Nate, my work hiking buddy, and I try to hike after a shift whenever possible. We decided one Sunday afternoon to hike out to Lone Star. This geyser sits out in the woods all by its lonesome, hence the name. This geyser is fairly predictable. It usually goes off about every three hours. When we made it to the geyser it had gone off 20 minutes earlier so we knew we missed the window. We took the opportunity to explore the area since neither of us had done this hike before. What is really nice about this trail is that bikes are allowed. It is nice and wide so walkers and bikers alike can have a good experience.

Like most back country areas of the park it is absolutely beautiful. We stayed around the geyser for about an hour before we started to hike back to his truck. This is when things get really interesting. We are making lots of noise so that we can let any bears in the area know we are about. We have our bear spray. We are talking about different animals we have seen and what we would like to see this summer. There is a river that we walk along. I start talking about how this area is a great moose habitat because of all the different aquatic grasses. We then turn a corner and bam, less than 10 feet in front of us is a female moose with a baby. We both stop and start to back pedal quickly and quietly. Once we are a safe distance away we both do a happy dance and almost did a high five before we forget we are in the time of COVID.

We watched momma and baby eat. Then we realize they are coming closer. We continue to back up and try to take pictures. We could see them clearly with our eyes but in the photo they both just seem to blend in with the scenery. We hope that they will move away from us so that we can continue down the path. She and baby start to move closer to the river so we make our move to get past them. As we start to walk they both turn their heads at the same time and look at us. This is no time to take a picture. Moose are ornery on a good day. No way either of us were going to press our luck. We safely make our way past them and the rest of the hike is uneventful.

This was my first female moose sighting. Last year I saw two male moose. Moose sightings are rare so this is why we were so excited. I have two pictures which are the ‘best’ of the pictures. You tell me if you can figure out where the moose is in the picture.