Wolves by Bumping Lake

[TheKid#10]

Myself and family were up at Bumping Lake Sat. morning (6/26/10) about 10 am hiking and goofing off and we saw a bunch of Yakima Sheriffs county search and rescue rigs in the parking lot at the boat launch. I say to my wife, must be doing some training up here, and me and my boy take off and she says she'll catch up after she uses the toilet. She catches up and tells my she asked a sheriff what was up and he tells her some boy scouts went for a hike the day before and got lost up by Fish Lake. The rescuers came in and found them that night right before dark so they hunkered down for the night. Here's where it gets fishy. The guy tells her that they were up all night scared to death with a monstrous fire because they became surround by a pack of wolves. I say bulls*&t to her and she says that's what he told me.     I bolt back to ask for myself but they were gone. Anybody hear about this? I'll pm Norsepeak because he may know some of the search and rescue guys to confirm this. But I seriously doubt it. 

[Gringo31]

My guess is that it was a "What was that sound?" by the campfire and their imaginations got the best of them.

[bigtex]

My guess is that it was a "What was that sound?" by the campfire and their imaginations got the best of them.

Exactly. If you read the WDFW Enforcement quarterly newsletters you will read a article about two hunters being surrounded by a pack of cougars, but when the WDFW Officer showed up the cougars somehow disappeared 

[Hangfire]

Where do you find the WDFW enforcement quarterly news letter?

[TheKid#10]

Oh I agree if it were just the kids about the wild imaginations. But the rescuers were with them too. And what's with the Sheriff telling my wife that?  Trying to start some panic or what?

[bigtex]

Where do you find the WDFW enforcement quarterly news letter?

http://wdfw.wa.gov/enforcement/newsletter.html

[Michelle_Nelson]

Probably a couple coyotes.

[ridgefire]

was just sitting around the campfire with some cowboys this weekend and they claim they have seen them in the teaneway area. dont know the truth behind it but not sure why he would be bsing me

[norsepeak]

spent an hour talking with the pass deputy yesterday, and he mentioned the lost kids, but no mention of the "wolves"...I seriously doubt it...think it's a little 

[Dave Workman]

Evidently some of you overlooked this thread:

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,52191.0.html

[TheKid#10]

Dave,

I don't discredit the possibility of wolves, but the surrounding and tormenting of a large group of people with a monstrous campfire. c'mon.

[dreamingbig]

I haven't seen any wolves up there yet but if they (Fed and WDFW) are set on reintroduction of wolves to this state then it is only a matter of time.  SSS

[D-Rock425]

Some freinds told me they saw a black wolf in the Nile two years ago while elk hunting.  O don't know if what they saw was really a wolf or not
 I think it is just a matter of time now before they are there for sure

[jackelope]

I haven't seen any wolves up there yet but if they (Fed and WDFW) are set on reintroduction of wolves to this state then it is only a matter of time.  SSS

There's no plan to reintroduce wolves to this state as far as I know...got a link to support that claim??

 

There's been numerous times wolves in that area have been mentioned on here.

[dreamingbig]

Jackelope,

http://www.gptaskforce.org/conservation/washington-wolf-plan-key-talking-points

A quote from their talking points: "The goal of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is to maintain a viable wolf population and the goal of the livestock community is to have a population that does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act. The quickest way to meet both of these goals is by reintroducing the wolves into the state."

Perhaps they are misrepresenting the WDFW's goals but this is how they are choosing to spin it.

[dreamingbig]

I also found this to be hillarious...

"Furthermore, in Idaho hunting of wolves is now permitted, which will further reduce the numbers of wolves available to enhance any wolf population in Washington. The fragmented nature of the wolf populations in the Northwest should be considered in developing an effective management plan."

There are quite a few folks in Idaho that would sign up to help capture and relocate a few wolves to Washington.

[jackelope]

Jackelope,

http://www.gptaskforce.org/conservation/washington-wolf-plan-key-talking-points

A quote from their talking points: "The goal of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is to maintain a viable wolf population and the goal of the livestock community is to have a population that does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act. The quickest way to meet both of these goals is by reintroducing the wolves into the state."

Perhaps they are misrepresenting the WDFW's goals but this is how they are choosing to spin it.

That looks to me to be the opinion of the GP Task Force. I don't want to spin this into a wolf debate. I probably should have not posted what I did so I will clean up the thread if needed to keep it on track.

