As my friend Sharon and I arrived at the trailhead for the Beaver Meadows Circuit just after 7 this morning, we saw several bull elk. This one had the most impressive rack.

This Elk Posed Briefly for Me

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The trail starts in the Upper Beaver Meadows area of Rocky Mountain National Park. Sharon had never been in this part of the park, and I hadn’t hiked the five or six mile loop trail during the past three years.

But on a recent hike together we decided that we wanted to hike a loop trail of eight miles or less and one that was not too steep. I researched my hiking guide books, and the Beaver Meadows Circuit fit the bill perfectly.

Another attraction of this particular hike was that it is “lightly used.” In fact, we didn’t meet anyone on the trail.

One of my guide books also described it as “a great birding hike,” which of course interested Sharon. While we did see many small birds, she prefers the raptors (birds of prey), like eagles, owls, osprey, and hawks. This is one of the small birds that we saw today.

A Bitty Bird

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A bit later on our circuit hike we came to a trail junction with this sign that I remembered from my previous hike here.

Sharon Poses by the Sign

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My Pose

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The trail offered several lovely viewpoints. Looking down, we could see Moraine Park.

Moraine Park

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Looking up, we could see the Rockies.

A Rocky Mountain Glacier

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Aspens Framed This View of the Rockies

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While this shot shows heavy cloud cover over the Rocky Mountains, we were in the sun most of the day. In fact, we had perfect hiking weather with little wind and just the right temperature. Hiking just 45 miles by road from Boulder, we seemed a world away from the fire, smoke, and high wind here.