salmon unit October snow potential

Hey all,

I just picked up my Salmon Unit B tag and my friends are attaining their deer tags and we are thrilled to get zeroed in on where we are hunting this fall. We are from out of state and have not hunted the unit before, so I'm looking for advice on road accessibility- namely if it's probable there'd be snow during the season at, say, 7000 ft. We may be condemned to using a Ford Transit to get the 4 of us into country, and I'm nervous about what we can safely get into, given this restraint.

From what I've heard from F&G the "loop" around 28 using Panther Creek road should be alright, but it can get dicey from there. We aim to springboard from something passable and hike in a ways but clearly don't have a fine sense of what's off limits given our mobility. Any further advice?

Thanks in advance!

There's a good chance you'd see snow at 7,000 feet in that area in October. Perhaps earlier and lower, too. I don't travel in that area without 2 spare tires, and chains from September through May.

Not sure what a Ford Transit is, but I would want a 4 wheel drive truck for that area. The Panther Creek road is usually in good shape, rain or snow can change that quickly. I hunted deer last October there and had to turn around due to snow depth driving a 4x4 1/2 ton. At that time, most of the elk are up high, except for the ones hitting the ag fields. I spend 1/2 of my time in living 15 miles from there. Most of the area is rugged, steep mountains. Try to rent a truck in Salmon, IMO