RECENT HIKES IN GLACIER

It's August in Montana -- humidity is down to 14% and we are having sunny days, no rain in sight, and because of this the forest fires seem to be everywhere.  But it's been beautiful in Glacier and I've been taking advantage to get in some hikes.

It appears I haven't written in my blog since April, when I was writing about spring coming.  It came and went.  And soon it will be fall, with so many activities winding down in Glacier.  It's been a very busy this summer with my new horse, and I haven't been able to get into Glacier as much as I wanted, so I'm trying to get in a few more hikes.

In the last 2 weeks, I've been to Logan Pass twice (including today's trip), hiking to the Hidden Lake Overlook.  It's beautiful, the vistas are breath taking, and the air is like it's never been breathed by anyone before -- just so fresh.  I also hiked with a "ranger led" group to Avalanche Lake this week -- great fun and very educational.

Today's hike to Hidden Lake was to do a Mountain Goat survey with the Citizen Scientist volunteer program.  It's Mountain Goat and Pika weekend where the biologists are trying survey all of the goat and pika sites.  And why are the biologists concerned with the mountain goats and pikas (small herbivore, related to rabbits and hares)?  Both are vulnerable to high temperatures and thus serve as indicators of climate change, so the park has collected baseline information, and continues to monitor and count the goats and pikas. 

(one female goat decided to get a good view of Hidden Lake from the platform - no one questioned her decision)

 So armed with binoculars, spotting scope, tripod, and my "point and shoot" camera, I headed up the boardwalk from Logan Pass to the Hidden Lake Overlook.  Beautiful day, beautiful hike and beautiful surroundings. 

("Hey.....I'm walkin' here!)

 As you can see from these photos, the goats are quite use to people, and have very little fear.  So it's fun to see them "up close and personal".  I counted 5 goats today.  The "up close" goats included 3 females and 1 male.  You ask...."how do you know the difference?"  First, the female horns are set closer together, and they are usually smaller and less stocky than males.  The male's horns are set farther apart and have a more gradually curved horn.  And of course, I saw the "balls" of the male -- so it was easy to identify.
 

("What do you think.....should we head back or hike down to the lake?")

(The male mountain goat was trying to get a nap under the tree -- even with a temperature of around 70, it's very warm for them and you could see them panting)

Let me also state that I didn't want to carry my "good" camera (Nikon D300S) with all the gear survey gear on my shoulders.  So these photos were taken for identification only, and they are a bit "soft".

Of course, there is other wildlife in the area.  The Hoary Marmot lives in this area, and I saw several of them.  One was nice enough to "pose" for me -- he momentarily stopped eating.  And I saw lots of Colombian Ground Squirrels. 

(The Hoary Marmot)

(Colombian Ground Squirrel -- aren't they cute?)

 And when I arrived at Logan Pass at 8AM, there was a large, male Big Horn Sheep in the parking lot.  In fact, I almost backed into him.  He got a lot of attention from all the visitors.

(Big Horn Sheep wandering the parking lot at Logan Pass - what was he thinking!)

As as usual, the "giant" gnats bit my head, and I now have lumps on my scalp.  DAMN!! Forgot the deep woods Off.