Mount Evans and its Famous Mountain Goats


They're cool, they're calm, and they're hangin' out at 14,000 feet! It's the Mt. Evans mountain goats! I took a trip up the highest road in the continental U.S. to photograph the goats and to enjoy the beauty that is Mt. Evans, Colorado. I was lucky to see so many goats up there! The road just opened a couple of weeks ago, due to a particularly stormy spring and impassable conditions. The babies, who are normally born in June, are just weaning now, in August! Lucky for me...


Baby mountain goat and it's protective mama

Licking minerals from the rocks

Beautiful animals
The bighorn sheep and marmots were out in force as well. Temperatures at the top of the mountain were near 30 degrees, even though it was 90 degrees down in Boulder.

Just hangin out on the highest cliffs ever

The highest road in the U.S.

Sundowners

Yellow-bellied marmot
Though this was my first time ever seeing mountain goats in the wild, I had taken my first trip to Mt. Evans last Autumn. The mountain was carpeted in gold, and the lakes reflected the autumn colors. It's definitely a sight to be seen! It only took an hour to hike down to the valley, but 2.5 hours to get back up! At 13,000 feet, you forget that breathing itself is a task.

Hiking down the mountain

In the golden valley

Breathtakingly beautiful
If you visit the mountain, make sure you bring plenty of water and warm clothes. And say hi to the goats for me!



All photos copyright Jennie Burns.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Antelope Island State Park - best place for sunsets in all of Utah

The Case for Gray Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado (on the ballot for November 2020)

A Day with the Wolves