Over the weekend my youngest brother and I backpacked and otherwise rambled around the southeast corner of the Great Smoky Mountains. Despite relatively little fall colour due to a very warm early autum, the mountains were still magnificent. What follows are some highlights.
Sunset from Mt. Sterling, where we spent the night under the howling wind and the chatter of college students…
Sunrise from Mt. Sterling.
One of the bull elk in the Cataloochee area of the park.
Thicket & Thorp 
beautiful pictures. the sunrise one especially caught my attention; the layer of clouds and the sunspots make it very interesting.