In a twist to my irregular posts on Cycling the Palouse, today, I recount Sunday's ride.
First, the weather has been glorious. Daytime temperatures in the upper 70's F, sunny skies, and little wind. Perfect conditions for cycling. After diving down from my house on the South Hill and winding my way through downtown traffic, I pick up the paved, Centennial Trail as it meanders north along the Spokane River. The colors of Fall are yet to appear but with shortened days and cool nights, foliage with be turning soon.
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| Looking southeast with Spokane 8 miles in the distance. |
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| Bowl and Pitcher |
Back underway, a further two miles north, I spotted an animal standing alongside the trail. A moose! Now, I have seen moose along the trail in the past but these are not a regular feature. I was surprised to see it standing motionless just off the trail.
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| Moose on the left |
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| Bull Moose in waiting |
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| Moose, a little closer. Warning! Objects in photo much larger and closer in real life. |
As I reached back for my phone, he turned his head toward me and uttered a short snort. That was all I needed to realize that reaching for the phone was secondary to preparing myself for flight. With the snort, the female turned and trotted off in the direction I had, moments before, traveled. With the female on the move, the bull forgot about me and turned to follow, crashing through the trees with his antlers breaking branches as he passed. Whew. That was a close encounter.
Miles put into the legs: 36.
Bet that was scary! Pics look great though Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteThe encounter was a bit tense but we both went along peacefully on our separate ways. Glad you like the photos.
DeleteThat could have gone very badly for you! Wrong time of year to be in the vicinity of a bull moose, especially on a bike- you could have easily been mistaken for a competitor.
ReplyDeleteVery true. One must use extreme caution. I suspect that he could not figure what kind of a creature I was. His snort was all of the warning I needed.
DeleteLooks like a lovely ride!
ReplyDeleteAnd WOW! Moose!
I'm sure I saw them as a child at a zoo somewhere... but it never really dawned on me how HUGE they were until I saw one in the wild!
Tim, this is beautiful country for cycling especially if you enjoy uneven and varied terrain. Moose are huge animals. Watching one run always makes me chuckle.
DeleteBlimey, not the sort of wildlife we have to worry about here in the UK though, although when I used to go through Richmond Park on my motorbike many moons ago, I was always very conscious of the herds of deer when close to the rode, especially during the rutting season.
ReplyDeleteAside from your brush with wildlife, superb scenery as always and rather envious to be honest. The trees have started turning here already, which is nice and love the colours, but nothing to match New England in the Fall I'm afraid.
Steve, there is much "wildlife" in this part of the world. Some foliage here is just beginning to turn. We are still a few weeks away from full color, I suspect. Varied scenery keeps me motivated to cycle.
DeleteWe ran into a black bear in Tennessee which caused us some trouble, but we survived.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you escaped your black bear encounter unscathed. Black bears primarily are searching for your food. It is the Grizzly that concerns me. You are the food!
DeleteSuper scenic shots, that is one large animal, very wise to beat the retreat.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the scenics, Phil! Yeah, the moose was a big'un.
DeleteAh-HA! Further proof that the outside is lame and dangerous and best avoided all together. There are no dangerous animals in my house.
ReplyDelete(Besides the children and wife). 😀😀
The choice between facing an angry wife or angry animal is a toss up.
DeleteIs there a difference?!😅
DeleteNo antlers?
DeleteWell I know that in MY case the choice would be clear; one is a big scary animal that can’t be reasoned with and the other is a moose. 😀🙄
DeleteDoes your wife read your wargaming blogs?
DeleteShe barely reads my texts, never mind my blog or anyone else’s….
Delete(In truth my wife is not scary and quite a lovely person)
Nice save.
DeleteNow that must be scary. I’ve been close to red deer in Richmond Park (referred to by Steve J) and they’re big enough, but are as children to moose.
ReplyDeleteLovely scenery!
Chris/Nundanket
I never felt too threatened until the snort. Then I began to examine my escape options
DeleteLovely pictures. My wife spent a season in Banff in her early twenties and was telling me she was walking home one evening and heard footsteps behind her, which turned out to be a moose. It followed her for a few hundred meters until she got home, stopping every time she did, but after the initial surprise she said she never felt threatened by it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the photos, Chris. Not sure I would be turning my back on a moose stalking me.
DeleteBeautiful looking pics Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteI agree!
DeleteMooses are tasty critters. Maybe next time leave the house for a cycling expedition with a 6.5 Creedmoor slung over your shoulder? (Not sure how you'd cart the carcass back home thereafter tho as even your own leg strength might struggle with the immense weight of a moose...)
ReplyDeleteThey are tasty. No way could I pack one out on a bike.
DeleteSounds like a lucky escape!
ReplyDeleteNeil
But if I had not stopped, there would be no story to tell.
DeleteIn college I saw a moose literally running down the Interstate on I-89 in Vermont. Traffic was following him, slowly, but no one dared pass him.
ReplyDeleteThat's the only moose story I've got!
DeleteI would have been hesitant to pass that cantankerous creature too! It is a good story!
DeleteSounds a bit too close for comfort, your encounter with a moose! Riding over here people sometimes have collisions with kangaroos and feral deer but no moose, bison, bears, wolves, or cougars to worry about.
ReplyDeleteI imagine a run-in with a kangaroo would be an interesting encounter.
DeleteSome great scenery there Jonathan. No moose story, but I remember as a four year old going out the door of a cabin we rented as Saskatchewan Crossing and coming face to face with a black bear going through the trash. To this day I’m not sure who got the bigger fright, but I know that I went back inside very quickly.
ReplyDeleteA good black bear story is just as entertaining. Being an outdoorsman in the wilds on of the northwest, I have a few tales about black bear encounters in my youth.
