Determined individual

This little tree, dwarfed by the continual wind and the altitude, the deep snow and ice of winter and the blazing sun of summer, remains determined to live where its seed somehow fell on a tiny bit of soil in a field of rocks at the top of a mountain.

Toward the northwest

Photo taken from the Baldy Mountain roadless area in the Cabinet Mountains of western Montana.

From today’s hike in the Baldy Mountain roadless area

Happy dog

A new Fall wardrobe…

Even though Fall isn’t officially here yet, the south-facing hillsides of Baldy Mountain are beginning to show off the new season’s colors, making a hike on one of my favorite trails (USFS trail 340 in the Baldy Mountain Roadless Area) an especially pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

A few drops of sap from a Fir next to the trail.

Looking forward to winter

Photo taken from inside the clouds on USFS trail 340 on October 9, 2013

A very pleasant surprise

Last week on very pleasant hike with a new friend I had just commented that there was practically no animal life on the rocky top of the mountain because of the deep winter snow there (at 7,400 feet) when his sharp eyes spotted this little fellow.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, Callospermophilus lateralis

This fairly large ground squirrel gets up to 12 inches in length and weighs as much as 13 ounces. It is an omnivore and can reside on that rocky mountain top because it will hibernate from some time between August and November (depending on altitude) until it again emerges any time from late March to May. (That’s a long sleep!)

It’s geographical range is from southeast British Colombia and southwest Alberta in Canada, south into the western United States as far east as western Colorado and as far south as northwestern New Mexico and southern California at elevations from 3,900 feet to 13,000 feet and it is very common in that range. Its life span is about 7 years. I can’t believe that I had never before encountered one!

For those who are interested, there is a wealth of information on them available at Encyclopedia of Life.