Mountain Archery Elk

[STIHL]

Hey I'm looking for some insight into a world I know nothing about.

I've shot my fair amount of 300 class bulls of prairie elk and now I'm looking for something harder and more of a adventure. I know I'm leaving good elk hunting for not many elk.

I'm not looking for someone's honey hole of elk but the mountains are so vast I'm having a tough time even narrowing my search where to start.

I plan to bring my truck and outfitter tent, dont have enough days off for a scouting trip, set up camp, stay for 7-10 days, 🚶*♂️ in a for a day or a night or two.

I guess my questions are
Are elk everywhere just need to find them?
What features are holding elk early Sept, Food ? Cover? Water?
Is E scouting of any value?

Any advice to point me in the right direction would be much appreciated