Accounts of Critters
Silhouette on the Ridgeline
As I stepped into the Dawn's shadows, cool, moist air invited me up the mountain trail. Feet crunching through the late season snow, my path was shrouded in a blanket of fog. I wound my way through the matrix of firs and snow fields. Every so often, patches of grassy,...
The Bear Necessities
Hiking up in the North Cascades was spectacular, despite the intense smoke. After spending a few hours wandering the high meadows, I started my descent. Out of the corner of my eye, a dark blob drew my gaze upslope, finally resting upon a lone black bear scavenging...
Why do dippers dive, dip, and dabble?
You're walking along a mountain stream, or maybe along a river surrounded by forest giants, when suddenly, a movement in the stream catches your eye. Out of curiosity, you slowly make your way to the water's edge. Nothing out of the ordinary it seems. You go to turn...
American pika: The Mountaineer
"Eeeeep!" The American pika. These little bundles of energy are some of the toughest characters of the alpine wilderness. In fact, these characters are actually in the Order Lagomorpha (the group that includes rabbits and hares), not Rodentia. For this reason, they...
Spring Fever
It's that time of year again! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the plants are budding. And taking full advantage of the tender, freshly budding leaves are porcupines! Porcupines live in a world of their own...a very...verrry...veeerrry slow world. With...
Mustelid Mystery
This weekend, I was hiking in the White Mountains when I came across a conspicuous fecal deposit right in the middle of the trail, so naturally, I just had to take a picture and investigate further! First, some background as to the habitat and other variables. As I...
Eyes to the Sky
Eagle steals fish from heron