Mountain Goats of Mt. Evans

The star of any trip up Mt. Evans. One of the resident Mountain Goats.

In mid July I took a group of folks up Mt. Evans. We hiked the Pesman Trail, listened to a lecture on the ancient Bristlecone Pines, and then drove up to the summit. This road requires an intravenous injection of Valium before beginning.

The summit parking lot. The Boulder field was filled with tourists climbing the whopping 100 ft from the pavement to the summit. Being purists who like our mountain climbing bragging rights, we did not lower ourselves to such a feat of athletic prowess. The cars by the way stretched for a good 1/4 mile on both sides down to the left.

Mt. Evans is one of Colorado's 14,000+ ft peaks (a 14er). It is also one of two in the state you can drive up. This is totally cheating, but a fun excursion none-the-less. There is no trail register at the top so don't both looking for one. There is, however, a small shelter and hordes of tourists. There are also many Mountain Goats and Big Horned Sheep. I will blog the latter in a separate post.

Here are some photos of the "don't hate me because I'm beautiful" Mountain Goats.

This goat was in need of a Hollywood makeover. He/she/it was shedding its winter coat. Not exactly a red carpet moment. Still, it had panache and liked to pose for the 200 lens flashing all around. Actually, I exaggerate. There were only two of us taking pictures of the goats. The goats did not seem to notice the difference however.

This celeb was already done shedding and looked like it had just returned from a posh salon. Nothing like a new 'do to make you feel like a mountain diva.

Like any member of the rich and famous, this goat wanted to survey his domain. "I wonder what all the very little people are doing down there at the bottom of that 3,000 ft drop. Ho Hum."

Not to be out done, this B-actor was posing for us on the way down. Yellow-bellied Marmots are known for their hedonistic lounging upon warm rocks.

A scenic drive up Mt. Evans is a jolly, near death experience with stupendous views. Be prepared to pay the fee or buy an annual Federal Parks Pass. Bring your camera, anticipate changing weather, and stock the car with lots of food and water. There is no pub on this journey. Another nice place to stop on the way to the summit is Summit Lake. A short trail leads to great views of the Chicago Lakes Basin. For more information, check out the Forest Service Web site.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris) are the sun worshiping denizens of the mountains. They are often observed sprawled indelicately upon a fat rock, their large bellies barely supported by the stone. After hibernating for 8 months I can see why. I too emerge from the winter both fatter and sun-starved. If I had buckteeth, I would look just like a marmot.

Marmots are actually ground squirrels and are related to the infamous ground hog. I suspect all our hibernating marmots roll over in their sleep when their distant cousin declares a longer winter. If a marmot’s fat reserves run out while hibernating, it will die. Alas, I have too easy access to chocolate, fine dining, and chicken wing binges to every worry about that! While late summer is my time to slim down, it is the time for marmots to gorge themselves on grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots, and flowers. How boring! They need to read some of my restaurant reviews. A diet of lichen is hardly fat building.

Like me, marmots can be found at any altitude but prefer to live above 8,000 ft. They dig large burrows that have many entrances and exits. They line the burrow with grasses and fur to make it comfortable. If I had to live underground for 8 months, I would do more than shed on the floor. These burrows are usually on rocky slopes next to meadows.

When I took these pictures, there were so many marmots lounging on the road that it looked like a road kill convention. Highly territorial, they did not want to move. Somehow the law of gross tonnage does not apply to marmots, they think they are bigger than they are. Perhaps they have a tail complex. At 6 inches I might have an ego too.

Anyway, marmots are ubiquitous in the mountains. They will shriek at you if you invade their territory or look the other way as if you are not worthy of attention. The two that I photographed here seemed jealous of the mountain goats that I was following and kept posing like glamour girls on the catwalk.