While on a hike up to Mount Hoffman in Yosemite last weekend, a few surprises popped out to say hello! While going up the trail , my friends and I came across a flock of Grouse (sometimes referred to as mountain chicken). This was a first for me, in that there were more than one to view! Normally I just hear grouse hiding in the brush. They make a sound like someone beating a drum. These weren’t drumming. These were young, probably born this spring would be my guess. They were foraging in the grass as we walked by. They didn’t seem too concerned that we were close by, they just scurried a little to cross the trail and went about their business. The one above just walked straight towards me down the trail for minute, then darted to the side where I captured the above shot of him.
As we got a little bit higher on the trail around 10,000ft, the Marmot came out. Marmots are usually all around the top of Mount Hoffman, but not on this day. They have a reputation of stealing distracted hikers snacks at the top of the peak. I’m guessing they came down due to an early snow storm that came threw the night before. The temperatures dropped significantly, but the weather was perfect the morning I was there.
The views at the top were amazing! From the top of Mount Hoffman, you have a one of the best views of Clouds Rest, Half Dome and beyond! On the way back down the trail, the afternoon light lit up Mount Clark and Red peak.
The white puffy clouds around them made the view even better!
As I stood taking in the views all around me, I heard a little chirp call out!
To my surprise Pika’s were in the area. I don’t remember them being here before, it’s around 9,500 feet, which is close to the elevation they prefer, so they could have been here I just never paid attention. Hearing that little chirp, set me off looking deep among the rocks for an actual sighting and hopefully a photo! It took a few sightings to find the one above who gave me quite the show. This little Pika was too busy eating grass to care about me. She just sat there and chopped on the grass, finished and the leaped down for more and came back to her rock to eat again. This little dinning gave me quite a bit of time to take a lot of photos from various angles to try to get that just right portrait of a Pika. I even managed to get a couple of little videos. One with the above Pika eating and the another one calling out and showing himself for a minute.
What a great day out in the high country of Yosemite! The last couple of months have been busy and providing a lot of photos for the portfolio, but the last few weekends have really been amazing for wildlife sightings. I’ve had quite the dry spell earlier in the year, where I didn’t see much the many times I went out. Not great if you fancy yourself as a “wildlife” photographer! These recent memories fill my soul and inspire me to continue exploring with my camera. I hope you enjoy the photos & video. Now I need to go to work on the computer going through all my captures to see what I can create for my show in the fall.
Until next time, Cheers!
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