Sometimes you get lucky. I had made the trip up Mount Evans, Colorado several times looking for Mountain Goats. But this time I was lucky. I came across about 50 Mountain Goats in a meadow at about 13,000 feet. I not only could see them, but could hike down into the meadow to get close. This requires some forethought. Not just which is the easiest route, but which is the least likely to disturb the Goats as I transcend the mountain. A very slow serpentine pattern seemed to be the best course of action. After about 20 minutes I got close enough to get a dozen or so:
I continued my serpentine pattern until I got within about 25 - 30 feet away. Then sat down on a rock (similar to the ones you see in the first photo). Once I was sitting, they seemed quite comfortable and actually decided to sit as well:
After another 30 minutes some of the little "kids" got up and started walking around. Not any closer toward me -- but, wandering as kids do. This was my favorite photo of the day:
You can't really tell from the photo but the kids are on the edge, and between them and the large rocks behind them is a drop of a thousand feet or more. I loved all the wildflowers, even though it was 2500 feet above the treeline.
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