Utah's Tushar Mountain Range
The Tushar Mountains, the third highest range in Utah, are quite spectacular. The three tallest peaks are over 12,000 feet high. Being of volcanic origin, the mountains take on a dramatic look with unusual colors along the slopes of the tallest peaks. They were formed 22 to 32 million years ago when a huge volcanic explosion blew off the top of a large peak. The place is covered with old lava flows and ash flow tuffs.
The three tallest peaks in these mountains are:
- Delano Peak – 12,174 feet
- Mt. Belknap – 12,143 feet
- Mt. Baldy – 12,085 feet
In the fall, these mountains, part of Fish Lake National Forest, become especially beautiful when all the aspen trees change color. Below are a couple of photos from fall of 2022 during one of my visits there.
But during the summer months, it is also a great time to visit. Temperatures at the high elevations are quite nice and it is a great way to escape the heat of a St. George summer. And that is exactly what we did four years ago.
Hiking the Tushar Mountains - First Hike
Four years ago, in the middle of summer, my hiking group planned a trip to the Tushar Mountains east of the town of Beaver, Utah. Eagerly, my wife and I joined them. We went there mainly to escape the extreme heat of the St. George summer. In the mountains, we could hike to over 12,000 feet elevation where it would be much cooler.
On the day of the hike, I intentionally left my camera at home because I wasn’t sure about my hiking ability at such a high altitude and wanted to stay as light as possible. But then, another hiker foisted her camera on me and told me to be the photographer. Reluctantly, I agreed. It was very beautiful here, so perhaps it wasn’t really that bad.
When we reached the highest point of the hike, just beyond another nearby hill, we found a herd of Mountain Goats. Carrying an unfamiliar camera with only a 24-300 mm lens, hopes were low that I could get very good pictures, but I tried anyway.
On the way back, the clouds turned all puffy and all the green on the hills made everything so beautiful. The hike leader had described this place as like a scene out of the movie “The Sound of Music.” And he was right!
Hiking the Tushar Mountains - One Year Later
After a full year of training for difficult hiking, I returned on my own the following year to this location with my camera and long lens, hoping to get better pictures of the Mountain Goats. I took a different route which was much steeper but still made excellent time.
I did find them again, but this time they were far off in the distance, and I wouldn’t have time to go chasing after them. The clouds were looking rather ominous this day, so I needed to make haste back to the trailhead. The dappled light did make for an awesome shot of Mt. Belknap though.
Hiking the Tushar Mountains - Four Years Later
This August, I was thinking about returning once again to see if I could get another chance to photograph the Mountain Goats. I asked my wife if she wanted to go with me, and she agreed. So, exactly four years after our first hike, we returned. With much anticipation, we got to the start and off we went up the mountain.
Along the way, a fat little Marmot scurried away when we approached. He moved fast on such short legs. Another Marmot took off nearby. As we continued hiking, every time we would get to rock piles, we would hear the high-pitched alarm calls of more Marmots.
Butterflies fluttered about, landing on flower after flower, quickly moving from one to the next. The call of a Sharp-shinned Hawk pierced the air as it flew overhead. And, except for a few protected locations, the wind blew strong. The weather called for a 15% chance of showers though it didn’t look that likely when we started.
Carrying the extra weight of the camera and lens, it was getting rather tiring to continue up the mountain. This time I had my Canon R5, plus the Canon RF 100-500mm f7.1 lens, and also the RF 1.4x extender to increase the range up to 700 mm. Finally, we reached the main peak and as luck would have it, there were a few Mountain Goats on a nearby smaller peak. (Note: Young goats are called kids, just like Human young.)
But there were only a few. Usually, they stick together in a larger herd. The path continued down from the peak we were at and around a small hill. So, we followed the path to get closer. But then, as soon as we rounded the small hill, several more goats came into view just behind the hill and much closer. Stopping first, I then slowly moved into position to get a better view of where they were. There were several lying down in the dirt right in front of us.
The wind was still blowing strong and away from the goats, so I thought I could get a better view. Ever so slowly, I inched forward to see more. Apparently, I still need to work on my sneaking skills because they saw me and several bolted.
A few more followed, but this time at a more casual pace.
A few, however, stayed behind a little longer. Notice the beautiful beige and purple hues on the out of focus gently rolling hills in the background.
Soon, almost all were headed up the ridge to where the first Mountain Goats we saw were. The ridgeline became thick with them. By this time, they had apparently decided that since they were already up on their feet, they might as well start grazing.
It was getting high time to head back to the car and get home. The clouds were looking thicker with virga hanging below them. A few drops were even making it to the ground and us. On the way back, the wind would pick up even stronger and thunder could be heard all around. But we never did see lightning flashes, so I guessed we were safe.
What a successful return visit it turned out to be! My beautiful wife kindly took some video of me photographing the goats and combined it along with some of my stills to create a short video. (You can read about this hike from her perspective on her blog post Mountain Goat Hill.) I will conclude with her video below. Please enjoy!
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