The Moose

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The final day of my four-day hike on the Kungsleden was down through a birch forest, beside a river, lakes, and wetlands. About halfway through the day, mosquitoes turned up for the first time on the trip. There were more encounters with grouse, lemmings, a stoat, but the real excitement kicked in when I was least expecting it.

After 8 hours walk, I passed a boat-landing, and had another 3 hours walk to go. I was still thinking about boats, when, through the birch forest, I glimpsed a wake on the lake, another glimpse made me think it was a very small boat, it couldn't be bigger than a jet-ski. But then a better glimpse through the trees made me realise that I was looking at the head and shoulders of a moose, swimming across the lake. I tried to find a way through the birch trees to get a good-enough view for a photo. But the moose had caught my scent - she was angling her swim away from me and downwind. She couldn't swim any faster than I could walk, but as soon as she gained the shore, she moved quickly downwind away from me... then stopped behind some trees.

The wind was now directly in her favour, and I was wearing mosquito repellent and noisy over-trousers. Stalking was pointless. I tried just walking towards her to see if I could get a clear photo-view. She moved up the bank, then stopped again, behind more trees. I was wondering why she was stopping, rather than just high-tailing it into the distance, then I glimpsed another object moving in the water - her calf! That explained it.

I tried positioning myself for a photo of the calf coming ashore. I wasn't certain how close I could get to the calf without the mother becoming aggressive, but I guessed that the calf would follow the same line as it's mother, and therefore would cross a small clearer patch in the forest. I lined this up

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