The Milner Pass Trail runs 4.1 miles from Poudre Lake to the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park. It offers exceptional views across the Never Summer Range, Cache La Poudre River valley and Forest Canyon.

Poudre Lake forms the headwaters of the Cache La Poudre River, which drains east of the Divide

As the rut nears, bull elk will scrape their antlers to remove the nutrient-supplying velvet sheaths

Lush grasses take hold where tundra soil is well developed

View down Forest Canyon, where headwaters of the Big Thompson River form

The Never Summer Wilderness shares its eastern boundary with Rocky Mountain National Park

Bighorn sheep have a complex 9-stage digestive process that enables them to maximize lower quality food

View of the upper Cache La Poudre River Valley, which offers a compelling x-country route beside the river

Several ponds dot broad alpine flats near Forest Canyon Pass

Elk cows will form large summer herds in the high country before males join them at lower elevations for the autumn rut

The Milner Pass Trail is one of several drop in points for Forest Canyon, which has no maintained trails into it

The Never Summer Wilderness covers 21,000-acres with elevations up to 12,520'

The Native American word for elk is "Wapiti", which means "white rump"

Deer and elk are common on the Milner Pass Trail, and bighorn sheep are sometimes seen on higher slopes and ridges

Never Summer Range peak names hint at their height and above area-average snowfall - Cirrus, Cumulus, Stratus and Nimbus

Past the Mt Ida Trail split, grades are nearly level the rest of the way

A few steps off trail lead to great views across the upper slopes of Forest Canyon