Good news! I was able to exchange my camera! Alas, my replacement arrived a few days too late to capture an incredible wildlife encounter. While hiking at Mount Baker, we were approached ~ to a distance of fifty meters or less ~ by two mountain goats. It's unusual to see these animals at Baker, even at a distance; viewing them at such close proximity is virtually unheard of. I was just that day telling the boys that many of us who have spent years hiking in the Cascades have never seen mountain goats.
Rafe can claim the credit for our once-in-a-lifetime experience. He's the one who sighted the goats, some distance away and down a slope, causing us to backtrack for a closer look. As we stood watching, the pair came up the slope toward the trail. Minute by minute they kept coming closer as we marveled at the fact that they didn't shy away from us. Soon they were actually on the trail, approaching us and not in the least phased by our presence.
Incredible! For a full five or ten minutes we stood, marveling at these wonderful creatures and our fantastic fortune. But as much as I treasured the experience, I could have cried over the missed photo: Two mountain goats grazing, a stone's throw away from us, with a 10,000+ foot volcanic mountain as a backdrop. What a scene! For the first time in my life I desperately wished to share the trail with another hiker ~ one with a camera on hand. But it was not to be. By the time someone came along, the goats were clambering down the hill. He took several shots, but they were at a distance. Two of his photos are above. The first, facing Mount Shuksan (next to Mount Baker), shows the trail we were hiking at the time. The second captures one of the goats as it ran down the slope. This man was happy just to see mountain goats ~ and of course surprised to hear they'd been right on the trail just before he rounded the corner! Definitely a hike we'll never forget.
Now that I have working camera again, I'll share some of my Europe photos in the next day or two.
