Fleet

This was Sunday, and I was several miles back a river from the remote end of a long road.  My trail followed the river.  The trail had risen from cut bank to bluff face well above the river.  Along the bluff, the trail curved in and out, passing from moist gullies, where Western red cedar shaded quickly cascading streams, out and around the face of the bluff, where the vegetation was open.  On the steep bluff face, there were scattered ponderosa pines among grasses and low perennials with bright yellow and blue and white flowers.

I had just passed a creek, where the gulley was especially shady, and there was a small waterfall. When I reached the round, outer face of the bluff, the ridgetop ahead was low and nearly flat.  There were a few ponderosa pines along the ridge.  I was only about 50 meters from that ridgetop when I caught motion. It was big, gray, and shaggy.  Its tail flipped behind as it moved.  It took a moment to register.  This was not a coyote; this was a wolf.  As I followed its movement, I saw another wolf farther ahead on the ridge. I stopped to reach for my binoculars.  As I focused the binoculars on the lead wolf, it turned back and so did the other wolf.  I had only a fleet, magnified view before they disappeared over the ridge.

Comments

[Debbie Lee]

The wildlife biologist on the forest told me that to see a pair of wolves is a cool thing. She said they mostly travel in packs or alone. A loner wolf is a male who has been thrown out by his pack to start another pack--and he'll be alone for a while until he finally finds a mate to start up a new pack with. So you were probably watching a pretty happy wolf.