mountain goat

four girls and i set out to hike a large mountain yesterday via the cracker lake trail with very vague directions. one of the problems with hiking in glacier national park, is that if you want to get to high elevations or mountain tops (higher than the 5000 ft at which we live), you have to traverse ragged, scree filled slopes with no trail and unexpected obstacles. trails are not prevalent through the park. they are at lower elevations, but to get to mountain tops, it can be a risky undertaking. hence, my nightmare hike about two weeks ago climbing mt altyn and having little to no idea what i and my friend were doing. (clearly we survived, but the climb down was a big pain in the a$$.)

when we reached the 'marker' indicating we were to leave the cracker lake trail, two of the girls decided to brave the unknown mountain and try to find snow moon lake. i wanted to find it badly as well, but after mt altyn, i was skeptical at best and unwilling to risk pain and suffering to find it. (a guy had just broken his ankle up there two weeks ago and got stranded on the mountain for 24 hours.) so, margaret, danielle and i continued on the trail. i'd heard from multiple people who'd done the trail before us, that this was their favorite hike. it is six miles in and six miles back. we meandered through fern-filled forests and berry laden meadows for about two more miles before danielle had to turn around and go back for work. margaret and i then voiced our urge to continue forward, so danielle bid us farewell and off we went.

i would personally pronounce this to be one of the more memorable hikes of my life. around every corner was a new surprise. more lustrous wild flowers, chilled mountain streams, waterfalls coming out of the middle of the mountain. the views were stunning and the end of the trail provided us with a sweeping landscape view of the lake and its turquoise blue waters pressed up against steep mountain edges.

however, the highlight of the hike was the mountain goat. coming here, i had a desire to see all the wild life the park offered. bears, moose, ptarmigan, eagles, rams..... but i had the most desire to see the elusive mountain goat. mountain goats only live at high elevations. this means that in order to see them on their level, you have to go seek them. you have to climb great heights to revel in their white, sturdy, but kind splendor. to me, being in their territory and challenging myself to come to them was the biggest allure. so when we reached the end of the trail and sat perched on high rocks overlooking the lake and we saw a goat perched high on the mountain looking down at us, i got excited. i snapped pics with my telephoto lens and did all i could to capture the essence of this snow-white beast.

so margaret and i sat on the edge of a grassy slope, digging our shoeless feet into the soft mossy grass and ate a picnic of salami sandwiches with hummus and fresh green lettuce, apples, protein bars and cold water. we chatted about the success of our hike and admired the astounding view before us. then i heard a rustle behind us and when i turned around, the goat that had been sitting on the hill above us twenty minutes ago, was standing right behind us and then beside us and then WE were beside ourselves. he was as big as a great dane, but wider and with shorter legs. his white beard concealed a goat-like smile and his horns were not intimidating-they were defining of his mountain magnificence. he ambled around us, studied us, hung around and we couldn't stop smiling and snapping pictures and LOVING the moment under the bright sunshine, on this soft grass, by this crystal lake, next to this furry creature. and then a marmot came out of nowhere to hang with his big buddy and they strolled around, letting the few of us lucky revelers take photos. they posed with their chests puffed out. and then we saw a fox running on the hill and all of us, goat, man, woman, marmot, watched it run across a hill and we bid our hellos, snapped our pics and laughed like little children. it was amazing!

finally we said our goodbyes to the creatures. we walked down the large slabs of rock, left the mossy grass that carressed our feet and headed back down the trail towards home. i turned back to look at the slab once more and the goat and marmot were both perched on the slab looking down at us, hopefully thinking to themselves, until next time. i felt a kinship with nature and it was incredibly special. i truly believe they were curious about us and i was utterly fascinated and in love with them. we waved goodbye to the goat and the marmot and headed back.

later, a large coyote crossed our paths and we heard the whistling of small whistle pigs (ground squirrels). the walk home between margaret and me was full of excitement and recaps of the day. six miles home was nothing when all we could recall was our dumb luck. we had the choice to leave for another trail with the girls, we had a choice to leave with danielle to relax at home, but we chose to go forward and our reward was priceless. everything happens for a reason and i'm glad we said no twice. it was an amazing day.