I have been wont to stalk bumble bees and butterflies through fields, but it is much harder (and poor trail ethos) to chase a butterfly across the tundra. I recently hiked above the treeline in the Indian Peaks Wilderness in the Rockies, and I was struck by how many beautiful marked white butterflies I saw dashing and fluttering about the tundra near 11,000 feet. They were flying about everywhere about a foot or maybe two off the ground. I was charmed. I utterly rejoiced when one finally, finally deigned to stop its fly about and rest near the trail and let me take its picture.
