For The Love of Moose (and Camping, and Canoeing)!

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A few months ago, I got an email from a friend: “I’m planning the moose trip again. Are you interested?”

Was I interested? Of course!

So in early June, off I went to Algonquin Park. This is a gem of a provincial park, 3-4 hours drive from where we live. More than 7500 square kilometers (2900 square miles), most of which is backcountry—that is, wilderness.

Early June is not the ideal time to go—the mosquitos are fierce, and the blackflies, those tiny flies that leave itchy welts that last a week, are fiercer. But that’s what worked on our calendars, so that’s when we went. I rely mostly on insect repellent, my trip companions also use mesh clothing. I can’t imagine what it was like for campers before either of those were available!

June is, however, a great time to see moose. After a long winter, they are craving the salts and other nutrients that are in water lily roots, and getting out of the dense woods gives them a break from those same biting insects.

My first sighting was just off the main road through the park: a young female.

But our destination was well away from the main road, accessible only by water. We were able to snag our favourite campsite: on a point on the water, not too heavily treed (fewer mosquitos), with a good breeze that helps with the bugs, and decently flat spots for tents.

The scenery is stunning. While we do usually see a few other people, the landscape is vast and it is truly wild.

How do we get to the moose? By canoe, so we can view them from the water. Early each morning and late each afternoon, we’d paddle out to look for them. There is nothing like rounding a corner and seeing this:

Then we slow down, paddle as quietly as possible, and watch their body language to make sure we don’t scare them away. We stop a respectful distance away. A long lens is essential.

The first guy we spotted had scars on his face and back, and his coat, like the female I had seen earlier, was still patchy. He also seemed skinny—maybe from a hard winter, or illness, or something related to the scar? We saw him a few times.

This next bull was bigger, with a beautiful summer coat. He seemed quite relaxed about us (and another group in a small flat bottom boat) being there, only looking up occasionally. We once saw both these males come to the water at the same time—they had a bit of a staredown and the bigger one won, sending the other back into the woods.

As much as I love photographs, sometimes a video is needed to really share what it’s like to be there. Be gentle; I’m a beginner at this, and I was shooting from a canoe! Turn your sound up to hear the birds.

A few more photographs of the big guy:

But wait, there’s more!

It’s not only about the moose. This was four days of being completely immersed in nature.

Not just fauna, flora too:

Trips like this make me feel grounded in nature, and I spend a lot of time wandering around the campsite, just soaking it all in. Sketching and photographing are my way of bottling some of it up, so I can revisit it later, from home. I try to notice the little things as well as the big ones.

Camping is often uncomfortable: the bathroom is a wood box with a hole in it, surrounded by mosquitos. Sleeping on the ground, crawling in and out of a tent, filtering your water before drinking it, being hot or cold or wet… But for me, four days of being completely immersed in nature is absolutely worth it!