Journals

We have just completed our gondola ride ascension to our mountain top lodgings atop the Swiss peak Mt. Pilatus , which sits at over 7,000 ft. above sea level.   It immediately provided us with some of the most breathtaking views we have undoubtedly ever witnessed; lush green valleys below us, in front of us snow-capped mountains.   The sound of cowbells fills the mountainous air, signaling the delight with which the healthy Swiss cows chomp away.   Although I have been higher before, in Lake Tahoe and Whistler, British Columbia , their panoramic views can’t hold a candle to what I am witnessing now.   My only regret is that it’s the wrong season.   If it were winter I’d be skiing the Swiss Alps.   Ah well, I suppose I can make do.   Below us by some 2,000 ft. sits stunning Lake Lucerne .   We will have the chance to take a cruise of it tomorrow.               At dusk, when all the tourists not staying at the hotel have gone their separate ways, the mountain goats come out to graze.   We watch them eat the grass, roam free and engage in playful rounds of sparring.   I feel as if I am the camera man for a Discovery channel documentary entitled, “Mountain Goats: Nature’s Climbers.”   We assume the position of curious bystanders trying to get close enough for the best picture possible, yet not so close as to provoke their antagonism.   While the little ones seem cute and cuddly, up close the males’ potential to harm with its 4 ft. long horns is enough to illicit fear from anybody.   They use these menacing horns not just as a defense mechanism, but to scratch their backs and to battle with competing males.   It appears to be their method of showing their masculinity to the females.   We look on in amazement as they scale jagged mountain rocks with effortless grace.   By the same measure, we are equally impressed when we witness one descend what looks to be an impossible rock face.   But best of all is spotting the baby mountain goats learning how to use their legs from watching their mother.                 So adorable are these tiny creatures that Katie feels compelled to make strange, baby noises in their direction.   Oddly enough, however, when she did this the mountain tots turned and stared directly at her, enraptured by the cooing noise they had surely never heard.   Standing there almost frozen so as not to make any sudden movements, I am utterly fascinated by what is taking place: human beings in a somewhat imperfect cohabitation with mountain goats.   Following their mother over the cliff and disappearing out of sight, just like that they leave us, perhaps tired of our company.   Katie, in turn, quickly moves on, focusing her attention on other baby mountain goats.   We come along a threesome of young on the heels of their mother.   As they are perched above us, one stops in response to Katie’s baby sounds.   After a minute or so, it begins to make a tiny whining noise – the hair on both our necks stands straight up – the young mountain goat is actually communicating with her.   It is undoubtedly one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in nature.   Up there with the time I spotted a black bear cub in the Smokey Mountains .   Two hours have gone by and the thin night air is turning black, still our eyes remain glued to every motion the spry mountain creatures make.     Although that moment may have lasted only a few short seconds, it is a moment we will always remember.   Over time, I imagine we will think fondly of this night in the Swiss Alps.   We walk the windy mountain trail back to our hotel feeling privileged to have been given such an intimate glimpse into the lives of mountain goats.   It is something no television image can touch, it is better than any Discovery channel program (ok, maybe not Planet Earth), and something no walk in the zoo will ever replicate.   Hell, I feel as if the trip could end right now and I would be happy, no, elated with the thrill of experiencing Mother and child up close and personal.   These beautiful mountain beings and the memories we shared observing them – interacting with them – is something Katie and I will cherish for as long as we live.   It is only a small picture of the many amazing sights we have witnessed on our European Panorama, yet it is more than anything, the Enduring Picture of the entire trip.