Colorado Surprise

STLMach1

During a backpacking trip last week into Colorado, I was pleasantly surprised by this mountain goat while climbing to the top of Eccles Pass at 12,000 ft elevation. He was fortunately accustomed enough to hikers to allow me time to slap on my new Canon 100-400 L telephoto to get the shot. He was the wildlife highlight of the trip as we never saw any elk or mule deer. Regardless I was tickled to death just by seeing him and being able to get this shot. Enjoy!

Thanks for looking,
Michael

ChrisJ

What a poser! Very nice shot... The one time I've seen mountain goats was in Glacier NP and they were obviously accustomed to humans. Looks like this guy has just a hint of last years coat still on.

kdog

Splendid.

So you took your 100-400 backpacking? You must have had one heavy pack.

Cheers,
-joel

STLMach1

ChrisJ wrote:

What a poser! Very nice shot... The one time I've seen mountain goats was in Glacier NP and they were obviously accustomed to humans. Looks like this guy has just a hint of last years coat still on.

Thanks, Chris! Yes, he did appear a bit shaggy but it was a real treat being able to see him and grab a few shots.

Best regards,
Michael

STLMach1

kdog wrote:

Splendid.

So you took your 100-400 backpacking? You must have had one heavy pack.

Cheers,
-joel

Many thanks, Joel! Yes, it certainly did weigh the pack down and I began to doubt my better judgement for bringing it. The extra weight could certainly be felt but once I had a chance to get these shots, suddenly I didn't mind as much...

Take care,
Michael

Shasoc

Congrats on this very nice capture.

STLMach1

Shasoc wrote:

Congrats on this very nice capture.

Many thanks!
Michael