While waiting to photograph sunset with my son Paul, we were unexpectedly visited by a young elk that had probably wandered from Smoky Mountain National Park. Since we had hiked in for an overnight visit, I had decided not to bring my 100-400 zoom due to the weight. My mistake!! As it turned out the clouds and light rays captured my attention with the elk posing as a near silhouette. I was hoping for some rim lighting on the elk but that did not occur. I had to shoot quickly since other campers in the area were chasing the elk trying to get photos and were at times as close as five or six feet from the elk. Some people do not respect the space around wildlife and it can result in dangerous situations. Thankfully this elk remained fairly calm.