I got rolling as soon as I could, and headed up to the Indian Peaks (Sourdough/Rainbow Lakes area), and some running on high-altitude forest roads was done.
As I was heading back, I recognized the turn in the road where I had seen a moose cow and calf last summer, as they dashed into the woods near dark. I stopped for a look and found some bark missing from fallen aspens, and some poop that looked like this.
To my amazement, just a couple of minutes later I heard a huge CRASH! in the woods and trampling of trees and bushes. I carefully walked down the road, and when I stopped and looked into the woods, I saw this:
You can see the calf on the right, and mom is much better hidden on the left, with both looking right at me. I took a couple of steps closer and they bolted.
It's too much of a coincidence for this to be another pair of animals. I'm sure it's the same cow and calf (which was much smaller last year).
Moose are not that common here, and I feel very lucky. And good to see mom and child are doing well, and I hope I didn't spook them too much.
Awesome.
dude. That is no moose. That is that picture where they say eight navy seals are hidden and can you find them.
ReplyDeleteWOW that is AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteVery Cool! We have seen them several times at Winter Park and that is a big, magnificent animal!
ReplyDeleteps, noticed the photo tags - your work show up somewhere it should not have? Just curious.
How cool is that! Just following a little intuition to check out the spot again, and a nice little reward. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteNice! We have a lot more moose on this side, and I've noticed that the mom and calf(s) stay within the same valley/area for at least one year after birth. Good run, I love the early season Rainbow road.
ReplyDeleteThe apparent relation to the prior experience was pretty cool. Too bad I can't post a sound track. Judging from the loudness of the "crack" I figured it could only be a bear or moose.
ReplyDeleteHappyTrails - No unauthorized use going on (as far as I know). I've toyed with the notion for a while, and it's standard practice in the graphic arts. Mainly I haven't had time to mess with creating a watermark, and I'm not sure I really like this one :) I want it to be visible but very unobtrusive.
GZ - And yeah, I admit the photo is a little Sasquatch-ey. However I'm on the fence about whether I want to meet moose in the open to get a better shot :)
ReplyDeleteI have thought about it as well - imagine our surprise a year or so back to see Kathleen's photo in someone's race advertisement in a magazine :-o No Bueno.
ReplyDeleteHappyTrails - Would be nice to at least get credit, or maybe a comped entry :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic. Not only to see megafauna in general, but to have enough local knowledge and experience to generate a history and relationship. Quite the difference between a once-a-lifetime drive through Yellowstone, and the regular trailrunner! Very cool!
ReplyDelete