[Brucester]

I've had a scary close calls with a few black bear, cougar, copperhead and water moccasin encounters. No wolves. Only heard but never seen.

Anyone see or had encounters with wolves? What do you do if you're solo?

Cool head and soft voice, avoid eye contact, back away, bear spray, throw rocks, climb a tree or ?

[Snowbrushy]

The gray wolf of North America is shy and usually afraid of people, probably due to past hunting by Indians during times of great famine. Seeing one is rare even if you live around them. If you do see one and are uncomfortable try clapping your hands a couple of times to send him running away. There is no record of a wolf attack in the lower 48. There was one confirmed attack against a jogger in Alaska.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_attacks_on_humans

[Ski]

used to run into them all the time on the way to Grandma's house, but I stopped wearing that red hoodie and they left me alone after that.

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"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. 
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."

[Brucester]

So clap your hands if surrounded by a wolf pack and they'll just run away?

[Ski]

no... just rev up your Harley

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"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. 
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."

[tmatlack]

Many years ago two friends camped on Isle Royale in Lk. Superior.  That 1st night, many wolves surrounded their fire, just at the light fringe, with much growling, gnashing, etc.  They eventually ended up bailing out of the campsite and spending the night in the canoe.

[Schroder]

I was skiing at night, during a full moon, across Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan when a pack of wolves came running out of the treeline and headed straight for me.  They passed right by within about 20 feet and never slowed their pace, running to where I had come from.  I had quite a few wolf encounters that winter and they usually just turned and ran away, except when they were eating something - then I gave them a wide berth.

[Magellan]

I witnessed three coyote running on Tiger this winter.  Bet your ass I picked up a big rock just in case.  Shoulda had the bear spray.  No harm, no foul.

[Mikey]

I was hiking alone up the Stafford Creek Trail (Teanaway) in May a couple of years ago and a large gray wolf slowly walked up hill (from left hand creek side to east uphill side) across the trail about 40 ft ahead of me. The wolf casually looked at me and and kept walking.  I had a camera in my shirt pocket but I was too slow to get a photo (this was about 2 weeks before the WDFW went pubic about the Teanaway Wolf Pack).

In the 1960s (March) I was fishing steelhead alone in a remote SW Washington river, standing in about 3 ft water (hip boots) and I noticed 2 wolf-looking animals stocking me through the alders along the river.  The animals were creeping on their stomachs inching slowly towards me - I was maybe 12 ft out in the river from the bank.  When the 2 animals got to the river bank they were quite close and they sure looked like wolves but darker in color (dark brown) compared to the gray wolf I saw a couple of years ago in the Teanaway area.  I had a handgun (holstered on a waist belt) but I did not get it out.  I yelled at the animals and waved my hands and the wolf-like animals stood up, looked surprised and embarrassed. Then they turned and ran north up into the woods.  I followed where I thought the animals went for maybe 150 yards through alders, brush, and then fir trees to see if they might have had a deer kill but I did not find anything.

There were no homes or farms for considerable miles from where I was fishing.  I think it was weird or unusual for a wolf, wolf-dog, or 2 dogs to stalk a human - but perhaps these animals were not familiar with fisherman wading in the river.  For those of you familiar with wildlife, a human laying down or crawling is not recognized as a human by many wildlife.  I have had wild birds walk on me when I was lying down.

You asked: What do you do if you're solo?
It is my impression that attacks on humans by solo wolves is extremely rare or has not ever occurred in North America.  I guess if a solo hiker has some fear of animal attacks, an animal repellent pepper spray is a consideration.

My Dad's parent's home (SW Wash) was about 2.5 miles from his grade school and walking alone through the dark forest to and from school was scary for him. He told us that he would cut a fresh tree bough to carry over his back with the theory that if a cougar jumped on his back, the cougar would get the tree bough and my Dad would run to safety.  My Dad never encountered a cougar but it was my impression listening to his story, that when he was a kid, he feared cougars. Note that Wash State had a bounty on cougars for many years and hunters with dogs hunted down many cougars and so cougars were fairly rare back then.

[NacMacFeegle]

My wolf encounter occurred a few years ago in Idaho. We were nearing the end of a grueling day hike, a somewhat harrowing cross-country trip where the terrain turned out to be a lot more rugged than the maps suggested, and the sun was setting when we took a much needed rest as we descended a steep hillside on jellied legs. As we lay wheezing on this ledge I heard what sounded like the panting of a large dog approaching from along the ridge, and it passed very close and loud just out of sight above us (no more than 20 feet away) before fading into the distance.

Now, there is the possibility that it could have been a coyote, but we had seen tracks earlier in the day that were almost certainly those of a wolf, and I've come across wolf tracks in the region on several occasions. It would have been cool to actually see it, but the experience was pretty incredible nonetheless.

EDIT: Just to be clear, this was not a negative encounter in any way.

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Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/

[Hutch]

Wolves making people their prey is so rare I don't think it's worth your mental energy to prepare for, but on the other hand, crazier things have happened. Just ask the dude from Idaho who got chased while on the AlCan highway:

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2013/jul/14/motorist-has-photos-wolf-chased-sandpoint-cyclist/

[DIYSteve]

We twice encountered wolves on our bicycle trip to Alaska in 1981. No problems. We checked each other out and moved on our way.

[Treehugger5]

[wheatie]

removed by moderator

[Phil]

If memory serves me, in his autobiography Chris Morgenroth wrote of being chased  and driven up a tree by two wolves in the Elwha Valley (I think) in the Olympics.