I had something similar happen while I was a summer concession employee in Yellowstone. I was taking a shortcut from our dorms to another part of the Canyon area. It was a pretty wooded and dark area and for some reason, I decided to take my eyes away from the ground and look up. As my vision shifted up, what I saw at the top of what I assumed were the trunks of just some more young trees was in fact a very large moose cow. I had all but walked right into her. All I remember thinking is, 'wow, that's a big moose' as I noticed that the bottom of her head was above the top of mine. I took a few steps to the left and went on my way. Well okay, I did look over my shoulder a few times.

In Yellowstone, it was always the elk that gave me the most trouble. I've been chased back in to the Firehole River a few times while fishing.