[squeeze2drop]

How old r these kids? Cuz I know grown men who can't tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote, I think they saw a coyote and from there they started freakin out, building a huge fire to protect them? Lol that's straight outta the movie "white fang" child please haha

[BIGINNER]

lol  ya. when you're in the woods, you can definately let you imagination run wild,  especially if you're lost.  my wife is out camping this week at emigrant springs in oregon (25 miles south east of pendlenton) she called me today in the morning and informed me that there was alot of "wolves" howling close by at night.   lol  i couldn't help laughing,  it took me 20 min to convinse her that it was coyotes.. lol  

[dreamingbig]

I was reading William O'Douglass's book a couple weeks ago and he told of a story when he got lost at dark in a drainage near Fish Lake.  The bump in the night for him was a cougar that was screaming near by.  He said he kept the fire pretty high that night.

I vote coyotes and/or creative imaginations.

[coachcw]

My buddie heard wolves in the nile after the modern season was ove and found track the next morning . This guy Knows the differance .

[pat2bear]

The mind can play some cruel tricks on you when you're in an uncomfortable situation. I'm guessing coy's. But I'm not saying that there aren't wolves in that general area. I've heard too many accounts from too many credible sources. Bone being one of them. If bear baiting were legal we'd probably see dozens of pics inadvertently taken on trail cams.

[squeeze2drop]

At least they didn't claim it was bigfoot lol

[Laurvick]

Myself and family were up at Bumping Lake Sat. morning (6/26/10) about 10 am hiking and goofing off and we saw a bunch of Yakima Sheriffs county search and rescue rigs in the parking lot at the boat launch. I say to my wife, must be doing some training up here, and me and my boy take off and she says she'll catch up after she uses the toilet. She catches up and tells my she asked a sheriff what was up and he tells her some boy scouts went for a hike the day before and got lost up by Fish Lake. The rescuers came in and found them that night right before dark so they hunkered down for the night. Here's where it gets fishy. The guy tells her that they were up all night scared to death with a monstrous fire because they became surround by a pack of wolves. I say bulls*&t to her and she says that's what he told me.     I bolt back to ask for myself but they were gone. Anybody hear about this? I'll pm Norsepeak because he may know some of the search and rescue guys to confirm this. But I seriously doubt it. 

Hey there! I'm an old staff member who worked at that camp. I just happened to stop by Camp Fife the day the kids were found. I had a group of friends, all over the age of 21 who worked there when this happened. They was a group that was sent off to find them (staff members) in the group there was a 24 year old Army medic who's the rifle range director (spent 2 1/2 years in Iraq), a 21 year old climbing instructor and a 21 year old junior search and rescuer who spent the night looking for these kids. They are the ones who got surrounded by wolves, not the actual group of kids. These 4 or 5 staff members spent the night huddled around a fire, scared of the wolves. The staff members eventually met up with the group of lost scouts and waited for search and rescue to arrive. If you would like names, and contact information, I can get that for you. The district executive of the boy scouts, is to blame for these kids going missing. We're trying to get the word out, because this is the second year in a row with him being the camp director, that we've had scouts go missing on a hike. It's unacceptable, that this man still has a job working for the Boy Scouts of America.

Feel free to contact me...

[squeeze2drop]

This thread isn't about throwin anybody under the bus, the whole "get rid of him" portion can b discussed if u wanna start another thread, now, back to the topic...

[Skyvalhunter]

another moderator

[boneaddict]

There is no reason there aren't wolves up there.  Perfect country for them.  Unless you were those staff members, you'll never know.  Coyotes won't hang around like that, wolves will, especially if they have a dog with them.  Not sure if they did or not.   Its to the point where there are wolves in just about every corner of this state, whether they are established or not.  There will be more and more sightings, as these sightings increase, so will the stories and false sightings.  Its getting tothe point where every coyote that is seen is called a wolf.  HOWEVER,  that doesn't mean there aren't lots of wolves out there still. 

You'll note you often find goats in areas called goat rocks, goat lake, goat creek goat peak.  It stands to reason you might find wolves in places such as Timberwolf, wolf creek etc.   

[grundy53]

Jackelope. Have you read the states wolf management plan?

[Laurvick]

This thread isn't about throwin anybody under the bus, the whole "get rid of him" portion can b discussed if u wanna start another thread, now, back to the topic...

Sorry didn't mean to wander off topic. Mostly just clarifying the scouts and adult leaders were not the ones surrounded by said "wolves". =)

[squeeze2drop]

Hey its all good, I do it all the time, just felt good to say that lol ; )

[jayrod9528]

I know it sounds crazy, but I would swear that I saw a wolf over NW of Bickleton. Just as info I have hunted that area many time and I KNOW what a coyote looks like and what a wolf looks like. This sucker was grey/whitish and big I saw it with in 100yards the only other thing it could have been is some sort of huskie/malamute. I doubt that because my friends and I were the only ones camping in that area and there was nothing between us and the Indian res.. So as far as I'm concerned it was a wolf or a wolf like animal, but 100% sure not a coyote.

