A Day in the Field: Peaking for Pikas

A cool, cloudy morning in the Pacific Northwest. The entire valley was blanketed in clouds that began to disperse as the sun peaked over the mountains. We then pressed on.

Sitka and I began our small trek up to visit Russet, a resident pika we know of in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area. By now it was possible the little potato was basking in the sun after his long, cold life under winter's snow.

Russet the Pika

We continued up the trail, stopping to listen for pikas at talus fields as we passed by. The mountains were singing with that familiar "meeeep!" Vitalized to learn that the pika were indeed coming out for the summer, we pressed on.

As we continued, we eventually hit the snowline which was still deep. After trekking (and slipping!) through the snow while Sitka gleefully ran circles around me, we came to the top of the ridge which overlooked our destination lake. Russet lives in a small talus right next to this high alpine lake. While the view was nothing short of beautiful, it was unfortunate to see the lake still frozen over and deep snow covering everything around it. Russet was still surviving the winter under the snow.

Sitka and I at the top

Until next time, Russet!

Before trekking back down, Sitka and I played some "fetch the snowball" at the top of the ridge... which is less of fetch and more of Sitka chomping on snow. We took a few quick pics from the top and began descending (sliding) down the mountain. Along the way, we stopped at two talus fields where we waited patiently for a pika to appear. We were lucky to see a few at both locations!

A pika cleans theirself while we watch from a distance

After photographing a pika at the second talus field, Sitka and I got off the beaten path in search of more pika. We stumbled across a beautiful meadow, half-full of snow, a large talus field, and a beautiful stream rushing through it. We laid here for a while to soak in the day. The pikas filled the air with their squeaky song as the sun began to set over the nearby mountain peaks. For this moment, we were in paradise.

Sitka overlooks the meadow we relaxed at

Sitka and I continued off trail, orientating ourselves so we'd eventually meet back up with it. Once we did, the rest simply led to a complete day.

Russet, we'll try and visit again soon!