We started this one just before 6:30am which made for a chilly first few miles. The sun didn't hit us until about a mile or so in. Nice hike thru the forest for the most part. This was one of the most serene and peaceful hikes I've done in recent memory. It was very nice to take in the scenery from the meadows with the morning light. We had originally considered including the West Fork Black River trail with this hike, but due to the marathon hike the day before, the amount of chores we both had to do at home, and plain old common sense, we decided otherwise. Oh well, something to save for later.

On the way to this hike, we spotted a herd of about 50 elk. It looked really magnificent crossing the tundra and the road in the morning. Naturally, my camera was in the back of the vehicle and there was no berm on the road to pull over.