Wait, where was I? O yea i remember now. We get past the Brooks range to our camp which was, well I’m not going to say except that it was out on the tundra. We get the tents up fast because the fog is rolling in fast which can only mean one thing, the rain is coming. That’s not a bad thing though, being in a warm dry tent and cozy sleeping bag can feel pretty good.
When the rain cleared up we went out to greet the little guy that we went up there for. This is him. Wait this is him! What is it you might ask well it’s cute, fuzzy and sluggish when the sun is out. You might have guessed, it’s a Marmot. These rock climbers and burrow dwellers live in the high slopes and rocky outcrops that most people wouldn’t believe they could live in. This is a special Marmot it’s the Alaskan which is different from the Hoary and others found in British Columbia and lower forty eight.
Why is it different… well can’t say, but it was fun to photograph. This particular one spent a lot of its time outside the burrow and eventually climbed up the hillside and out of sight. No problem, where there’s one there will be more. In this case two other individuals came out and sorta played with us (Dad and myself).
The little guys are such good climbers on the slippery rocks that it made the rest of us look like drunken monkeys trying not to topple over. Between the tundra going squish after every step and the rocks covered in water from the rain showers, it was amazing we were able to carry the 6’s up the slope. Speaking of the slope what else might be up there you ask?
Images captured with D3, 600f4, TC-14E, 24-70 AF-S, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film