Living on the Edge

I had never seen Mountain Goats until last year. The first time was in Yoho, along the highway and I didn't get any good shots.The second was on a hike near Lake Louise but they were off quite a piece. This time I was hiking Akimina Ridge in Waterton. When I spotted them, they were laying in the snow a couple of 100 yards away, just off the trail I was on. I figured they would bail over the edge of the cliff as soon a they spotted me but to my surprise they just layed there as I approached. Eventually I was able to get as close as 60 feet. When they got up it didn't seem like they were alarmed at all by my presence, which is surprising as this point of the trail was quite a piece from the road and I don't imagine they would see people that often. It was a great experience to see these animals up so close and so far away from the crowds, one I hope to repeat again someday.I shot this in jpeg with digital zoom because I was still off a a ways, so the image quality isn't as great as I would prefer but I liked the shot regardless. Thanks for looking and I appreciate your comments.

Nikon P7000
F/5.6
1/1126
iso 100
85mm
jpeg with digital zoom (cropped)