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!

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!

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. ;)

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

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 :D.

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 ;)

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! :lol:

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

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

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
http://www.counterassault.com/

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.

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! :D

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.:mad: 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

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!

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

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

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!

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.

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!:D

Tom

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

give me the wolves every time LOL

george

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..

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?

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

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.

Hi,

Fascinating story, and thanks for sharing.

I believe your wolf story, but I have never heard of that type of "wolf attack" against a human before--unless they were trying to protect their pups. It would be interesting to learn if pups were in a nearby den or elsewhere.

David in FL

That is a distinct possibility, but there is also the fact that wolves are becoming habituated to Humans as well, and habituation of a predator equals less fear and greater likelihood of attack. Back in the thread, there's a link someone posted and I reposted showing the connection between habituation and aggressive behavior as a result of long term protected status and the adaptability of wolf behaviors.

Sorry to hear about the knee Tom! As for the wolves, I hear good things about silver bullets. Haul a couple cases of Coors w/ you next time and hit them on snouts w/ them.

Coors? Coors? I thought better of you J! I drink beer you can't see through!:p http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/8230/dorstig6wi.gif

my kind of beer.... can't see through it your if you do you see red

Yeppers! Red Hook out of the NW, Belgian Ales, German Bocks, and Guinness!:D

None of that panther pee for me!

That doesn't sound like a defensive action by wolves. That sounds like canine hunting tactics 101. Defensive tactics tend to be frontal, or diversionary, not encirclement. That's more of the shy and retiring wolf would only attack if it were defending it's pups line of reasoning. Well that would certainly be a good reason to confront a human, but I would need more info. Needing to feed is a pretty good reason also, it's another way they preserve their pups lives.

A lot of animals don't necesarilly intend to attack or eat you, but they will probe you. Caught a lot of fish that way, they have no idea what that fly is, but they will give it a yank just to learn a little more about it. In spraying them, as in this case, Tom may have possibly saved the lives of a few other wolves who will learn their place. treating them like fuzzy cuddlies ultimately will go badly for one of us or one of them.

The bear spray I have is sold to flatten blackies (rarely as large as 700 pounds, not sure how agile at that weight, but often enough 300). I don't think the manufacturer is going to be too surprised that it stopped a wolf.

not big on guinness but the rest of it is good... a good bock.. perfect.. and a nice red for dessert

Wow! Those pictures are fantastic. I am so glad you brought the pepper spray for the bears. As it turns out it works on canines as well thank heavens!

The behavior you describe sounds like predacious behavior. When in the Adirondacks of NY State I always have my bear spray and my trusty Mod.27 357. When animals come forward in a steady unafraid manner it is predacious believe me. Make yourself big and make lots of noise in a threat display. Step two is to use spray if necessary and 3) I would hate to have to but I would use the pistol.

Tom, you were smart not to run as that triggers the chase response in predators. Wolves are quite adept at taking down prey a lot faster and bigger than people. The jaw pressures created by a wolf can snap bones like twigs.

Meeting a "character" living in the woods is also cool beyond description! You certainly have the beginnings of an adventure book here!

The Coors is for purely defensive purposes. To wash down wolf steaks, I'd suggest Bass Ale (my fave).