An Ambitious Chipmunk

This is part of an ongoing series recapping my 2008 trip to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada.

A funny thing happened on the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.  My hubby and I had arrived at Abbot Pass Viewpoint (read all about our hike here), perched on a nearby rock, and sat back to enjoy the fantastic panorama of mountains and glaciers.  I was pulling out a snack, when Roger discovered we had a visitor.

"Hello there!"

A cute little chipmunk took advantage of Roger's open backpack.  He jumped inside and struck a pose. 

Roger gets a photo

A photo op we could not resist!

Checking out our backpack

The little guy was rooting around for food, when he caught a whiff of our trailmix.

"What's that I smell?"

Mr. Chipper edged closer and closer to Roger.  When Roger looked down, the little guy was right under his pant leg.  We couldn't believe he had the nerve to get so close!

"I think it's trail mix"

And then.....the chipmunk scurried onto Roger's leg....

"I see the goodies!"

.....ran across his lap, and began climbing his upper body.

"They're just on the end of this guy's arm"

No one expects to become a chipmunk climbing wall!  Not wanting to encourage our furry friend, Roger held his bag of trailmix as far away as possible.

"C'mon!  You know you want to share!"

But the little guy didn't give up easily.  He hopped on Roger's camera and continued moving up.  I did what any good wife would do - laughed hysterically, and kept the shutter clicking.

"Pretty please?"

Finally, Mr. Chipper scrambled so high he was nearly face to face with his prey.  Roger kept yelling and waving his arms, but it didn't seem to have any effect.   Roger could have pushed the chipmunk off, however, he didn't want to risk getting bit.

If all else fails, BEG!

Finally, admitting defeat, the chipmunk scurried off my husband.  Perched atop Roger's backpack, he turned on the cuteness, making one final plea for food.

Roger and I both agreed it was the most aggressive chipmunk we'd ever seen.  We make a point not to feed wild animals, but after such a bold encounter, we assumed lots of other hikers had.  Luckily, no trail mix nor chipmunks were harmed, and we walked away with a bunch of great photos and a really funny story.


Sharing with:  Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters.