Tom Stormcrowe

That was what I thought too, before this trip! Seems I was wrong!

See this link from earlier in the thread!
https://personal.inet.fi/luonto/mikael.broo/Val.htm

donnamb 

Wow, Tom, just wow. The pics will have to wait until my computer returns from Apple for me to view, but that is an amazing wolf story. I had always heard the same thing as Mich regarding the Yooper wolves. I'll have to tell my stepdad about this next time I call my parents.

Bekologist

wow, Tom. glad to hear you didn't get eaten alive. the grey wolf must be making an incredible comeback in the UP. Wolves were hunted and trapped to near total extinction during the bounty program in the 1920's-1960's.... there were NEVER any documented packs of wolves in the UP when I was growing up there, all the wolves in the state were up on Isle Royale, after having crossed an ice bridge from Canada or Minnesota to feast on moose back in the 1960's.

We had NO worries about wolves camping and growing up there. wow.

Marquette, 's quite the place *sigh*.....

Tom Stormcrowe

Yep, they have made a real comeback, that's for sure! Population is around 590 now apparently and thats a lot for the range area.

NoReg

"I tell you what though, thats one odd story about the wolves. I had thought that as a rule wolves NEVER attacked humans, or even made it look like they wanted to."

There is all this stuff about how you will never be attacked by "insert animal's name", that is just pure propaganda from fauna lovers. Good thing to the extent it stops some from shooting anythign that walks.

The usual tip-off phrase is "the shy and retiring" whatever. If you hear that stuff you need to beware. Once traveling in Florida I read an article about how a guy nearly got eaten by an alligator he was feeding a roast to (regular occurrence apparently), when he fell on it from his dock. This article was pined up and yellowing in a ranger station, and the implication seemed to be that unless you fell on one, or fed it, probably both, you were in zero danger.

There was also a piece on poisonous snakes. It said " a dedicated sportsman could spend a lifetime in the Florida woods without ever seeing a cottonmouth or a copperhead", which surprised me based on the number of snake chaps at Bass Pro. Anywho, the following day we arrived at Myakka park just in time for sunset, and the chance to hear a hysterical woman describe how her kid had almost been eaten by a wandering large gator, that morning. We checked out the canoe launch where there was a large gator that kept repositioning itself under us as we walked back and forth on the bridge.

The following day I was attacked by a gator while hiking in the desert highlands, true story apparently gators aren't just for dock ends any more. Later I nearly stepped on both a cottonmouth, and a copperhead as we got into the treed area of the river bottoms.

The reality is that most people don't get attacked by animals because, sure, both the animals and them have better things to do most of the time. But the real reason is because despite the sales of binoculars etc... most outdoors people are lamentably incompetent at finding animals, and many of us live out of the areas that have large populations of wild animal. Riding trans Canada etc... is not the same thing as spending all your time on you 100 acre farm trying to pattern the wildlife so you can kill some of it in the fall. Some people spend time with animals others don't. Relatively few people get eaten while watching TV.

mtnroads

Great story and I especially enjoyed the slideshow - looks like beautiful country! I would love to spend some time up in the north woods (with bear spray!). My mom grew up in Wakefield and I drove through the area on my motorcycle several years ago to visit, but have never explored it or gone further out on the UP.

Thanks!

dahoss2002

Dang Tom... Nice trip but hate to hear about your knee and the Wolves... Since u touring Michigan, take Ted Nugent with ya next time and let him do his "Killit and Grillit" routine on them wolves...Glad u got home safe man!

rule

Double dang Tom...if only it could have been a little more exciting and scenic. And good call on going easy on the gear next time. Just don't forget the bear spray.

bdinger

Wow! From someone who has been stalked by animals before (generally medium and big sized cats), I can "appreciate" you situation .

You did precisely the right thing, and now I'm going to get some of that bear spray for myself. I used to carry a large Ka-Bar knife with me hiking, but after some of us had an incident or two, most started carrying those other things that fire hot metal projectiles at a high rate of speed. I'm not a huge fan, as it's definitely not a perfect solution, but better than nothing. Now that I know bear spray works (and apparently very well!) I'm going to pick up some.

In fact, a *great* excuse to go to the outdoor store today .

Great to hear, and good call on giving the knee a break. From someone plagued with knee problems, follow exactly what your doctor said. Staying off the bike sucks, but you've burned enough calories for a week or two I guess

chipcom 

What's the difference between the pack of wolves you encountered and being a BF mod? The wolves kill you before they eat you - we eat you alive, a little at a time!

Glad you had a good time and didn't become puppy chow.

Tuffwolf

ok where do you get this bear peper spray???? i have never seen it

Tom Stormcrowe

Cabella's, Sportsmans Warehouse, any hunting outlet can get it for you and if you actually live in Bear country, it's easy to find. Otherwise, it'll have to be ordered on the net or by your sporting goods store.

Here's an online source
https://www.counterassault.com/

robmcl

I originate from NW Wisconsin and likewise never worried about wolves (until now). The wolf population from Minnesota across N Wisconsin has increased a lot in the last 15 years, so much so that they have been removed as a protected species in that area.

