Mountain Goats of Mt. Evans

The star of any trip up Mt. Evans. One of the resident Mountain Goats.

In mid July I took a group of folks up Mt. Evans. We hiked the Pesman Trail, listened to a lecture on the ancient Bristlecone Pines, and then drove up to the summit. This road requires an intravenous injection of Valium before beginning.

The summit parking lot. The Boulder field was filled with tourists climbing the whopping 100 ft from the pavement to the summit. Being purists who like our mountain climbing bragging rights, we did not lower ourselves to such a feat of athletic prowess. The cars by the way stretched for a good 1/4 mile on both sides down to the left.

Mt. Evans is one of Colorado's 14,000+ ft peaks (a 14er). It is also one of two in the state you can drive up. This is totally cheating, but a fun excursion none-the-less. There is no trail register at the top so don't both looking for one. There is, however, a small shelter and hordes of tourists. There are also many Mountain Goats and Big Horned Sheep. I will blog the latter in a separate post.

Here are some photos of the "don't hate me because I'm beautiful" Mountain Goats.

This goat was in need of a Hollywood makeover. He/she/it was shedding its winter coat. Not exactly a red carpet moment. Still, it had panache and liked to pose for the 200 lens flashing all around. Actually, I exaggerate. There were only two of us taking pictures of the goats. The goats did not seem to notice the difference however.

This celeb was already done shedding and looked like it had just returned from a posh salon. Nothing like a new 'do to make you feel like a mountain diva.

Like any member of the rich and famous, this goat wanted to survey his domain. "I wonder what all the very little people are doing down there at the bottom of that 3,000 ft drop. Ho Hum."

Not to be out done, this B-actor was posing for us on the way down. Yellow-bellied Marmots are known for their hedonistic lounging upon warm rocks.

A scenic drive up Mt. Evans is a jolly, near death experience with stupendous views. Be prepared to pay the fee or buy an annual Federal Parks Pass. Bring your camera, anticipate changing weather, and stock the car with lots of food and water. There is no pub on this journey. Another nice place to stop on the way to the summit is Summit Lake. A short trail leads to great views of the Chicago Lakes Basin. For more information, check out the Forest Service Web site.

Mountain Goats!

How I envy the Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus). Mother Nature has equipped them with all the mountain equipment they need to thrive in a high alpine environment where I have to take out stock in REI. For starters, they have a double coat, the inner one being a dense fur and the outer one being long hollow hairs. This haute couture is rated to -50F. Next time one of your buff friends says he does not need to layer, just throw the Mountain Goat in his face. These bad boys invented technical fabrics and are stylish to boot.


Speaking of boots, how much money did you spend on your last pair? Well, I wish I had the Mountain Goat’s feet. Their toes are padded for extra grip, they have a dewclaw that also allows them to cling to cliff faces that only the hardiest rock climber would dare ascend, and their hooves are cloven, which allows them to spread and grip. Take that Spiderman!

Did you know that Mountain Goats are not native to Colorado? Experts believe that the farthest south they naturally roamed was southern Wyoming. They were introduced into the state back in 1947 to provide game for hunters. In 1993 though, the Colorado Division of Wildlife made them naturalized citizens and declared them “native”. I wonder how many of the people sporting those “native” bumper stickers are doing so on similarly shady circumstances!


Despite their long beards and curved black horns, Mountain Goats are really not goats. They are actually closer to antelope and cattle. They spend their entire life on one mountain but will occasionally come down from their precipitous heights to seek out mineral licks. I think that is why I was able to get such great pictures of these goats. There was a mineral lick in the cleft of a rock that was drawing them down. When not sucking on rocks, however, Mountain Goats eat grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, moss, lichen, twigs, and if you are not careful your topo map. And you say they are not goats…hmmm.


Bad boys of the mountain lounging on a shelf above the mineral lick
Sighting a Mountain Goat in Colorado is a blessed event. There are two prominent herds, one on Mt. Evans and another in the Chicago Basin. My envy of Mountain Goats extends to their choice of Colorado real estate. So get out there and explore Colorado and maybe you’ll be blessed too…Yodel-a yodel-a yodel-a-hee hoo!