It’s mid-summer and moose have come to the ponds. Through July and August, they supplement their willow diet with pondweed. It contains more sodium than other plants, and the minerals help them grow their antlers, produce milk and buff their coats.

The moose crave this stuff, and of all the places to see a moose, there’s no greater treat than finding one in a pond. For starters, they’re hard to miss. At ½ a ton, the Alaskan moose is the largest moose in the world, and when they’re smack-dab in the middle of a pond, a sighting is fail proof.

We’ve been seeing moose in the kettle ponds between mile 81 and Wonder Lake. There have been cows of all ages—sub-adults with sleek coats, and older ones with an assortment of scars. We’ve seen cows with twin calves, and a pair of bulls sizing up the competition before the fall rut.

Just last week, early in the morning, our resident young male came down to wade into Nugget Pond, a sure sign that mid-summer is upon us.