Offer update — September 9, 2026: Annual Pro now includes 7 days free for eligible new subscribers, then $29.99 billed annually. This historical recording describes the previous offer. Review current terms before subscribing. RidgeRead: A saddle, a bench, and the decision between them Generic synthetic narrator: macOS Samantha. No human identity is imitated. Captured September 6, 2026. [The decision] You have time to investigate one part of a ridge system. A saddle and a bench both look interesting. What makes one worth your time? This Ridge Read lesson uses a generic synthetic narrator. We will open the explanation behind each feature, identify what the map supports, and write down what still needs checking. [The decision] By the end, you will have a repeatable way to question a result before building a scouting plan around it. Our sequence is simple: read the terrain reason, compare an alternative, then choose one practical next check. [Sample context] This is Ridge Read's designated Meagher County, Montana example, opened with the scouting example link. The three points are precomputed demonstration data. This is not a live analysis, a current elk sighting, or a recommendation to hunt here. [Sample context] The example loads a post rut context, dawn, and high hunting pressure. Its time of day choices reuse these same sample points. Changing the sample time does not create newly analyzed evidence. We can practice the process without showing anyone's private scouting information. [Read the saddle] Start with Sample Saddle Crossing. Its description reports an elevation of eight thousand, one hundred twenty seven feet, a slope of five point four degrees, and a north facing aspect. The compact slope tile rounds the number to five degrees; the explanation keeps the decimal. [Read the saddle] These numbers describe the ground. They do not tell us that elk are standing here. A score or a detailed explanation is still a reason to investigate, not proof of animal presence. [Read the saddle] The stronger clue is the shape around the point: high ground along one axis, with drainages dropping away across it. The sample explanation describes a northwest to southeast ridge and northeast to southwest drainages. That opposing relief is why we are looking at a low crossing through the ridge system. [Read the saddle] Now read the alternative. Moving up either ridge shoulder means more climbing. Dropping into a drainage gives up that low crossing. This is a concrete terrain reason to investigate a travel possibility, while leaving animal use and your own approach unresolved. [Compare the bench] Next, Sample Sidehill Bench. Its description reports eight thousand, one hundred ninety two feet, an eleven point four degree slope, and a northeast facing aspect. Here, the compact tile rounds to eleven degrees. Read the explanation before relying on the headline number alone. [Compare the bench] The surrounding slope averages about twenty degrees in the sample explanation. That gentler patch inside steeper terrain is the useful comparison. A bench does not have to be flat. We are looking for a localized break in grade, rather than just the lowest slope anywhere on the map. [Compare the bench] The saddle offers a low crossing between higher shoulders. The bench offers a gentler shelf within a steeper slope. These are different terrain arguments. The bench gives us a reason to evaluate bedding or security cover, but suitable cover, elk use, and a workable approach are still unverified. [When to defer] The third point, Sample Western Saddle, gives us another crossing to compare. Its sample explanation describes high ground running north to south, with drainages falling away east to west. Again, that is a terrain argument, not a completed scouting decision. [When to defer] Here is a hypothetical reason to defer a promising feature: you cannot establish a legal approach, or the only practical route creates a problem you have not resolved. We are not claiming either is true at the sample location. This card illustrates a decision rule. [When to defer] A good looking pin does not deserve a place in the final plan just because its explanation is detailed. Leave it on a research list until the missing information is checked. A useful shortlist includes reasons to reject an option as well as reasons to investigate it. [Write the next step] Here is the note we want from this session. Feature: a low ridge crossing. Terrain reason to investigate: its shape offers a crossing between higher shoulders. Still unknown: usable cover, current sign, wind and conditions, and legal access. These are not established by this sample. [Write the next step] Next action: check the relevant access information, then decide whether field inspection is practical. Alternative: compare another feature if that check fails. That is more useful than collecting three pins and assuming the app has made the decision for you. [Write the next step] For your real area, record what you actually observe and revisit the reasoning when conditions change. Pause here to copy the worksheet. Keep your private notes in the storage option you choose. This lesson has not saved a hunt plan or downloaded an offline package. [Choose your area] Once the example makes sense, choose Find Elk Ground in My Area. This capture stops at the selection controls, before a live scan. The sample and a completed analysis of your own area are different steps. Choose an area you have reason to investigate, and read the results with the same questions. [Choose your area] Check the coverage of the tool you are opening. Colorado Elk Focus is a separate beta currently serving Unit seventy one. The Montana example is not evidence of statewide or Montana Elk Focus coverage. If no qualifying result appears, revisit the area and context, or collect more information. An empty result does not prove elk are absent. [Free and Pro] Start free with three analyses per month. When you need unlimited terrain analyses and Pro tools, compare the current Pro options. This is the public web plan picker captured on September sixth, twenty twenty six, without entering checkout or making a purchase. [Free and Pro] The current U.S. web annual offer is fourteen days free for eligible new subscribers, then twenty nine dollars and ninety nine cents billed annually. It renews automatically unless canceled. Monthly Pro is four dollars and ninety nine cents, billed immediately, with no trial. [Free and Pro] Review the exact offer and billing terms before subscribing. Native prices and eligibility come from your store. For now, open the example and inspect one explanation. Ask what it supports, what it does not establish, and what you will check next. That is the first useful step.