Monuments Mountain and other Mountains

We have had a warmer-than-average October. On the day we climbed the north ridge of Clearwater Creek, it was calm and toasty on the sunny aspen slopes. The day's goal was to scout a route to Neuberger.

Game trails led us through the forest into the alpine. Getting above treeline is always a relief when there is no established trail. There are relatively few obstacles on the tundra and it's easy to see ahead and choose a route. 

There were lots of large, blocky rocks along the way.

There were also razor-thin rocks.

We saw a large group of sheep, perhaps 20 individuals, and a small group of three stuck around long enough to check us out. The ewe and her lamb trotted off while the young ram stood watch.

We looped back around sunset (7 pm) and followed a knife-edged ridge with a precipitous east face back down to Clearwater Creek. Even in late fall, at its lowest flow, the creek was too deep to cross without getting wet. We built a bridge out of driftwood logs. It would have been faster to take our boots off, but that wasn't the point. 

I recovered at home with some drawing time.

Even though the snow keeps melting in town, up high in the mountains the snow is here to stay!

We hiked up to the alpine from the Radio Tower on the Alaska Highway.

Snow chutes snake down the scree fields.

The ptarmigan plumage still has a few gray speckles.

The ridge we were climbing would have been a breeze in summer, but the snow covered rocks made progress slow and somewhat hazardous. 

Back home on the Rabbit Ranch, the animals are unaware of the approaching menace of winter. Sioux keeps watch from his bench.

Little Alice, the wild bunny from Valdez, is also the friendliest.

The smaller female caribou antlers make great jewelry hangers, and I have fashioned a couple different ones so far.

 A friend gave me their ducks because they couldn't keep them, but  didn't want to eat them. They were funny to have around for a while, and their quacking was our pre-alarm in the mornings. The khaki brown duck was the boss. In the end, they became delicious roast ducks. 

This weekend we took a hike from the Eagle Overlook trail up Stormy's ridge. The weather was so warm that snow was melting off all the trees and dripping tracks down the aspen trunks. Can you see the Egyptian Eye on the tree in this picture?

Tiger tree.