Me and the Moose or the story about how I learned to love nature

Female Moose - Photo Credit - Wikipedia

Between my freshman and sophomore years in college, I took a summer job with the National Park Concessions who ran the hotel and restaurant on Isle Royale. It was a summer of firsts for me: my first time away from home and my first long-term experience in nature. Being 18 at the time, I was too immature to truly appreciate the opportunity that this summer job offered. I had sought out the job but wasn’t prepared for the isolation that living on an island brings. Having experienced the party life and friendships that college life delivers, I found the time on the island boring and the guests annoying.

But the three months there wasn’t a total loss. With my new co-workers, I did some hiking and canoeing around the eastern end of the island.  But my most vivid memories were my encounters with the island’s largest animal, the moose.

My first encounter came on July 1^st, Canada Day. A friend and I decided to go to Lookout Louise, a spot that required a canoe trip down Tobin Harbor and a hike up to the lookout. From that vantage point, we could watch the fireworks in Thunder Bay.  When the celebration ended, we began our hike back down the hillside. The trail twisted back and forth and because it was dark, we chose our steps gingerly. Partially down the trail, we could hear rustling and we pointed our flashlights upwards. Looking down at us was a moose that was following us down the trail. We picked up our pace and soon we were back in our canoe, paddling back to home.

The second encounter came at the end of my stay on the island. My concession co-workers and I were invited to an end-of-the season party hosted by the island’s park service staff. I decided to leave the party early to return to my room. The distance from the NPS house to my building was less than a five minute walk so I set off alone. As I walked along the sidewalk, I looked up and in front of me was an adult moose no more than 10 feet from me. For a brief moment, we stared at each other. I stood there stunned, uncertain what to do next. Fortunately, the moose had more composure than I did, turned around and walked into the woods.

It was many years before I returned to Isle Royale. I had agreed to make the trip largely to relive my memories about the island stay, and to accompany my husband who had developed an interest in seeing the park. We stayed at the Rock Harbor Lodge and took day trips. The following year, we purchased backpacking equipment and returned to hike the eastern trails. We saw a female moose and her calf at Moskey Basin keeping our distance but close enough to watch.

That backpacking trip changed everything for me. I discovered that I loved sleeping in a tent, walking the trails carrying my possessions on my back. At that slower pace, I discovered wildflowers and lichen edging the trails, ate wild blueberries and appreciated the silence that comes from a place devoid of cars. Hikers are a friendly group of people.  We often shared campsites with total strangers where we exchanged stories of our adventures on the trail.

In many ways, I have to thank those two moose who at the time scared the living daylights out of me. My experiences with them taught me to appreciate and respect the wilderness. I learned to be observant, both visually and audibly. And I found an inner strength that comes when you challenge yourself and succeed.