I like this as a study for this challenge - much less obvious than most. I think you would need a more ethereal light to make it work well - here there is little magic in the trees, and the very bright light behind them makes the exposure very tricky to control. Perhaps it simply needs editing that isn't allowed for this one :-)
This is a diffiult shot to do well - you have your bright sunlit areas (which are overexposed here bringing a loss of detail to the grasses beside the trail) and your shadow areas. The use of a neutral density graduated filter helps to even out the exposure. Also taking photos after the sun has moved behind the mountain or on a cloudy day can even out the exposure also. If you are planning to use photoshop gradient filters - expose for the brightest areas and then use shadow reduction or a gradient layer to bring out the details in the shadows. (I'm not sure what the rules are here about gradient layers and shadow reduction- an ND gradient filter at time of taking the shot is definitely legal.) Good luck!
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