I’m grateful for wild places proving to me that I’m not always on top of the food chain. My two best friends and I hiked up to Arrowhead Lake located on the Four Lakes Trail along the East Fork of the Thompson River. When we arrived, we saw trout jumping everywhere and we couldn’t wait to start fishing.
We were slaying it when suddenly, across the lake from us we heard a loud crash. We fell silent, lines falling deep into the water for fear of our reels making noise. The largest bull moose I’ve ever seen crawled into the lake and fed. He looked over at us, snorted out water, and dipped his head back into the lake. My friend then decided to stand up on a nearby rock, spread his arms wide over his head, and grunt like a moose while swaying left and right. My buddy and I were speechless. “Dude….don’t” was all I could whisper. The bull looked at us, turned around, and disappeared into the woods.
My friend laughed, crawled off his rock and went to reach for his fishing pole when out of nowhere the moose came walking into our camp. My dog ran, my friends ran,and I ran. Each of us in different directions. I hid behind a rock with just enough of a view to see that my friend, the moose whisperer, tried to jump over a rock only to get his shoelace caught on a branch. There my friend was, stuck in a tree, dangling upside down with the moose slowly approaching. The moose must’ve concluded that my buddy was no threat and decided to walk on.
Every now and then it’s good to be put in your place and that’s why I’m thankful for wild places.
