This was one of those days where you do everything right, but it still slips through your fingers. We couldn't have worked much harder. Left the truck in the dark and came back in the dark. All in cold weather in some pretty difficult terrain. But, if that is where the wolves are, you don't have much choice.
As much as the snow of yesterday afternoon and evening messed up our visibility, it was helpful this morning to be the first rig on the road with two inches of fresh snow. We had planned to go in at a certain spot, but decided our early arrival would give us time to drive up the road and look for fresh tracks in the snow.
About a mile up the road, BINGO. A veritable wolf playground. The tracks had a little snow in them, so it was hard to sort out which way they came and which way they went. Finally figured it out and spent a few minutes kicking out any sign of the wolf tracks. Anyone who drove by would have quickly noticed that wolf circus.
We now had to make an educated guess of which way they would go when the drainage forked. And, hope they had not traveled so far in the dark as to be far ahead of us, never to be seen. It was much more exciting to leave the truck with fresh tracks having been found.
We had it in "swift and fast" as we wanted to get to the glassing ridge above the drainage before sun up. We made it with about ten minutes to spare.
It was 4F when we left the truck, and I am sure the temp dropped as we gained this elevation. Hard to find the right amount of clothes for climbing in the cold, knowing when you get to your destination you will be standing around shivering. So, you load the Mystery Ranch with as many spare garments as you can reasonably carry.
After getting settled in to a good glassing spot, Critter hit a few note on the wolf flute. His kids probably are mad they he stole their party horn, but is sure sounds like a wolf. Even though it sounds great, no wolves replied. He asked me to whine on the dying deer call, and with similar results.
We stood there for almost two hours, glassing, shivering, glassing, walking in a small circle to keep circulation going, glassing, acting on tape as though we were warm and toasty. No wolves. Evidently they had already got through ahead of us.
I asked Loren what we needed for TV shots. He gave me the list. Wow, we got a lot of work to do. He asked me and Critter to load our packs and he would film us walking off the ridge.
Critter was loaded and ready before me, which turned out to be a good thing. I was messing with my pack, repacking my layers into my pack when all of a sudden Critter was saying, "Wolf! Wolf! A bunch of them, way over on that hillside."
I looked at Loren, thinking they had conspired to pull a trick on me. Loren was asking Critter for exact spot, so he could film. I turned to glass and followed the instructions Critter gave Loren. Holy Crap. These were wolves. Five of them. Big ones (not sure there are any small ones).
They were about 1,200 yards away, but completely at ease, walking in the snow and sage as if they had no cares in the world. Two of them bedded while the rest kept moving. Finally, those two got up and caught the gang. Then they all bedded down in a big rock slide.
Why wolves would bed in a big rock slide is beyond me, but they sure were hidden there. Had we not known they were there, I could have glassed that slide a hundred times and probably not seen them. But, that is where they were. And yes, Loren got footage of them, albeit from a long, long distance.
We made a plan. We would drop down off our ridge out of sight of the wolves. Then come out down below and glass up in the rocks to make sure they were still there. Once we crossed the big opening between us and them, we would then be underneath and out of there view. And, they out of our view.
With in a half hour we had crossed the opening. The wind was coming up the drainage, strangely southeast. That made it easy. We were coming from the south, so we would stay to the west, allowing the SE wind to protect us as we scaled the big sage ridge that eventually melted into a timbered rock slide.
Another twenty minutes and we had the two big spruce trees in sight. 412 yards to the base of the trees. The wolves has bedded just beyond them, and now we could see it was impossible to approach from this angle. The terrain was so different once we go here.
I asked Critter if he would mind going in alone from the other side, knowing we would not get the kill shot on tape. Know way we could come in to their position with cameras and tripods and get any footage. Coming in from the other way would mean you were on top of them once you got there. Cameras and tripods take at least twenty seconds to get set, leveled, powered, and focused. Too long for wolves that see you appear from seventy yards.
I would stay on the west side and guard the big sage flats on the west side of the timber that protected the rock slide. Loren would stay with me. If anything escaped this direction, I would have shooting. Possibly running shots, but very good yardages and wide open sage.
Critter took off and asked for an hour to get in position. At 45 minutes, I moved forward to the one scrubby little spruce that gave us shade and allowed us to look less conspicuous on this hillside. Loren and I both plied the binos for all they were worth, hoping to catch one of the wolves standing from their bed in that scattered timber and rock, only 270 yards away. I ranged very little snag and bush on the hillside, wanting nothing left for chance.
I waited. It was now well over an hour and no sign of Critter and no shots fired. Maybe they had him pinned down and he could get any closer. Maybe he was waiting for one to stand to provide a better shot. Maybe ....... a million scenarios went through my head.
Finally, Critter appeared from the trees, right where I thought the wolves would be. What the heck? His body posture made it obvious that he was as disappointed as I was. I climbed over to meet up with him and see what story could be told by the tracks in the fresh snow.
They had bedded there, for sure. Big dog tracks leading to big beds, right where we had zeroed in. Tracks leaving the beds as though they had no concern. They walked around the timber and rocks, took a leak, then decided to scale the scree slope that worked its way back up the timber to the rock ledge well above us. The tracks were easy to follow.
We decided to grab a quick snack, drink some water, and then follow the tracks to the first good opening, where we would do some calling sessions. The wolves left in no big hurry, so we hoped we might find their next bedding spot.
All we can figure is the wolves got up and moved sometime between when we last saw them and when we split up. Had they left their beds and headed higher, I would have seen them. They crossed a big opening that both Loren and I were watching.
We followed them to their next bed, which was only a few hundred yards further across the face. Right out in another big scree slope. They had left those beds in no big hurry, leaving them to meander around. We then followed them to more beds another four hundred yards away, with the same pattern.
This continued for two hours. We were not making very good time, as these wolves had lead us across some nasty steep scree slopes. Why they went there, rather than in the timber, I have no idea. I would never look for wolves in a place like that. When they bedded, they would bed right in amongst some big rocks. Very unexpected.
Finally at 3:00, we realized we would never catch them in this noisy steep mess of rocks. We would drop down to an opening and call, hoping they may be within ear shot. A half hour of squealing brought nothing. Critter could see their tracks going over the mountain and into the next drainage.
What had seemed like a great chance had disappeared. I am at a loss as to why they moved from their beds, but they walked and bedded, walked and bedded, for a long distance that we followed them. Might just be how wolves do things.
We now had a two hour walk back to the truck. Thankfully, most downhill, with the first part of it being steeply downhill.
I can say that wolf hunting will be one of the most challenging hunts you will ever have. I am almost sure had I been elk hunting this hard, it would have provided one shooting chance each day. Wolves are going to be waaaaay harder than elk. They are hard to see, travel mostly at night, and move in small groups that blend in very well with the terrain.
So, I am absolutely toast right now. We have some cool pics of the day (none of wolves) but I am too tired to import and post them. Gotta hit the shower, then get some sleep. The 4:15 alarm will come way too soon tomorrow. Hope Critter fills in a few of the details of this very exciting wolf hunting day.
but I have witnessed him get wolves howling so I'd say they are different. We had lots of practice last year with a pack of wolves around us for an entire day howling. Learned a lot about how they hunt what they sound like etc... I thought his howling was dang similar to the real ones we heard all day.
