Sept 24th - The sound of Elk in the shadow of Mt Raineer

All through the night and long into the morning and early afternoon the sounds of the elk trumpeting and rutting around echoed through the woods and up from the valleys. Mating season must be in full swing.

Lots of views of Mt Raineer but wish it wasn't so smokey. It was neat to see her and recall details of my summit climb years ago. You could just make out some of the glaciers and features I think I recall from my trek on the mountain. Lots of wildflowers and great near-in views.

In the afternoon the trail climbed over several passes and knife edge trails with fantastic views; including smoke plumes from more fires very close by.
Saw a large bull elk with huge rack crashing through the woods in the late afternoon. Camping at 2340 miles on the exposed knife edge ridge overlooking Bullion Basin.