We got up at 4:45 AM this morning to get a quick breakfast, then hopped on a van to be transported 45 min. away to a beautiful, very large pond by 6:00 AM for some canoeing and hopefully some glimpse of morning moose. Unfortunately, the temperature climbed very quickly and the moose were nowhere to be seen. If you don't see one on this outfitter's trip, you are guaranteed another chance to go out again free of charge. We will try again on Tuesday evening. Our guide was Ashley, from Northwoods Outfitters in Greenville, who had a very gung-ho personality, and was extremely knowledgable about wildlife and moose habitats and the whereabouts of them. Apparently, we were getting out too late in the day to see moose. It was too hot for them. They had already been out. She said if you could get out even earlier, like 4:30 AM, we would have seen a lot of them...She showed us footprints in the bog/shallow pond (see photo) where a big moose had stepped 30 min. before we were out in the water in the canoes. We did see a large female loon sitting on her nest and she let us get very close to her to take a photo. The pond/lake was beautiful and there weren't any bugs or mosquitoes pestering us...nice....
I *love* loons! They are so beautiful with those piercing red eyes and wonderful calls that echo across the lake. I remember paddling right by a loon on her nest at Camp Kooch-i-ching with a friend - we did not see the nest until it was broadside, about 6 inches from our canoe. She never budged!
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