Wilcox Pass Trail and Mountain Goats, August 7

Wilcox Pass trailhead	Wilcox Pass trailhead - elevation 6643 feet	climbing up to Wilcox Pass	Pine Siskin	Least Chipmunk	Athabasca Glacier from the trail
ravine alongside the trail	Athabasca Glacier from the trail	Columbian ground-squirrel	Bighorn Sheep	Bighorn Sheep	Bighorn Sheep
Bighorn Sheep	Bighorn Sheep	Bighorn Sheep with Mt Athabasca's Little Glacier in the distance	Minor summit in Wilcox Pass - 7739 feet, about 100 feet from trailhead	rainy morning	More rain
looks like a highland piper, but just some guy with a tripod	alpine flora	alpine flora	Looks like a raked Zen garden, but the pattern is caused by frost somehow	Looking west towards the other end of the pass	Hm let's keep climbing up that ridge there
more coral (?) rock	colorful Xanthoria lichen	looking south to the mountains east of the Athabasca glacier (Mount Athabasca and Mount Andromeda)	looking up the mountain - this is where I found the larks	Horned Lark fledgling, probably never seen a human before	Horned Lark fledgling
Horned Lark fledgling	Horned Lark adult male with bugs for the chick	Horned Lark adult male feeding fledgling	Horned Larks - am I supposed to swallow this?	Horned Lark adult male with fledgling	Horned Lark adult male with fledgling
Horned Lark adult male	Horned Lark adult male	Horned Lark fledgling	Horned Lark fledgling	Horned Lark fledgling	Horned Lark habitat at 8161 feet
looking east down Wilcox Pass	looking south - Mount Athabasca	at cliff's edge, looking across to Athabasca glacier	at cliff's edge, looking southwest to Snow Dome and Dome Glacier	Snow Dome and Dome Glacier	Edge of Columbia Icefield atop Mount Kitchener
edge of Columbia Icefield atop Snow Dome	Looking down (northwest) from the cliff's edge	Looking northwest from the cliff's edge	Looking up from the cliff's edge	Trail leading up	Looking back down
The trail seems awfully small and close to the cliff's edge - maybe it's not a human trail?	Looking up WHOA wwWHAT	Mountain goat male	Mountain goat male	Mountain goat male	Mountain goat male
Mountain goat male	Mountain goat male	Mountain goat female and kid	Mountain goat female and kid	Mountain goat female and kid	Mountain goat male looking strong
Mountain goat male climbing away	Mountain goat kid and female	Mountain goat kid and female	Mountain goat female	Mountain goat kid	Mountain goat kid
Mountain goat male	Mountain goat kid and female	Mountain goat kid and female	Mountain goat kid and female	Mountain goat family	Mountain goat family
Mountain goat family - altitude 8530 feet	Mountain goat family	Mountain goat family	Mountain goat family - kid flinches away from male	Mountain goat family	OK time to head back downhill
looking south over the cliff's edge	Athabasca Glacier across the way	lateral moraines	Athabasca Glacier head and Snow Dome	Columbia Icefield capping Snow Dome	Dome Glacier icefall
Athabasca Glacier across the way	sedimentary rock underfoot at 8500 feet	Mountain Goats still checking me out - goat trail to right	Mountain Goats still checking me out	Golden-mantled ground squirrel collecting vegetation for its nest	Golden-mantled ground squirrel collecting vegetation for its nest
Golden-mantled ground squirrel posing	Golden-mantled ground squirrel posing	5 minutes lower down, the trail is wider (and shows human use)	Nigel Peak across Wilcox Pass to the east	Ice Explorer buses on Athabasca Glacier	conglomerate rock
Mountain Goats are still up there	Looking back towards Wilcox Peak	Mount Athabasca	like a raked Zen garden, but caused by frost somehow	Mountain goats are still hanging out on the ridge	I bet they saw me coming for a long time
alpine flora	Mountain Goat hair - do they come down here to feed?	Mountain Goat hair	Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk	Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk	Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk
broad meadow below Wilcox Peak	Juvenile Horned Lark (a little older than the one I saw earlier)	Juvenile Horned Lark	juvenile American Pipit	juvenile American Pipit bobbing tail	Mountain Goat tracks - confirming that they descend to feed here
And the goats can see me just fine from their perch a half mile away	The goats' perch on Wilcox Peak	geological strata like fences in a meadow	This looked for all the world like a junction of ancient paved roads on a Scottish island moor	Probably formed by snowmelt somehow.	Looking back at Wilcox Peak
Columbian Ground-Squirrel in a hurry	Columbian Ground-Squirrel posing	starting to see some tiny trees at this elevation	Still a ways back to the main trail	Main trail in the valley below	Bighorn Sheep meadow
This storm was threatening, but fortunately passed harmlessly to the east.	Main trail in valley below Nigel Peak	hikers on a low ridge	Main trail - as crowded as it got	Looking back at the flank of Wilcox Peak - there's a human trail up there after all (rising from left to right)	I'll have to try that trail next time
Bighorn Sheep meadow, Mount Andromeda in the background	Bighorn sheep relaxing	storm over Mount Athabasca	the mountain goats probably could see me all the way from here - almost a mile away	Mountain Goats just barely visible, sunning themselves	Brown-Headed Cowbird fledgling underfoot
Brown-Headed Cowbird fledgling underfoot	Brown-Headed Cowbird fledgling underfoot	The trail follows this ravine down through treeline	Athabasca Glacier across the way	Ice Explorer buses on the glacier	Mount Athabasca
looking back, Wilcox Peak in the distance (finally out of sight of the goats)	great place for some Adirondack chairs	This guy kept finding good places to rest	Below treeline again	young hiker in a backpack	Red Squirrel - forest species appear again
Trailhead	Trailhead with mascot	Wilcox Pass from Parker Ridge	looking up at Wilcox Peak from 2000 feet below	Goats were on the other side of the ridge, just out of sight	Passing under the ridge near Icefields Center
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