It began as a run-of-the-mill spring hike. Pete McCall of Riverton parked at a popular trailhead near Lander, shouldered his pack and crossed the pedestrian bridge that leads to the trail. 

“I got across the bridge to the trailhead sign and happened to look up, and he was coming down the trail,” McCall said. 

A moose calf ambled down the dirt path through the boulders and sagebrush. 

McCall, not wanting to bother the animal, reversed back across the bridge to give the moose space. He figured it would head to the river below. 

Instead, the calf “started coming up the bridge, so I kept backing up.”

As McCall backed away, he was able to capture a straight-on image of the moose sauntering across the pedestrian bridge.  

At one point, McCall said, he thought he might have to back up all the way to his truck. But once the calf crossed the bridge, it veered away and disappeared up river. 

When he encountered the moose, McCall already had his camera out to shoot photos of the river — a stroke of luck for a hobby photographer. 

“It was super fortunate,” he said. 

Another stroke of luck: The moose’s mother — a maternal creature notorious for fierce protection tactics — was nowhere to be seen.

Katie Klingsporn reports on outdoor recreation, public lands, education and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for 20 years. Her freelance work has...

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  1. F8 and be there! Best advice ever. Get outside and always, without fail, bring a camera! Good shot!

    Reply

  2. Took a hike up Cascade Canyon in GTNP about 50 years ago. Since the trail in the canyon is pretty flat I was walking pretty fast. Came around a corner and there was a female with a calf. I was startled and so was the calf and it fell in the tiny pond, not very deep. The calf got back up and then I saw the momma giving me the look and I stupidly started running back down the trail with the moose chasing. I came upon a pile of boulders and quickly scrambled up. The moose then started snorting and kicking her back legs up. Never seen that before. I learned moose are not as docile as I thought. She finally gave up and headed back up the trail and I headed down, all the time looking back every 10 seconds. I lived in Jackson for 22 years and everytime I went up that trail, the busiest in the park, I always paid attention, just in case.

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