Last Wednesday started out like any other day. I had no idea that it would end up turning into a dark night that will always be remembered as a stand out memory in my wolf hunting adventures.
All during the work day I was thinking about the traps that I had to check that night and shortly before quitting time I asked my supervisor for Thursday off so I could camp out at the cabin and wake up early the next morning to set and run 10-15 rat traps for the day. I hurried home at five bells and got my stuff ready while caribou meat and potatoes sizzled in the frying pan. I decided that since I would be camping there wouldn't be much sense in rushing to get out of town, and I even waited around long enough to help put my kids to bed.
After that I sat around some more and watched a movie with Fiona and then when she went to lay down I started getting dressed for the trip before I was tempted to wait for morning to travel. It was now about midnight and dark but I've never minded travelling at night if I have a good trail to follow (sometimes with no trail too), so I grabbed my gun and bag and then went to gas up my skidoo tank and 15 gallons extra. While gassing up I noticed that I had forgotten my extra cigarettes in my truck, so back I drove, all the way across town to get them.
Finally I was on my way, for real this time.
The trails were dark that night as I travelled through familiar lakes and portages with no stars or moonlight to be seen. About half way to my cabin was when I first seen the fresh wolf tracks.
I quickly checked them and continued on judging them to only be a few hours old by the amount that the snow had hardened inside of the prints. I wondered if waiting so long to leave town was such a good idea as I followed the tracks across a wide open stretch of the Mackenzie River where seeing them earlier would have been the ideal spot to get a few delta dogs. The tracks followed the main trail back into the lakes and portages and before long I pulled up to the first pee post which was marked with blood streaked urine, a sure sign of the females coming into heat. I quickly shovelled the frozen pee into a plastic bag that I had in my pocket then smoked a cigarette in anticipation of the possibility of seeing a wolf at the 2 month old moose kill that was coming up in the next chain of lakes. This is when the exciting stuff started happening.
A couple lakes later.......
I hit the lake and grabbed the throttle thinking if the wolves spent a couple hours at the kill site then I can either catch one in the headlights or stop and try howling to see where they were.
Pulling up fast I could already see the moose was dug up and there was some tracks bounding up into the willows and some more tracks running down the skidoo trail. I figured my best bet would be to keep'er pinned down the lake in case some were still on the ice. Sure enough I spotted a black wolf running into the start of the next portage. It's funny that this log stands beside the trail and every time I pass by in the dark, the shadow from the log passes the portage left to right. This time the shadow went left to right and straight? It took my brain a quick second to sort out the sight and tell me "YES that was a wolf you just seen Ryan!"
The wolf got through the willows and hit the next lake way faster than I could. The speed he was going on the hard packed trail could've put a grey hound to shame and before the next portage he was so far ahead that he took advantage and jumped off the trail into the powder, up the bank and into the timber where I could never follow. More tracks running though so on I went knowing that I was less than a minute or two from the Mackenzie River, and more importantly, a smooth stretch of the Mackenzie River. The last willowed area before the big river is a long slough covered with 3 foot high red willows leading to a narrow channel with cut banks on both sides as it hits the Mighty Mackenzie.
EYES!
Pinned. Can't see them. Then a blurry spot at the furthest reach of my lights. Wolf Breath steaming, and snow flying behind them, I catch up as they hit the cut banks. I can smell them now and the deadly looking white wolf running in the lead has all my attention as they leave the slough and the willows for the last time. The white splits to the left with me behind as the 2 blacks stay on the main trail across the Mackenzie. I get close enough then with the wolf running broadside I first see the mangy side view. I decide to take it out of the population and hand it in whole to the GOV for sampling so I let my first shot go. It drops the wolf but as I slow down and turn back I can see he's gotten up and doesn't look much slower. Get him back in the headlight, broadside....Click! Click! Rookie mistake. The one time I forget to fill the magazine before leaving!! Was probably swearing at myself as I stuffed 4 shots in and took off again. Now the 3 tracks hit some rough ice and about half way through it, two sets of tracks leave the trail and go right, Heading back towards the smooth area with some deeper snow. I quickly think it's the black ones when they had a big lead so I follow the single set going straight on the trail. I caught up at the far (west) bank of the river and made no mistake this time dropping my first wolf of the night. I filled the magazine right up and got back across to the smooth spot, quickly turning down river hoping the wolves were headed back to the east bank. I was speeding along with only my headlights and a prayer. I said out loud a couple times "Come on tracks...Come on tracks..." THERE! TRACKS! Couple minutes later at the far edge of my lights I see a blurry shadow and catch him as he hits the bank. I jump off my skidoo and let er' go dropping the biggest one with a clean headshot just before I would've lost him. 1 more set of tracks! Let’s go! Spotting the last wolf was a repeat of the first black. I get him broadside and down he goes!
I went back to where it all began and picked up my sled and wolf mitts which both got dropped when the action started. A quick look back at the first lake showed 6 wolves had gotten away. I looked for them for a while but they stayed in the timber. But man was I happy with my 3 wolves, and the chance to have a smoke! I followed my trail and retrieved the 3 wolves. I grabbed the white one first and was sure to fill my sled with snow before placing the wolf on top. I brought it over to the east bank and buried it then dumped the snow from my sled. I knew I wasn't going to skin it so I would leave it until I was on my way home when I could bring a tarp from my camp to wrap it up and avoid handling it too much. Travelling on I seen a different pack had been around about 15 miles upriver and they were bounding into the willows and trees as well. I stayed up all night skinning the two black ones, and kept thinking, how much more luck could I have asked for? A lot of things could've prevented this but everything worked out. A night to remember for sure! The next morning I pulled some winter traps and picked up a really nice pale cross fox in a snare.
