...wolf near Kelly Lake

A rare sighting of a wolf along the Sterling Hwy near Kelly Lake.

 

Blending in.

We were out for our annual Mother's Day hike.  But, it was raining at the Russian River Trailhead parking area so we had to come up with an alternate plan.  We decided the Seven Lakes Trail would be a good option.  We turned around and started driving down the Sterling Hwy.  Just as we were nearing the turn-off to Kelly Lake, Liz said: "A caribou or something just crossed the road...no...wait...it's a wolf!"  As we got closer it the wolf edged off the road taking its sweet time to sniff the bushes along the way. 

We stopped the truck, quickly found a camera and I started clicking the shutter as fast as I could.  The wolf didn't seem startled by our vehicle or any of the others the passed by on the highway.  It was taking care of wolf business.  We were able to watch it for 4-5 minutes before it sauntered off over a small hill, and just like that it was gone.

Liz and I looked at each other in disbelief.  It was a rare sighting indeed. 

We pulled back onto the highway and continued driving toward the trailhead at Kelly Lake where we went on a great little walk to Hiker's Lake (about 4 miles RT).  We passed the cabin we stayed in last fall and a group of hikers which were heavily armed along the way.  The weather changed from sun to clouds, to rain, to hail, all in the span of our hike.  It was definitely a Mother's Day to remember and we were particularly happy we saw a...wolf near Kelly Lake.