A Great Fall Day at Young Gulch

Almost November and really wonderful weather for a hike up the Poudre Canyon at Young Gulch. On a Saturday, you've got to get there early if you want avoid crowds. I arrived with perfect timing just before 7:00.

The coolness of having multiple cameras on hand:

The Moon at Sunrise from the Little camera...

and from the Big one.

Mostly, a quiet hike. Chickadees, Nuthatches and several Townsend's Solitaires. I focused on the hike and decided to be a slightly less lazier bum than usual and hike the whole trail.

After reaching the trail's end, I happily turned back and headed for home. I was moving and not paying tons of attention when I spotted a light-colored bird across the stream sitting on a branch in the sun:

Oh my gosh, so not-just-any light-colored bird!

My very first [un-assisted] Small Mountain Owl sighting!! A Northern Pygmy-Owl!! Oh MY Gosh. This would be the point at which a great hike became a fantastic hike!

More on the way home:

Clark's Nutcracker making a general commotion

Mountain Chickadee

Exciting Trail Growth.

More photos from today's hike: