this unit. The major creeks—Camp, Warm Spring, Challis, Eddy, and Mill Creek—flow year-round and anchor the hunting landscape. Named springs like Daugherty and Gooseberry provide stock water on the benches.

However, limited water designation means reliable sources are concentrated in drainages and specific spring locations rather than scattered throughout. Hunters targeting upper elevations must rely on these known sources; exploring off drainages without water intel could create logistical challenges. Creek bottoms offer both water access and productive riparian habitat.

Mule deer are the target species, utilizing the rolling terrain's transition between open sagebrush and sparse timber. Early season finds deer in higher benches where cool temperatures and fresh browse attract them; glassing open slopes and timbered pockets along ridgelines is productive. Mid-season rut activity concentrates deer in the aspens and creek breaks where females congregate.

Late season pushes deer downslope toward lower elevation sagebrush and protected valleys. Hunting success relies on working creek drainages from ridgetop to valley, using the sparse timber as cover while maintaining glassing opportunities across open country.