The Joy of Mountain Goat Viewing in the Uinta Mountains

Anyone who has hiked Mount Timpanogos has likely seen (and been stared down) by a mountain goat somewhere along the trail. I didn’t know this was a normal occurrence when I did this hike for the first time in August 2018.  Coming around a bend in the trail, I peered between tree branches, tall grasses and scraggly bushes into a shallow gully and saw snowy white haunches and a nub-tail.  My brain interpreted this sight as “polar bear butt”.  Mightily confused, I stopped questioning my sanity ...