Oregon Hikers

Went up Silverstar today and had a funny encounter with a goat. There were 4 young guys on the one side of the summit ridge and we were on the opposite side. We looked back and saw this goat really close to them and they did not notice the goat was there. We decided to walk back to the other side and get some photos. By the time we got over there, the goat had gone down the slope. I got one last photo... It was a beautiful day on Silverstar.

That's really cool! They seem to be moving south in the Gifford in recent years -- also really encouraging. For folks unfamiliar with seeing them in the wild, they're potentially dangerous when approached -- a man was killed in Olympic National Park a couple of years ago when he was gored by a goat that he got too close to..!

Thanks for posting!

Tom

I suspect the Silver Star Goat is all by himself, as no one has ever seen more than one up there. He must be lonely...

Ha! I've heard rumors.
I've seen countless goats, maybe a dozen just in June so far, but never on SSM, and rarely that close. Were those other hikers oblivious, did they eventually notice?

I posted this in another thread a couple years ago, but it bears (goats?) repeating:

That goat is pretty chill at this point. He doesn't want you to walk toward him, but he doesn't mind when people are nearby.

Chip Down wrote: ↑

June 4th, 2019, 4:40 pm

Ha! I've heard rumors.
I've seen countless goats, maybe a dozen just in June so far, but never on SSM, and rarely that close. Were those other hikers oblivious, did they eventually notice?

They did notice when we headed back to the other side of the ridge where they were. The goat moved down the rocks after that...

Adam, where? BTW, the closest I ever came to a goat was when one was curled up between boulders, I was boulder hopping, only saw it when I was crossing over it and looked down. That was around sunrise camp (I think, it was decades ago) on Adams.

I have only been on Silverstar 2 times and both times I have spotted a goat on the summit. Last time was June 2017. Photo from below on Bluff Ridge....

Chip Down wrote: ↑

June 4th, 2019, 7:04 pm

Adam, where?

I took that photo from the north side of the northern summit. Eventually he wandered off to the east toward Little Baldy.

You guys! I've been up there countless times, in all conditions, all seasons, no goat sightings.
The big feather in my cap is the two times I saw a goat on Dog Mountain, of all places.