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kevin

sorry......  heres the skinny......... me and my wife were backpacking in the strawberry mountain wilderness , by canyon city,john day oregon we were the only tracks going up. it was great there i was in my favorite environ. snow...we spent 3 nights at strawberry lake, on the way down the trail lo and behold............wolf tracks.. we were both scared and astonished!! we were possibly stalked? look at the spread? the nails! beautifull ....... there still here !!

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kevin

Those are definitely pretty impressive. 

Did you report the find to any biologists for population tracking purposes?

actually .yes we did report it...they really did not believe me till i showed em photo.they seemed nonplussed.

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kevin

Wow! That's cool! I'm not exactly Farley Mowat, but my understanding is that, unlike cougar, wolves don't stalk humans. Probably just a case of sharing the trail, or maybe a bit of curiousity on the part of the wolf. I hope they continue to get re-established. I've never seen one in the wild.

On the way back down the mountain tonight, two big coyotes crossed Hwy 30 right in front of me, roughly 1 mile west of White River, as you climb toward Barlow Pass. They were headed up the mountain. They're beautiful animals, and looked quite puffy - apparently ready for winter.

-Tom

Some friends and I just got back from 4 days at Strawberry lake, the SE beach front camp sight. Anyway I am reasonably certain that I found a set of wolf tracks following a set of doe tracks heading south along the beach. I'm in the process of getting them confirmed since the Prairie City Ranger Station was closed on Sunday on our way back through town. My pix (which I'll post a few of after I have gotten them on my puter) are not as impressive and the tracks are obviously at least a few days old if not more like a few weeks. I think you started something with that report because the reason I spotted these tracks was because of a announcement asking for any info on evidence of wolves in the area that was posted at the station on the way up the mountain. Pritty cool, I also found what looked like one or two fresh tracks in the dust of the trail as we headed out. Sadly we heard no howling. La sigh. :)

Ally

Oh and I have to say, I found those tracks the first day. It made it an adventure going pee at night. lol ;)

I've been wondering if there were any more reports or sightings or tracks out that way.  Thanks for sharing - looking forward to the photos . 

How were the mosquitos? See any more creatures out there? (Oh and we'd love to see your Strawberry Lake photos too! )

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Jeff - Site Admin

Someday you'll take me home to live forever....up on the mountain
S. Chapman

Ally420:

Oh and I have to say, I found those tracks the first day. It made it an adventure going pee at night. lol ;)

I'f you pee around the perimeter of your camp they will respect your territory. Think the movie "Never Cry Wolf"


(grin)

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"There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog." --Edward Abbey

backcountryhunter:

If you pee around the perimeter of your camp they will respect your territory. Think the movie "Never Cry Wolf"

To quote the wise elder in the movie:  "Good idea!"

(Never Cry Wolf is currently #19 in my ever-changing all-time favorite movie list! Recommended to anyone still trying to get the sour taste out of their mouths after seeing "Grizzly Man")

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Jeff - Site Admin

Someday you'll take me home to live forever....up on the mountain
S. Chapman

yeah we were doing that but still it is at the perimeter of the camp and at night my imagination ketp trying to get the best of me, I saw a piliated woodpecker, we saw one emaciated looking doe that kept eating pine trees each night in front of our camp and along the beach front. In the valley bellow we saw several does and even some with fauns. further east on the way back from Lime/Baker city we saw a small buck with tiny little sausage velvet antlers. Many chipmonks and small squirls, Ravens, ospray, redtail, troute. That's all I can bring to mind right now.

A

Ally

I'd like to see pictures of the tracks you seen. I have a friend with the US Fish and Wildlife Service who is gonna check this out. So the more evidence I can give him the better.

Thanks

NO and I am not anti-wolf because I hunt. I have always wanted to hear the bugle of elk and howling of wolves on the same mountain. Just picture that laying in your tent by that lake on a cool September night??

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"There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog." --Edward Abbey

Another wonderful Farley Mowat book is "Owls in the Family," about how as a boy in a small Sasketchewan town he adopted two orphaned great horned owls. It is hilarious (you'll be ROTFL) and an excellent read for kids--a great book to get them really fluent in reading to themselves for fun (and far less scary than Harry Potter, with whom I spend last weekend...). Slight thread hijack here, sorry!

Back to wolves, I too would love to hear them howl! I don't know how Hysson would react--he got very interested when he and I were watching "The Wolves of Yellowstone" on TV.

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey

I forgot to mention there were a fair amount of misquitos <she says scraching at her knee>.

I've always wanted to hear a wolf howl, period. I've heard my share of yotle dogs but never the deep howl of the wolf. Sadly this trip was no exception. I have pix more or less ready I just have to figure out how to use the feature here.

ok here is a link to my gallery which is the best i can do.

Enjoy. :)

My Gallery

Thanks for the pictures.

There is a wolf biologist from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that would like to talk to anyone who has seen the tracks and has pictures of them. I'll have some contact info later on today.

Is that ok?

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"There is this to be said for walking: It's the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog." --Edward Abbey