In my opinion, the most beautiful and underrated national forest in the USA, is the Superior National Forest. Autumn is a special time up north, especially along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Sawtooth mountains along the shore line host a variety of trees that all change color at different times which makes for striking scenes of fall colors against the green foliage of summer. This photo I took while hiking along the Superior Hiking Trail, I had looked down and this simple, yet beautiful, scene appeared. A still-wet, red maple leaf had fallen on a decomposing birch log and I was transfixed with this scene I almost walked by. This simple photo is my favorite from the autumn 2023 season. Which is sort of funny because this trail leads to an incredible viewpoint over the forest called Bean and Bear Lake viewpoint but this scene is what stopped me in my tracks. Don't forget to look down every so often!