[squeeze2drop]

I've got family in bickleton and have hunted there my whole life and have never even heard a rumor about a wolf in that area, again, doesn't mean it can't happen but I doubt it

[Wazukie]

I know it sounds crazy, but I would swear that I saw a wolf over NW of Bickleton. Just as info I have hunted that area many time and I KNOW what a coyote looks like and what a wolf looks like. This sucker was grey/whitish and big I saw it with in 100yards the only other thing it could have been is some sort of huskie/malamute. I doubt that because my friends and I were the only ones camping in that area and there was nothing between us and the Indian res.. So as far as I'm concerned it was a wolf or a wolf like animal, but 100% sure not a coyote.

Next time shoot it and ask questions later.  Just my 

[NWWABOWHNTR]

I have spent many days from Blankenship meadows,  pear lake and apple lake ... even down to rattlesnake creek and never once saw a wolf track or heard a howl in all the nights up there.  Now I am a believer in the wolves in the Nile,  as I have photo'd tracks there and also in the Nooksack this year.  So I believe they are more places than anyone is letting on.  Just never saw any sign up there in that area.  Not saying they can't be,  wouldn't take much for them to go from up by Clover Springs in the Nile to Bumping lake. 

[norsepeak]

doubt it....spend WAY too much time in that country hiking, glassing, snooping around, never seen/heard anything even close to a wolf.  know the outfitters in the are very well, and they spend just as much time as I do in the woods and they've never seen anything either....question for you believers:  Where do the wolves that are supposedly in the Nile area go in the winter time?  If you've never been up in the Nile area in the wintertime, there are snowmobiles EVERYWHERE, and you never hear of them seeing wolves.  Most of the elk move down into the lower nile in winter, but where are the wolves?

[carpsniperg2]

 

[nileboy]

When I was 17, I swear my brother and I saw two wolves together near lost creek village. Now the older I get the more I realize that they were probably song dogs. The one thing that stands out in my mind is that the one was huge! The size of Bosco! Our old english sheep dog. Now days with all the speculation I start to wonder again.

[wastickslinger]

doubt it....spend WAY too much time in that country hiking, glassing, snooping around, never seen/heard anything even close to a wolf.  know the outfitters in the are very well, and they spend just as much time as I do in the woods and they've never seen anything either....question for you believers:  Where do the wolves that are supposedly in the Nile area go in the winter time?  If you've never been up in the Nile area in the wintertime, there are snowmobiles EVERYWHERE, and you never hear of them seeing wolves.  Most of the elk move down into the lower nile in winter, but where are the wolves?

I see no reason to doubt that there are wolves in all parts of the state. I spend alot of time every spring and some time in the fall in the far south east corner and I had never seen a wolf. But they have confirmed that they are there. Just cause we dont see them does not mean they are not there. I have never seen a 200" buck buck but they have been killed. I have never seen a 400" bull bu they have been killed.

I understand that you spend alot of time in the Nile but just cause you have not seen one does not mean that thay are not there. That is silly.

[bearpaw]

They are missing some collared wolves in the Methow.

If you watch the Idaho F&G Video, you will see on a map that it's common for wolves to move great distances, even to other states, just to find a new territory. I think it's very likely the wolves are there with all the different sightings being reported.

Idaho Sets 2009 Wolf Season.

[wolfbait]

Like the GPS collared wolves that were seen in Bridge creek in 2005, I am trying to get a hold of the video of this sighting. maybe We could help WDFW gather up some of their wolves. Can't be the Lookout pack, because the Lookout pack doesn't have GPS collars.

[Curly]

Too bad they don't all have GPS collars.............they'd be easier to locate and 

 

[high country]

given the density of elk, the remoteness of the country and the wolves habits of traveling long distances.....I give it a strong maybe. the wolves I saw when I was living in alaska were considerably more cautious then those I saw just out of kellogg....they seem to be ok with man.......even the crazies in the silver valley.

[wolfbait]

Alaska is a big country, Washington is going to run out of food for the predators real soon. The wolves put everything over the cliff.

[dreamingbig]

I didn't hear or see any wolves in the Bumping this weekend.

[Skyvalhunter]

 Me either!!

[PA BEN]

Reading this from 2010 and now what's being said is some good reading. BTW, bearpaw posted a great video in this thread.