Montana Wolf Camp

Many a night after the last visitor left camp and the fire died down, wolves howled to us from the ridges above.

- Toby Walrath

Trapping wolves in the northern Rockies was one of the most difficult things I had ever attempted, made tougher by restrictions on the equipment and set locations, not to mention seasons set in the middle of winter. After four winters of busting my hump and only trapping a few wolves, I knew I had to change my approach. I ended up leaving the gland lure at home and setting fewer traps, not more. It was just what I needed to take my first five-wolf season quota and do it in one month.

It all started with a call from Joe McGillivray, a friend who wanted to set up a winter camp in the hill country of the Bitterroot Mountains, a base from which we could hound hunt mountain lions and also trap wolves.

The populations of both apex predators are high in the region, and their combined predation has taken such a toll state authorities have just about shut down hunting for either elk or deer in parts of Montana and Idaho.

We are both deer and elk advocates, and our plan was to set up in the middle of the highest density of wolves for the best shot at taking enough to help get the local numbers in check.

We pitched camp where a plowed road offered somewhat easy access, which can be difficult to find in late December in the northern Rockies. We shoveled through a couple of feet of powder to set up the wall tent and then pulled a heavy tarp over top of it to create air space that would better hold in the heat from the wood stove. Packing snow around the base of the tarp and tent ensured that no cold air seeped in to make sleep uncomfortable. We used snowmobiles to pack down paths around camp as we cut firewood. Once we were set up, it was time to really get to work.

Joe headed west and then north into the backcountry to set out traps along an 8-mile loop. After four years of beating up machines and equipment in similar pursuit, I was instead looking for just one or two key locations to set.