07-13 Back to the Tundra

Yesterday we returned to the Rocky High Country. There is a special feel standing above timberline apart from the views which both diminish and glorify the viewer. The wind blows constantly. Softly at times and at times with stiffness but you are always aware of it. The air has an invigorating crispness I’ve found nowhere else. The cleanness of it is more than noteworthy; it is unique. The light is extraordinary and incredibly alive. You feel it with the wind and the cool air and it is sensual. It takes you.
In rocky outcrops pikas, ground squirrels and an occasional marmot scurry already laying in their winter supply of food. They dart about quickly keenly aware of the dangers that swoop from above and carry them off. Hawks and other birds of prey hunt here.
Snow fields and glacial remnants are scattered across the landscape inviting a climb, pulling you higher.
Elk have already climbed these peaks for the soft spring grasses. Antlered males are off to themselves and the females and newborns are herded up in a distant meadow. Golden mountain avens grow and sway in every field exposed to the wind. Far beneath your position a high mountain lake, a tarn, adds a touch of blue to the yellow-green of the high meadows. Another one, tucked in at the base of a cirque, competes for attention. On every point another secret is revealed.
You don’t just see a place like this; you feel it.