How/where do they hide the moose?

[DrRichardCranium]

OK, how can an animal that is so huge be so hard to see?

I finally managed to see a moose during the last 4 days of my thru-hike in 2010, but I had been trying to see one ever since seeing moose turds as early as southern Vermont. And I know a lot of thru-hikers that never got to see one.

How the hell do you hide an animal that big? If they can poop on the trail throughout most of New England, why can't they put in an appearance?

I theorized that moose are multi-dimensional beings that wink into our plane of existence like a quark, pausing just long enough to poop on the trail before projecting back to their alternate universe.

[WingedMonkey]

Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie

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 bed
It'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


©1993 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

[moytoy]

It's the smell..and that's probably why they like to poop on the trail too.

[Slo-go'en]

Like most critters, they hear you coming and get out of the way. Also, our eyes are keyed to notice movement, so if they stand still, you might not see them in the woods 100 feet away. When I'm hiking, I'm mostly looking at my feet so I don't trip and fall. If something isn't moving in the woods in front of me, I'm probably not going to notice it.

[BFI]

You poop in the bush , they poop on the trail, they're just getting even!

[bigcranky]

I said the same thing about bears for years. Then I finally started seeing them on the trail.

[Drybones]

Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie

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 bed
It'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


©1993 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Arlo...interest singer...my favorite...I don't want a pickle, just want to ride on my motor cicle.

[Don H]

I accidentally got with about 5 feet from one. It was feeding in the brush along the trail near Madison Springs Hut, I didn't see it until it heard me and popped it's head up. It turned and in a few steps it was gone from sight. Scared the heck out of me!

[hikerboy57]

I accidentally got with about 5 feet from one. It was feeding in the brush along the trail near Madison Springs Hut, I didn't see it until it heard me and popped it's head up. It turned and in a few steps it was gone from sight. Scared the heck out of me!

if you were up there last august i believe this is the moose. someone told me shed been around the area for quiite a while

[hikerboy57]

moose like to hide behind lichens and mushrooms and fields of diapensa

[takethisbread]

I think this is not uncommon. For all the many miles I've hiked on the AT, as well as hikes in National Parks, the PCT, and smaller trails, most every bear I have seen is in town. I've never seen moose on trail but I've seen them on main streets in town. The only truly exciting find was a Bobcat/lynx in New Jersey on the AT by Gren Anderson in the winter of 2010, which I fumbled with my camera and never got a pic.

[Bags4266]

They don't exist. They are like Unicorns made up by the folks in New Hampshire. Gnomes put the hoof prints in the mud.

[Snowleopard]

Here's a moose in my backyard. I believe it's the one that's been looking into my window at night.
moose.jpg

[Odd Man Out]

The moose are on Isle Royale. No trouble finding them there. They hang around people to keep the wolves away. Also, I got within about 6 ft of a bull elk in Banff (right in the middle of town, actually). He was lying in some tall grass just off a path along the river. Lots of people were walking by but I was the only one who saw him. He had his chin on the ground and his rack was above my head.

[Kerosene]

I came within 25 yards of my first crossing the trail just south of Rangeley in mid-September, within an hour of the finish of my section hike. Unfortunately my camera was packed away, but most of his body was behind foliage. I didn't realize it was a bull moose until I clapped my hands and he turned his massive rack towards me (I realized at that point that maybe I should just stand still). I can't imagine being within 6 feet of an animal that large!

[GraniteStater]

uuuhhhh okay i guess i can let you in on this one.... but geez i didn't want to. the moose are way smarter than you think. way smarter than you and particularly smarter than i actually. they create head to toe camo coverings and hide out in the trees. the only way you are going to see one is if you yourself get into a tree near a bog or other related wetland before daybreak and wait for one to show up. you basically have to ambush them. they are so smart. wow good luck.

[Starchild]

There is a procedure, a offering for the great moose spirit that needs to be made, without that you are just following piles of moose crap around 'brown blazing' through the woods.


...or if you are driving just follow the moose tour bus

[psyculman]

Came face to face with a female, not 50' ahead of me on Howker Ridge trail near the Bear Pit last Labor day weekend. She just stood there for maybe 30 seconds, then silently disappeared off to the side in the brush, and I mean silently. I cautiously moved up to see where she went, and, she was gone. There was not much brush to obscure her departure, but, it was no use, the amimal simply dissapeared. Here is a picture of a male, taken at the parking lot on Dolly Copp Rd. at the start of Howker and the rail trail four years ago. The moose ARE out there, YOU are not, that's the story. moose meandering (2).JPGmoose crossing.JPG

[Deacon]

Saw Mrs. Moose taking a bath on the first day of my Long Trail hike last August.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1352113304.749406.jpg

[gizzy bear]

if you were up there last august i believe this is the moose. someone told me shed been around the area for quiite a while

she looks so sweet...was this taken from the window of the moose tour bus? did she flip the car in the back ground??