8/10/10
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| Old Ram, Dall sheep |
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| Young Ram |
We headed out to do a hike on the Savage River loop trail. More people than I would have liked, but we have to share. We had a great hike starting with seeing some willow ptarmigan not far from the starting point. The willow ptarmigan is the Alaska state bird, and one we have never seen. They have feathers all the way down their legs to keep warm in the winter. The hike is a 2 mile loop, and I thought it would be short. But, at the farthest point there was a trail that went even father. We saw 2 Dall sheep skylined on a ridge above us. Watching them, I decided they were coming down into a valley over the next hill, so off we went. They ended up being 2 rams--one old with a huge curl and one younger. We went too far on the trail, and the older ram came down behind us. Everyone taking pictures and getting excited, until I realized that he was coming up the trail we were standing on. He got so close to Kathy that I was concerned for her. She stepped out of the way as he past with a look of "Move or get the horns". The young ram came down later--he was a little more nervous about us being so close, 20 yards and less. We watched as they grazed and completely ignored us--even butting heads once but not the real get back and run buts. It was really exciting! On the way out I got close enough to get some pictures of the ptarmigan. The wind was blowing down the valley so hard it was hard to walk forward sometimes. What a great hike!!
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| Willow Ptarmigan |
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