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This story was produced by My UP News Correspondent Schyler Perkins. Find the original story here.
A Minnesota hiker and her husband thought they would end their three-day hiking trip around Isle Royale National Park without seeing one of the island’s famous moose. That is, until an unexpected visit brought one closer than she had bargained for.
In early October, Minneapolis, MN resident Kyrstin Tenjack and her husband were wrapping up their last full day on Isle Royale. The trip was their first since the birth of their child and a celebration of her husband’s birthday.
A large storm was rolling in that night. Luckily, Tenjack said they were able to find a shelter to stay in overnight at Washington Creek Campground.
After the storm passed and the sun was teasing the start of a new day, the pair were awoken by a sound outside. “We heard this weird noise, like grunting,” said Tenjack. Wondering what it was, they stepped out of the shelter. Tenjack said to the left of the shelter was a small hill and a path to the river.
“We peered out and saw this big moose out there,” Tenjack said. ” We were watching for maybe 10 minutes.”
Tenjack said they thought they were mostly concealed by the forest while watching the moose.
“He’s just out there wading in the river,” Tenjack said. “We thought he could barely see us, but we made eye contact.”
That’s when Kyrstin said the moose started slowly walking toward them. “And then he got a little bit faster and we ran into our shelter,” said Tenjack. “We were like, ‘there’s no way he’s going to come up by us.'”
But that’s exactly what the moose did.
“He took his time coming up, and when he came up he looked like he was going to charge into our shelter,” Tenjack said. “I was like, ‘my gosh, he’s going to crash into these screens.’ You know, there wasn’t much between the moose and us.”
Thankfully, the moose left about as quickly as it appeared. “That was my first time there and it was amazing,” said Tenjack. “I guess Washington [Creek] Campground is the place you want to go if you want to see a moose!”
In the 2023-2024 Moose and Wolf study, researchers estimated there were 830 moose across Isle Royale’s 206 square miles.
Access to the island closes on Nov. 1 and reopens April 15.
You can find advice from the National Parks Service for ways to stay safe while viewing moose on their website.
