Canceled, postponed, vouchered. I keep file folders of all the trips we have planned and like most people who rely on travel for their work, we’ve stashed those folders and had to pivot. This fall that meant looking for things to do closer to home. There are moose near our Maine home, we saw one once 30 years ago. But it was always on our bucket list to go out and see moose in their natural habitat, not just one dashing across the road. It occurred to us that if we had to cancel everything far from our home, then so must have the folks who would ordinarily fill northern Maine’s wildlife hunting and fishing camps.
We were able to get a last minute cancellation at the popular Nahmakanta Lake Wilderness Camps, during the height of fall foliage, where owners Don and Angel Hibbs welcome guests interested in a truly natural experience, fishing, hunting, paddling, hiking and heading out at dawn to spot crepuscular moose.
Our “clean” van as we enter the Jo Mary Road to pay our toll. Before long we had enough dirt on the bumper to plant seedlings!
Of course the first challenge would be getting there! NLWC is 3 and half hours away from our Maine home. Nahmakanta Wilderness Area is managed by the state of Maine and accessed through a nearly 30 mile private dirt logging logging road, called the Jo Mary Road. Without an SUV, we would be driving our 12 year old Honda Odyssey van. We arrived to the pay station uneventfully, paid for our pass, and headed out on the hard packed, very dusty logging road. While most guests of NLWC and other people enjoying the wilderness area bring an SUV, we had no trouble with our mini van making it to the camp.
If you are without a vehicle or have one that won’t make the trip, you can book a flight on a seaplane to fly in, which I think would be a pretty spectacular way to arrive!
Besides the unusual availability of last minute reservations, some changes due to Covid 19 included; no congregate meals, (dinners were served to your individual cabin) and masking and using an outside picnic table for camp business. The activities at the camp that are available lend themselves to safe, outside social distancing- fishing, hunting, paddling, hiking trails (including part of the Maine Appalachian Trail)
Other guests were there for the opening of grouse hunting season and for fishing, but our goal was to see moose in the wild, so we made sure to engage Don ahead of time to guide us through the Nahkamanta Wilderness area in a canoe so we might see moose. The NLWC was a relaxing and beautiful place to base our explorations.
Once we arrived, we made arrangements to leave camp at 5 AM the next morning to catch the moose out during their most active time, at dawn. We drove about 45 minutes to a rustic parking lot, parked and walked in silence in the dark for another mile and then slipped quietly into a canoe to seek moose out on one of the many waterways of this wilderness area.
Anytime we’ve traveled to see animals in the wild, we accept that we may not, a wilderness is not a zoo, and animals live on their own schedules, but often the landscapes are an attraction themselves, such as this beautiful creek where we were paddling on at dawn.
Thanks to our guide, Don, who was expert at knowing where to look, paddling silently, and knowing what noises to make to attract the rutting bull moose, we were very fortunate to have several sightings of these majestic animals.
On our first trip into a hidden brook that Don knows well, where he keeps a canoe stashed, we entered the water at the first light of day. We were so lucky that when Don would call like a female moose or swish his paddle in a way that sounded just like a cow moose walking in the water, it was only a matter of minutes before we’d hear some branches cracking as a bull would make it’s way to investigate.
We would hear a some crashing or crunching of branches before we’d see a huge rack of antlers appear above the grasses. The moose would look and listen in a state of slight confusion for a moment or two, as if saying “I thought I heard a cow moose out here?” before wandering back into the thicket.
While “waiting” for moose to appear, we enjoyed the spectacular foliage and the utter isolation of the area, and we spotted other wildlife too, such as this beaver who did not approve of our visit and let us know with a hearty slap of his tail!
Just around the bend from the beaver sighting, we noted one of the bulls we’d spotted earlier decided to cross the brook, affording us a nice view of the moose in the water.
In just a few hours, we saw 4 bull moose, and heard two others; a big bull who wouldn’t fall for Don’s tricks and female (or another guide?) in the distance calling. By midmorning I was wondering if this was a Disney “Jungle Cruise” where the animals just appear beside you boat! Certainly, we might have seen moose by the side of the road, but there was something absolutely magical about being in the woods at dawn, in complete silence, gliding along in a canoe at water level and experiencing these huge animals in the wild. It didn’t hurt that the foliage and low morning light created some spectacular landscapes!
The next morning, we were out again at dawn, this time a little closer to camp, on a pond with low water due to the drought in Maine. This made it harder to “hide” the canoe by the shore, and the moose found our presence more obvious, we heard at least one moose in the woods and saw one very young moose emerge for a moment.
Don decided to move us to nearby Pollywog Pond to see if deeper waters might allow us a closer look at any animals there. We didn’t spot an moose there, but enjoyed the bird life and beaver lodges as well as the glorious autumn colors!
When we weren’t exploring the waters for moose, we were relaxing back at camp in our comfortable cabin, hiking many of the trails nearby, paddling on the lake or enjoying a campfire.
