A day at the Wallow

Every tea time it happens- you could almost set your watch to it. It’s so impressive that one of the world’s leading animal experts had never seen anything like it. “We’ll be in the front office and see a shadow and it will be a big bull moose, right out our front door,” says owner operator of the Mount Engadine Lodge Chris Williams. “Getting distracted around here is easy.”

Jack and Suzi love rugged environments, they couldn’t have been more at home at the Engadine Lodge found deep in Kananaskis Country, just out the back of Canmore Alberta. “What we love here in Alberta is the mountains, streams, wildlife and incredible people all in one spot. We are really drawn to rugged environments and than being able to see the wildlife” said Suzi Hanna – the co host for the series, Into the Wild.

For a read of the Craig & Canyon's interview with Jack and Suzi, please click here

They were waiting for us upon arrival. As we pulled up a moose was standing there having lunch. This lodge was built 20 years ago in front of a wallow, a pool of enriched mud that offers up cilium, a nutrient moose need to keep up their bone development. The cilium is sucked up by the plant life and therefore the moose come around here pretty much daily. “A visit here is like a one a day vitamin,” says Williams.

“I have never seen this in my life,” as Jack Hanna said just moments after one mighty moose almost charged directly through the make shift TV set. With Cara Luft on the ‘stage”, the camera’s rolled while the four moose made their way through the valley and around the wallow. Luft strung her guitar and belted out some stellar tunes which will be used in an upcoming episode of Into the Wild. She took a Canadian Juno Award in 2005 with her former band the Wailin’ Jenny’s.