"Pikas live above the treeline in rocks. "
How I did it:
When I was younger I was going to write a book about pikas. There are maybe two books out there, one cute story book for kids and one kind of strange novel-sized story about a guy who went and lived with them.
Pikas live above the treeline in the mountains. They don't hibernate; they harvest and dry plants to eat all winter (makin' hay while the sun shines!)
They look similar to hamsters, but cuter.
When I was a kid we routinely visited our grandparents in Colorado and went up to the mountains whenever we could. Anyplace above the treeline that's rocky is likely to have pikas running around, harvesting and squeaking. Sadly, I have seen a few "harvesting" pretzels. Trail Ridge Road has a lot of great pika-viewing places. Sadly I can't stand the elevation there for long. Many roads in the vicinity of Rocky Mountain National Park have nice overlooks, and if you are above the treeline, there will likely be pikas.
Besides seeing pikas, I especially liked going for walks in the mountains, both in Rocky Mountain National Park, where my grandmother led flower walks and taught a lot of identification of plants, and on Olive Ridge where the family cabin is. We saw a lot of beautiful plants, animals, lakes, glaciers, and mountains, and we climbed and explored and found mica and porcupine quills and pine cones. Smell a ponderosa pine if you can, they are very big and smell kind of like vanilla.
Lessons & tips: DON'T PICK THE FLOWERS in national parks. There's a large fine. In fact, don't take anything from a national park. When I collected mica and pine cones, it was on private property.
Also be careful to stay on the trails if you are above the treeline. The plants may look the same as you are used to but they may have invested decades to achieve their tiny size. My mother was once shown a tree that was an inch tall and a hundred years old. It's a harsh life up there.
If you have not been to the high mountains before, take it slow and be prepared to have elevation sickness, especially if you live on a coast or other place at near-sea level (500 feet or so). If you can, stay at the bottom of the mountain for a day or so before you go up, and definitely don't go up to the high mountains your first day (8-10,000 feet). I did that once, and blood started pouring down my face (nosebleed).
You are also likely to see marmots in pika territory (and at lower elevations). They look like big fat dark brown groundhogs (they do hibernate, I think). Elk and sometimes bighorn sheep also can be seen in high places. Lower down, there are deer and coyotes (NOT wolves, just well-fed coyotes). I've never seen bears or big cats, though I've been given advice on what to do if I do see them. If it's a bear, make yourself as big as possible, like spread your jacket out behind your head, and talk to the bear, so it knows you are sentient. With big cats, DO NOT bend down or turn away. You can throw something at it if it's in your hand or pocket, but better just to stand your ground than to pick stuff up off the ground.
Resources: Binoculars are a help, the pikas do sit still long enough for them to help.
Pictures of pikas tend to be "speck pictures," as in "Which animal is that tiny speck?"
Apr 01, 2012, 10:02AM PDT
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