Moose Sightings in Moose River Plains Complex

[mattydries21]

I've heard both Icehouse Pond and Helldiver Pond are somewhat "hotspots" for moose sightings at dawn and dusk in the summertime, and further, that the Moose River Plains as a whole is pretty active. Anyone able to substantiate this claim with firsthand accounts?

[snapper]

Not a firsthand account but there have been numerous photos of bull moose taken at Helldiver Pond that have been published in regional magazines. Not sure what you're looking for but articles that accompany those photos might be of help to you.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

[DuctTape]

A few years ago I saw a cow and her calf along the trail near Pillsbury Lake in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness just to the south of the Moose River Plains.

[Wldrns]

I have heard that there were often ssightings Helldiver Pond area in past years, but I have yet to witness any there.

I came I across a cow and calf while paddling in Dismal Pond, north of the Stillwater Reservoir in the Five Ponds Wilderness area a couple of years ago. Then again I followed a moose for a distance running along the roadside before it jumped a guard rail on Route 30 between Long Lake and Tupper Lake.

Dismal Pond:
moose.jpg

[Tomfish]

Last fall I saw a huge adult moose about 11 miles to the west of the MRP, (probably about 18 miles from Helldiver). Unfortunately it was about half a mile away across the lake, so I couldn't tell if it was a cow or a bull, but it was enormous.
I was on shore re-spooling a fishing reel, but i really wish I had been out on the lake in the kayak, closer and with a camera at hand.

[DSettahr]

Moose can be pretty tricky to spot in the wild. It takes a large area to support only a handful of them, so you can visit a moose "hot spot" multiple times and still not get lucky enough to see one.

At one point, yes, there was a particular moose that hung out almost exclusively at Helldiver Pond. A summer hike there had just about a 100% chance of seeing him, and that particular hike exploded in popularity. I think that particular moose hasn't been spotted in a number of years, though- apparently he was quite old (for a moose) and it's speculated that it passed away during the winter.

If you do a google search for "helldiver moose," there's tons of photos/videos.

A few other spots where I've encountered moose/moose sign:

I once saw a moose in the Perkins Clearing easement while driving to the Spruce Lake trailhead.

I want to say I've seen one in the West Canada Lakes backcountry, but my memory is pretty fuzzy- it would've been in 2008 or 2009. I've definitely seen no shortage of moose tracks in the West Canadas. I've also spotted moose tracks along the Cold River in the High Peaks, along the East River Trail on the way into Allen Mountain, and in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.

If you wander the woods around Boreas Ponds, that area is absolutely covered in moose sign. Lots of moose poop, tracks, and areas of the forest where the browse is so heavy it looks like someone took a weed whacker to the understory. I've yet to actually see a moose there myself, but it sounds like sightings happen there with some frequency.

A few years ago (July 2021), I watched a moose swim across Lake Colden in the High Peaks:



While bushwhacking Slide Mountain in the Sentinel Range back in 2012, I stumbled across a moose skeleton right on top of the summit. Or more accurately, all over the summit (it was clear that other wildlife had dispersed carcass over a wide area):

[snapper]

DSettahr's photos reminded me. A group I was with found skeletal remains while hiking between Big Shallow and Little Shallow ponds in the Five Ponds area. I've also found tracks around Lows Lake. A good friend of mine who was working for a program in Raquette Lake saw one while on a canoe trip right where you enter the Raquette River from the north end of Long Lake. Bottom line, I think it's more of a crap shoot than anything in being able to see one.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

[Cold River Bob]

While camped at Cr3 we had one walk by the leanto one night. I saw a cow an calf at Duckhole. An at Seward pd a bull moose feeding there is alot of sign around there,

[rbi99]

While backpacking in Yellowstone a cow and her calf walked right past the front of our tent one morning. They nearly brushed the tent they were so close. A minute later the calf started licking the dew off the side of our tent. I feared that if it kept moving forward it would surely crush the tent (with us in it). I had a clean pot in the tent just so I could bang it if necessary (we saw multiple moose in the area). While obviously not in the Adirondacks, still pretty cool. In addition, while I was hiking in Denali NP, I came upon another cow and her calf. I really screwed up as I wasn't as observant as I definitely should have been, because they were right there in front of me. Both looked up at me and I simply apologized and started walking backwards.

[Tomfish]

while I was hiking in Denali NP, I came upon another cow and her calf. I really screwed up as I wasn't as observant as I definitely should have beens.

I almost got run over by a cow just outside Anchorage. She crossed the trail maybe 30 yards ahead of us and once she crossed we kept moving, not knowing her calves were still on the other side of the trail and we got right between them. She came back up to the trail real quick and walked very slow (and very tall!) directly at us as we backed up. When she was like 10 feet from me she turned and went back towards the calves.
It was like my second day in Alaska and i thought I was going to get trampled. They look big, but up close you REALLY get a feel for their size. 😱

[greatexpectations]

A few other spots where I've encountered moose/moose sign:

I once saw a moose in the Perkins Clearing easement while driving to the Spruce Lake trailhead.

I want to say I've seen one in the West Canada Lakes backcountry, but my memory is pretty fuzzy- it would've been in 2008 or 2009. I've definitely seen no shortage of moose tracks in the West Canadas. I've also spotted moose tracks along the Cold River in the High Peaks, along the East River Trail on the way into Allen Mountain, and in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.

If you wander the woods around Boreas Ponds, that area is absolutely covered in moose sign. Lots of moose poop, tracks, and areas of the forest where the browse is so heavy it looks like someone took a weed whacker to the understory. I've yet to actually see a moose there myself, but it sounds like sightings happen there with some frequency.

A few years ago (July 2021), I watched a moose swim across Lake Colden in the High Peaks:

While bushwhacking Slide Mountain in the Sentinel Range back in 2012, I stumbled across a moose skeleton right on top of the summit. Or more accurately, all over the summit (it was clear that other wildlife had dispersed carcass over a wide area):

give the type of stuff you do i am actually a little surprised you haven't seen more out there. that Lake Colden experience is pretty cool though, wow! my adirondack moose encounters amount to a set of tracks just north of Shanty Brook near the Warden's Camp / Upper Ausable Lake and a set of tracks on the West Mill Brook trail. i've spent a lot of time in Speculator / Lake Pleasant area though and have heard of plenty of sightings near there over the years - Perkins Clearing, Cherry Brook, Kunjamuk Bay, Fawn Lake. and Rt 30 between Mason and Lewey.

the Hell Diver moose reminds me of a young bull we had in western MA that hung out near a shelter on the Mass AT for the entirety of a winter. similarly, the odds were so good of seeing it that word spread *incredibly fast* amongst the outdoors community. we have quite a lot of moose in western MA and i have had decent luck here - plenty of sign, one sighting, one appearance on my trail camera, one antler shed, and one skeleton. curiously, unlike your remote find of a skeleton, this one is only 15' from the AT in one of the more popular stretches in the state

would love to see an adirondack moose though, which is part of my motivation to get in and try to explore the Boreas Ponds area this summer.