USA Road Trip 2020
July 20, Day 49: An extra “Byte” for today – wrestling marmots! Jean and I were hiking down Mount Rainier on the last leg of Skyline Loop Trail and found these two agitators. They were talkin’ smack (well, barking really) and facing off. The action was about to begin.
The combatants stood on a slight rise just a couple of feet off the trail, at nearly eye height. We were the sole spectators with a ringside view. They paid no notice of us as they intently sized up one another.
Suddenly, they lunged, seizing each other about the neck and shoulders. It reminded me of professional wrestlers from the early 80s (does anyone remember Bulldog Bob Brown?) as they grappled for position. First one, then the other had the upper hand. Slowly, the larger marmot edged his foe back into a corner, and the two broke it off.
Then the victor turned to us and began to advance. I imagined a B-movie where these vicious ground squirrels would leap on our heads, claws and buckteeth bared. So, we backed off a step, then moseyed on down the mountain.
Wrestling marmots. Not the fight of the century but entertaining, nonetheless.