There is very little public land south of Hwy 160 toward Ignacio. Northeast of Durango & east of Vallecito Res is the Weminuche Wilderness area. It has good public access from public land. You never know what the weather will be like during 3rd season. If there is lots of snow the deer could have already left the high country. Get a San Juan Nat Forest mao and start looking for all the access roads and cgs. There is a lot of NF land and good access.
I live about 60 miles west of there.