I had been to this area before, but I hadn't found this particular spot until this trip. The group I was with planned for a late afternoon hike into the spot. That was sort of a risky move considering there are good sunset spots in the area, and this wasn't one of them. We were at least hoping for some nice late afternoon light.

The hike in was only about a mile. However, the trails were muddy and wet, so it wasn't an easy excursion. Once we arrived, I set up and captured a few shots of the forest. The sunlight was fading fast, so any good compositions that I wanted needed to happen quickly.

My biggest challenge at this spot was trying to ignore the very majestic rock formations just beyond the forest. I tried to capture some shots of the rocks, but with the blue sky behind them, the photos weren't looking good.

I slowed down and focused on this interesting-shaped grove of aspens. The autumn colors were so good, almost like we had perfectly timed the trip. The water was still enough and the light was just right, and I was pretty excited to capture this photo.