Nocturnal Adventures of a Montane Field Technician

There was heavy rain on the morning of the Encounter, so rather than conducting point counts, my field partner and I spent the day in an isolated wildflower meadow at the base of a small mountain on the Canadian border. In between birdwatching and strawberry picking, I tracked a mountain lion along the deserted road to our study site; this was exciting but nerve-wracking as I had to hike to our route in the dark the next morning. After a dinner of wild strawberries, we retired to the car to rest before a 4 a.m. start. Before turning off my headlamp, I picked up Stephen King's "IT", a nightmare-inducing book about a demonic clown that had absorbed me for days. At the end of a chapter, I was distracted by loud, heavy breathing. Turning around, I saw my field partner sleeping peacefully in the back seat—the noise was not coming from her. That was when I noticed the condensation on the windshield—circles of water expanding and contracting to the rhythm of deep inhalations and exhalations. Heart pounding, I leaned closer, only to see the outline of a giant head visible in the moonlit darkness. Gathering all of my courage, I wiped away the moisture and came face to face with a very inquisitive—but decidedly not demonic—mother moose. She and her calf had approached to investigate the strange new addition to their mountain path.

—Chris Mulvey