Moose in Maine at night, should I be concerned

[Popnfrsh24]

Hey yall.

Lighthouse here. I am enjoying the last bit of my hike in Maine, but I have a few questions. I have been mostly hiking alone by myself recently, and stealth camping anywhere that I can find a spot. I do this because I enjoy playing guitar late into the night, and if I camp alone It ensures that I won't bother anybody with my music. The only thing that I worry is that I have found moose droppings in some of these stealth spots, and I have heard things about how moody some moose can be. Is it a valid concern that I can be charged at night while I am sleeping in my tent, and some moose figures out that I am there and decides "I dont like you, time to DIE!"??

[Teacher & Snacktime]

I've always heard that moose are generally innocuous....except males in rut. So, I've got nothing. But I will watch this thread to see what info you get.

[Doc]

You have another month or so before the males start to get irritable. Should be no problem sleeping unless you snore so that you sound like a horny female moose. Enjoy the woods. It doesn't get any better than this time of year.

[Venchka]

On the other hand...if the moose take offense to choice of music......................

Wayne

[slow mind]

You will be just fine.

[gumball]

I think rut is in the fall.

[Slo-go'en]

Just don't camp on what might be a game path into the woods. Long story....

[jeffmeh]

Just don't camp on what might be a game path into the woods. Long story....

Sound advice here.

Lighthouse, I'm glad to hear you are moving along. I hope you enjoyed the burger and beer in Lincoln. :)

[Kerosene]

I've had the same concern.

1) As darkness falls I find that I'm still a few miles from Pinkham Notch (we wasted too much time in the Prezzies on a gorgeous Fall day in September 2006). I had passed a few marked tent sites south of Osgood, but I was resorting to just looking for any flat space. After passing through a boggy area I found a postage stamp that would fit my tent. As I shucked off my pack I heard a h-u-g-e animal barreling through the short spruce. After my heart slowed down I realized that it was probably the moose that I still hadn't seen. As I laid my head down I realized that I was camped right in the middle of an open trail and wondered if I'd ever hear the moose footstep crushing my head in my sleep. I was out of there just after dawn.

2) Last September, on the last evening of my section hike from Pinkham Notch to Rangeley, I was camped at Little Swift River Pond. That night I heard the moose calling to each other near the water. I *still* hadn't seen a moose and just barely thought better of grabbing my headlamp to go check them out. Once again, they could have just tramped through my campsite and not even noticed the tarp guylines. I finally did catch the "back end" of my first-ever moose sighting about an hour from Route 4. He was just standing there with his butt sticking into the trail; I clapped from about 40 yards away and a huge rack of antlers turned my way...I kept wery, wery quiet and still until he moved off into the woods. Damn big animals.

[FarmerChef]

Not sure what you play. If it's Jazz or Classic Rock/Folk you're probably fine. But stay away from Rap. Moose don't like Rap, or Baroque for that matter - too choppy. They do prefer Classical and the Impressionists and a nice glass of wine at sunset ;)

But seriously, all I've ever heard is to stay well away from a Bull during rut. Don't surprise them. And I agree with others not to camp in an obvious game trail. From our trip in New Hampshire and Vermont the game trails made by moose were, well, very obvious...

[Popnfrsh24]

Sound advice here.

Lighthouse, I'm glad to hear you are moving along. I hope you enjoyed the burger and beer in Lincoln. :)

Hey Jeff!

Thanks so much for the food back in Lincoln! I will have to admit that the hiker hunger hit me hard again after the meal...I went to the local ice cream shop and ate a whole quart of ice cream haha. I finished my through hike though!

[jeffmeh]

Hey Jeff!

Thanks so much for the food back in Lincoln! I will have to admit that the hiker hunger hit me hard again after the meal...I went to the local ice cream shop and ate a whole quart of ice cream haha. I finished my through hike though!

You are quite welcome. Frankly I'm not surprised that you went for a second dinner, lol. Congrats on finishing!

Incidentally, I went up Moosilauke again yesterday, doing a loop from the south. If you can believe it, it was even more beautiful at the summit than the day we met, which is really saying something. Close to 70F with better than 100 mile visibility, but much more crowded given that it was a weekend.

[Mr. Bumpy]

You know what Arlo said:

Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill

Mooses look into your window at night
They look to the left and they look to the right
The mooses are smiling, they think it's a zoo
And that's why the mooses like looking at you

So, if you see mooses while lying in bedI
t's best to just stay there pretending you're dead
The mooses will leave and you'll get the thrill
Of seeing the mooses go over the hill

[Trillium]

You know what Arlo said:

Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill

Mooses look into your window at night
They look to the left and they look to the right
The mooses are smiling, they think it's a zoo
And that's why the mooses like looking at you

So, if you see mooses while lying in bedI
t's best to just stay there pretending you're dead
The mooses will leave and you'll get the thrill
Of seeing the mooses go over the hill

+1
Enjoyed it!