DeleteSome stunning scenery
ReplyDeleteI think so!
DeleteBeautiful terrain and exciting no doubt, we occasionally get small deer, but not surprisingly never seen a moose !
ReplyDeleteNot sure this can match the natural and rugged beauty of your Lake District.
DeleteComing upon these moose standing silently along the trail was a surprise. Usually they are spotted on the move or down at the river. We even occasionally see them in my neighborhood. A young one once caused serious destruction when it wandered into the neighborhood and could not find its way back out.
Likewise for NZ, there are NO dangerous wild animals here...in fact, all mammals are basically introduced...and not surprisingly, no one introduced bears, wolves, big cats etc! We do have wild pigs that people hunt and I guess they could do some damage to you if they put their mind to it.....great pics Jon and a nice story seeing nothing untoward eventuated!
ReplyDeleteKeith, NZ seems like a very civilized and relatively safe place. How did you get so lucky? Most of the world is a dangerous place!
DeleteGlad to read you survived your Loose Moose encounter! Your SYW figures are rattling out and look the business.
ReplyDeleteHi David! Yes, I survived the Loose Moose encounter. More SYW figures to come.
DeleteWe're a bit ahead of you in terms of fall foilage here in northern New England. Interesting to compare. Glad your encounter with Bullwinkle turned out to be a bit of an adrenaline rush and not much else (I don't think I woulda' had the guts to stop and reach for a phone under those circumstances!).
ReplyDeleteThe foliage change will begin to pick up here soon.
DeleteThe encounter with Bullwinkle was brief but exciting. Certainly not something I see everyday.
Beautiful landscape! Having had a moose in our back yard with cannot imagine meeting one on a ride!
ReplyDeleteBTW thought you might be amused by one of my old stories:
ReplyDeleteI was at a training course years ago in the NPS and hung out with a Ranger who worked in Yellowstone National Park. One of his duties was giving the warning talk to hikers and campers about the
Brown bears and grizzly bears.
He would start off his talk explaining there are two types of bears; Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears. Brown bears were usually more scared of you then you were of them. They generally ran away, especially if you made load noises. Grizzly bears on the other hand would hunt you down and kill you just because they felt like it, or not. You never knew so stay away from them. It was recommended you carry small bells to make a noise to scare bears away and have pepper spray to use just in case.
Some individual would then ask how to tell which type of bear was around. He told them to watch for the bear scat. Brown bears scat usually had berries and twigs in it. Grizzly bear scat often had small bells in it and smelled like pepper spray......
DeleteMark, thanks for the bear story! Even though I have heard it many times, it always makes me laugh. You tell it very well. There is plenty of good country out West.
Great scenery and a good tale. I am envious; wish it was a lot wilder round here as it would be good to have lots of trees as far as the eye can see! We have plenty of big lorries and other speeding traffic that make life dangerous just getting across the roads (and actually far too many cyclists riding too fast on the footpaths who often collide with pedestrians) but nothing as exciting as a moose encounter...
ReplyDeleteCheers,
David.
Good Scenery and Good Tale make for a Good Post, David.
DeleteCycling here may not be any less hazardous. One must always ride defensively. I had a close call Thursday afternoon where a car failed to yield the right of way. We nearly made contact. Hope the Go Pro captured the event.
What a great adventure in wonderful country, you are very fortunate indeed. I spent a couple of years living with my Aunt and Uncle in Western Colorado back in the early 1970's. My Uncle was a great outdoorsman so this London born boy had some crazy adventures that live with me vividly still. We have visited every couple of years since and still go fishing but we are both past hunting now. I actually like elk meat more than venison, never tried moose...yet...Regards
ReplyDeleteI bet you do have many a wild tale from your transplantation from an urban to rural setting. The switch must have been shocking. I prefer eating elk to deer too. Actually, from what remember, elk is better tasting than beef. Moose is more gamey than elk. Bear? Yuck!
DeleteI've never seen a Moose outside a zoo, but I did have a close encounter with a large Red Deer when I was five or six. My parents had taken my sister and I for a picnic and this huge antlered monster casually strolled up and nicked my jam sandwich right out of my hand! I've never trusted a deer since.
ReplyDeleteLee, this is a funny story! What flavor was the jam?
DeleteWe must spray deer repellent on any vegetation that we do not want devoured by deer, here. They are particularly found of tulips in the spring and arborvitae in the winter.
Nothing adventurous, probably Strawberry. I hope he choked on it because I was enjoying that sandwich (as you see, 47 years later and I'm still bitter!)
DeleteYou carry a grudge a long time.
DeleteAwesome scenery Jon! No moose stories I’m afraid. Most wildlife (what’s left of it) you’ll come across here is maybe a hedgehog. If you’re very lucky, that is.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the scenery! I bet there is plenty of Wild Life on Malta!
DeleteOnly in nightclubs!
DeleteThat is what I thought!
DeleteBeautiful scenery as always Jonathan…
ReplyDeleteWe have Deer at Wollaton Park on the other side of Nottingham but nothing as wild and free roaming as Moose.
It would certainly cause quite a fuss if one turned up.
All the best. Aly
Aly, when a moose turns up in the neighborhood here, it causes quite a fuss too especially when it crashes through a fence or large window! They seem to get into urban trouble much easier than they can get out. Getting into trouble is not as destructive as getting out of trouble.
DeleteThe Moose is a notoriously ornery creature, as you observe, and huge to boot! You were wise to favor safety over pictures! They are very rarely seen in Southern New England, usually only when one gets lost In the last 1o years, (black) bears have been gone from being quite rare to very commonplace!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Moose are very unpredictable creatures. I got as close as I dared. When he gave a snort, I was ready to flee!
Delete