Track Down Gray Wolves on This Wintery Wilderness Adventure

Federico Di Dio photography/Unsplash

I’ve always been both fascinated by and a little afraid of wolves.

Since I’ve never actually seen one in the wild, I can only blame myself for allowing the media’s portrayal of them as frightening killers to shape my own views. (Twilight’s mega-sized wolves ripping off the heads of vampires with teeth the size of my arm didn’t help this, I must admit.)

But the other part that always makes me a little wary is that bone-chilling howl that can be heard for miles in the darkness of night.

Growing up on a farm with forested areas all around, I’d quite often hear the howls (even though they’re more likely to have been coyotes where I am) and think to myself, “How terrifying would it be to be hunted by a pack of wolves in a deep, dark forest?” Needless to say, I was always glad to be safe inside, tucked away in my bed.

But it just so happens that you can actually be the one tracking down the wolves—if you’re braver than me, that is.

Minnesota’s Superior National Forest, a 3 million-acre area comprised of "land, water, rock, and trees," is one of the best places in the United States to try your luck at spotting wolves in the wild. Just don’t expect it to be easy.

Despite approximately 2,700 gray wolves calling Minnesota home, they are a notoriously elusive predator and hard to track down.

That’s why you’ll need the help of the wolf experts—their closely related relatives, the Alaskan Husky. According to National Geographic, the Alaskan Husky shares 99.8% of its genes with the gray wolf.

“Either people here domesticated dogs from the wolves, or dogs they had with them interbred with wolves, because they found a high content of wolf DNA,” Shannon Barber-Mayer, a USGS wildlife biologist explains in a short docuseries segment on Minnesota’s wolves.

Regardless of how it happened, this shared DNA makes the dogs well-suited to scope the wolves out. And in Ely, Minnesota, White Wilderness Sled Dog Adventures offers an experience you’ll never forget.

Race with wolves in an extreme adventure that puts you in the musher stand. Hang on tight as you speed toward an overnight destination that will give you chills: a night in a yurt on a frozen lake, surrounded by gray wolves. — Quincy Dunn-Baker

Intrigued yet? I am!

For 25 years, White Wilderness has been offering a variety of dog sledding trips for all experience and adventure levels. Through their website, you can book a winter yurt camping adventure that will take you into the heart of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters wilderness, where you’ll spend the night in gray wolf territory.

Your husky guides will expertly hone in on wolf tracks, and you’re likely to hear them howling as you hunker down for the night—but seeing them may be another story. Wolves can easily travel up to 50 miles per day looking for food and are secretive by nature, so if you do spot any on your adventure, consider yourself extremely lucky!

Ever since I first learned about sled dogs and their history on a trip to Alaska, I’ve been curious about what it would be like to head out on the trails in a wintery wonderland. But dog sledding through wolf country and sleeping in a yurt? That sounds like an adventure that’s too good to pass up!

It may be time to face down the scary wolf images in my head and learn to appreciate them for the amazing animals they really are.

If you’re not up for dog sledding or winter camping but still want to learn more about Minnesota’s gray wolves, the International Wolf Center in Ely has a live wolf exhibit, knowledgeable staff with plenty of information, daily programs, and even some adventure programs in the woods led by expert wolf educators.

"The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future,” their website reads.

The center’s staff suggest coming in February for the best chance to see wolves, as that’s their breeding season.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow