Ben Lomond Peak

We set a goal this summer to hike a number of peaks and on June 26th we decided to make the trek up to Ben Lomond Peak. We didn’t get going until the afternoon but thought we could tackle it in a few hours. The hike up was amazing! We were all just in awe of the beauty along the hike.

As we approached the peak we could see two white creatures… we watched for awhile noting their agile movements on the steep slope above…Yeti’s! They had to be Yeti’s, what other creatures would survive above the tree line on these slopes. Well, at this point we were too intrigued by the creatures to care that 4 hours had pasted and we still had to scale the final slope, which would take another hour, and then turn around and go back down. We started to climb the final slope and quietly approached the “Yeti’s”, as we came around the face of the slope we saw them…Mountain Goats, majestically roaming the peak of Ben Lomond. It was amazing to see them up there. Here I had grown up my whole life looking up at this peak and never knowing that mountain goats roamed up there. We probably saw 8 goats scattered along the slopes… with the amazing view and satisfaction of reaching the peak the moment was surreal.
The hike down was long, and I forgot to mention that we came sorely ill prepared. We had plenty of water, but we only brought a banana and nectarine for each of us… not enough to go on a 7.5 hour hike! Gratefully, we survived and made if off the mountain before the sun went down. Thankfully, my Mom had hamburgers ready for us at home!