I would like to bike/camp on the Tuscobia State trail which goes through the heart of wolf country in Wisconsin. When I do that I may have to take wolves into consideration and not do it alone and take bear spay with me.


Very good link.

crtreedude 

I used to do a lot of hiking in wild areas - like 10+ hours a week. Unfortunately, one of the joys would be the occassionaly pack of wild dogs. One dog is merely an irritation, but a pack of fidos can be a serious issue.

I used to have a very stout oak walking stick - about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, just about 6 1/2 feet long. I figured if it was good enough for a sheephearder, it was good enough for me!

Killing the alpha male with a crack across the neck with that tended to be a very good cure for what ailed them. I had to do it twice and both times, the alpha male had a collar. This of course means it really was someone's pet that was out running around killing wildlife.

If you come across as prey, expect predators to want to make a meal of you. Come across as another predator (or worse, an Omnivore!) they have to be really desperate to bother you.

just my dos colones

Tom Stormcrowe

Bear spray is a good precaution, as well as not looking like prey, as Treedude said. I'm not worried about going back up though, even alone. What happened with me is quite rare still, so don't think it'll happen all the time.

These wolves got a healthy dose of reality that reminded them that people are something to be feared and respected, in a manner which didn't injure them. I don't feel any ill will toward them, after all, they were just doing what they were intended, evolutionarily. Just exercise caution and due regard and remember, if the wolf is curious, or not timid, or seems habituated to people, then you are under consideration for the dinner menu. Otherwise, it's likely you'll never even see them, because they'll take off at the first hint you're around!

lmzimmer

Good story tom and pictures were good. Next time would appreciate some wolf pictures too. :

Tom Stormcrowe

What can I say, I was just a leeeeeeetle bit busy to get the camera out!

Machka 

It happens in the remoter areas of the Rockies here in Canada. Actually I recently heard that a cyclist was riding along a fairly remote road not too far from here minding his own business, when a pickup truck pulled up beside him and asked him if he knew that he was being stalked by a pack of wolves. There were a bunch of them in the ditch and edge of the woods behind him, basically quietly keeping pace with him. He didn't know it, the guy in the pickup offered him a ride up the road a ways, and he took it.

According to various newspaper articles the wolf population is increasing to "annoying" levels because they are coming out of the mountains and taking livestock from the farms nearby. There have been restrictions on hunting and killing wolves for many years, but some farmers are asking that those restrictions be lifted.

In all my years living near the mountains and travelling in the mountains, I had never seen a wolf until this past November ... I saw 2!

Machka 

Tom,

Rowan and I drove through that area on our way to the Boston-Montreal-Boston last summer. Both of us commented on how beautiful it was ... and how little traffic there was. We would have liked to spend more time there.

Tom Stormcrowe

I'll tell ya, the riding there is great! Let me know if y'all are ever going to be up that way, I'll definitely meet you both for a bit of a ride!

jibi

Tom

In a fight with you...... or the wolves....

give me the wolves every time LOL

george

Wingman115

You should write the company that makes the bear spray and see if you can get a comp can for all the good
press their getting. Glad to hear you were ok it could have been bad..

2manybikes

I can't help but wonder if the wolves may have left you alone if there was another person present.
They are smart enough to pick easy prey first. The link implies that all the attacks on people are when the people were alone. Of course as the wolf population increases and they need more prey they would get bolder.

No mater what the outcome is, I also think you should share your story with the makers of the bear spray. Who knows what the response would be. I'm sure they would like to hear it. Maybe no one has used it on wolves before? It would be interesting to hear what they say about it.
Even if the company were to do something like market the product more for use against wolves just for
profit, it may ultimately help others in wolf territory. The local town where you were may like to hear it too. Maybe this is not the first close call?

Tom Stormcrowe

I agree, I did report the incident to DNR, by the way. I've already got an email out to the MFGR as well.

2manybikes

You're still one step ahead of me.

I have a feeling the manufacturer comments or action may be very interesting. I say this because it was a life threatening situation. Not like a watch that works after a lot of abuse, or a very reliable product. This is a lot more important.

I have already learned a lot from this, That link about wolf behavior was very interesting to me. I had a friend that sounds a lot like Red, living in the truck. He had a cabin in the woods, lived alone, on a pension etc. and fed a pack of coyotes and even had names for them. I saw about 6 or 7 of them. I had to walk to and from the car, the garage and dirt road was about 1/8 mile from the house. One late night as I was walking to the car they followed me and were investigating or inspecting me. They did not completely surround me but had three directions covered. Nothing happened, they never got in front of me. I thought they were sizing me up, now I'm sure. They did seem tame to both of us at other times. I tried to get him to stop feeding them but he never did. I think he liked the company. When all the birds, squirrels, and rabbits, etc. were gone, the pack moved on finally. It was weird, the woods became quiet.

I told your story to a friend today. He had a small dog about the size of Bailey that dissapeared in Maine. The dog was probably taken by coyotes. At the time coyotes were taking geese from the yard during daylight. This was a maybe a year ago. Our collective populations are merging and overlapping more every day.