Goats, rushing river and a portage
by Heather Harbord, 28 March 2010.
Twenty-two people travelled up the Goat Main as far as Mile 34. Through spotting scopes, we had a clear view of five mountain goats on the bluffs on the other side of Goat Lake. We continued on to Eldred Falls which was just beginning to flood from spring runoff. A pair of Dippers exhibited their courtship rituals for us. Lunch by a fire at the climbers’ camp helped rejuvenate us before we headed back to the Ireland Lake – Nanton Lake portage.
Clyde Burton continually showed us the signs of early spring. Juncos and a dozen or so golden-crowned kinglets flitted in and out of the shrubs along the portage and a tree full of pine siskins delighted us with their serenade. Out of sight but within earshot were varied thrush, a flicker and a couple of unidentified flycatchers.
Leaders: Owen Gaskell and Elizabeth Tenhoeve.
