What an amazing trip up to Jasper Lake in Indian Peaks Wilderness! I joined a friend to scope out camping spots for a yoga backpacking trip she's planning, and even though I was stoked – I had pretty low expectations for wildlife photography on this trip.
After hiking nearly 5 miles up ~2,000 vertical feet with our heavy packs, we arrived at the lake and immediately encountered a moose. My camera gear was packed away so I hastily pulled it out and started taking pictures. Getting a sharp shot without a tripod or monopod is really tough with my camera, but I felt like I only had time for handheld shots since the the last bull I saw ran away so fast. Fortunately, he was a really mellow moose that didn't mind a couple hikers hanging out on the trail for a while and there was plenty of time to get my monopod for some better pics.
My friend knows all about my love (and comfort level) around moose, but this was a pretty intimidating experience for her, especially given a tense encounter with a mother and calf she had just a few years prior. This situation was perfect, though. The moose showed that he accepted us, he had a clear view of us, and there weren't any other people or dogs around that might change the peaceful situation along the lake.
Moments later, a second moose appeared and we were treated to 45 minutes of uninterrupted moose watching. The pair was absolutely at home grazing on all the flowers by the lake. Periodically, the bulls would glance our direction but they just went on about their business as we looked on. At one point in a microsecond exchange, the slightly larger bull was spooked when the smaller moose either approached too closely or may have made some sort of aggressive move. The bigger moose jumped away for a second, and then a second later they were both back to grazing. Given this spicy moment, we named one of the bulls "Tabasco"... and "Jasper" felt fitting for the other. At no other point was there any competitiveness between them, but it was a good reminder of unpredictable behavior.
Over the course of the day and into the next morning, we would bump into this pair three more times! Tabasco would later lay down not far away from our camp, so that was a great sign of his comfort level. As for other large animals - we also saw the young buck that I'd seen on Wednesday as well as a single elk.
Weather went back and forth, and the light was far from the best (for photography at least) - but overall it was a fantastic trip and one of my favorite encounters of the year!
