Page 1
Hiking up a mountain
from the forest to the snow,
the plants and animals are different
the higher up you go.
Page 2
At the base of the mountain the land is covered with trees.
A black bear strides by slowly, then stops to sniff the breeze.
Two cubs appear behind her. They stumble and tumble in play.
Their mother is always ready to keep a predator away.
Page 3
Keep hiking up the mountain,
and it may be hard to see,
but a single Great Gray Owl
perches in a tree.
It looks like it is coughing—
a pellet drops from
its beak.It's the leftover
hair and bones of a vole
it ate this week.
Page 4
One thousand more feet above sea level
on the ground where needles lie,
a garter snake is molting. Can you see its cloudy eye?
Its skin snags on a twig and slowly starts to shed.
The snake slithers from its skin. Just look at its shiny head!
Page 5
Keep hiking up the mountain. In the branches of a pine
a nutcracker gathers seeds, but it's not today he'll dine.
He buries in the ground thousands and thousands of seeds.
He will remember where they are to meet his winter needs.
Page 6
One thousand more feet above sea level,
near a stream's watery edge,
a bachelor herd of rams
is grazing on the sedge.
Page 7
Keep hiking up the mountain. Hummingbirds are in the air!
They feed upon the flowers that are growing everywhere.
A hummingbird licks nectar, while pollen covers its head.
The flowers need these birds
to help their pollen spread.
Page 8
One thousand more feet above sea level,
on a rock that weighs a ton,
yellow-bellied marmots are basking in the sun.
One bolts upright and whistles, warning others to see
the eagle soaring above them,
then under the rock they flee.
Page 9
Keep hiking up the mountain. Hidden near your feet,
a little salamander takes cover from the heat.
The young will swim in the stream when
they hatch from her eggs.
They'll live underwater until
they grow their legs
Page 10
One thousand more feet above sea level,
the mountain is getting steep!
Yet mountain goats are up there.
Higher and higher they leap.
On some mountains these goats are natives.
On others, they don't belong,
brought there by people, before
we knew it was wrong.
Page 11
Keep hiking up the mountain.
you see orange, green, and red.
A carpet of living lichens
makes the rocks seem as soft as a bed.
The lichens create the soil,
(as they grow and then decay),
that each living thing on the mountain
depends on every day.
Page 12
One thousand more feet above sea level,
Where snow covers the ground,
tiny insects on the surface
bound and jump around.
Snow fleas are decomposers
that eat detritus on the snow,
and use spring-loaded tails
to jump where they want to go.
Page 13
Hiking up a mountain
is like traveling
to the pole.
The habitats change
with climate,but are
all part of a whole.
