Friday, June 16, 2006

I joined Jeff and Salem on a walk in the nearby woods this afternoon. The dogs (mine were with us) disappeared for a few moments - then we heard crashing and what sounded like a big angry growl - and not from a dog! Jeff yelled at me to climb a tree (a grizzly was spotted nearby last night) and I ran to the closest tree - but there was no way the branches would hold my weight (though I was thinking I could shimmy up in an emergency!) then a Moose came charging by - chasing Salem!!! My dogs joined in and they all disappeared down the trail with Jeff and I screaming for Salem. For several long seconds there only the sound of crashing in the woods - it seemed like eternity. A few moments later the dogs returned - but they were still being chased by this pissed off Moose! I jumped back into the tightest cluster of trees while she circled us several time - she was so mad snorting like a bull and hell bent for glory - she wanted to kill a dog! I couldn't see Jeff but I could hear him pleading for Salem to come to him - and knew how he must have felt. Lassen and Aztec were also running around and I had enough time to wonder - would we lose a Golden Harness dog? or possibly my two closest friends? It was scary - but pretty exciting. Finally she took off and I tackled all three dogs - who were fine. This is why I live in Alaska!