April 1969: Mr. Wolverine  

In Dick’s Words

April 1969

Mr.  Wolverine

Below is a day in Dick Proenneke’s journal in its entirety. He baits a wolverine to spend time near his cabin, not to shoot it but to learn about this seldom seen icon of the Alaskan wilderness.

April 1, 1968:
Fog, calm and 22°. A low ceiling. Today would be a tracking day after yesterday snow. Lights out at 10:30 last night and I rested my elbows on the counter and watched for mr. wolverine. The clouds not to heavy and the moon doing a good job of lighting the area that I wanted to see. I watched – nothing moved. I wondered if he would come back. Near 11:30 I saw him come around the point of willow brush on the high bank. Down my snowshoe trail to where the bait had been the day before. He headed down the trail to the bait and sled. Lope a few steps then stop with head low then lope a few more. He chickened out and loped back only to turn and advance again. A couple attempts and he made it – picked up the bait and the line tightened. He pulled and jerked but no go the sled was froze down. He decided to eat it there and I watched through the window as he wallowed it around in the snow. I had put fresh batteries in the flashlight and I wondered what he would do if I used it – probably take off. Finally I decided to try it. I eased the window open and flat on the ledge. Pointed the flashlight and turned it on. His eyes sparkled like big blue diamonds in the bright light at 100 feet. Then he did a strange thing. He went back to his meal as if the light was nothing unusual. He fed and looked at the light – turned his back – left the bait and loped away 50 feet or more only to come back and feed again. I had the light on him all the while. Finally he left and went down the lake and out of sight. Now I had time to think. Such a beautiful coat and large wolverine. I could have poked the 06 out the window and collected him easy. Maybe I would have too if I saw that he would do damage but for the time being maybe he could teach me something about wolverines and the wilderness. He didn’t return and I went to bed at 12 o’clock.

This morning I was awake at five and unwrapped the silent alarm system cord from my wrist. It was daylight and April fools day. Rip! went a length of cord out over the window near the sled putting ten feet of slack in the anchor line. I slipped out of my bunk and in my bare feet on the gravel eased over to the window. There he was at the bait. He had picked it up and headed down the lake when the line to the sled brought him up short. The sound of the cord running out over the window spooked him and possibly he heard me inside. He left the bait and loped out the trail to the chunk at the water hole – stopped, looked back and then headed up the lake. Not light enough to determine color but a good view of him and his actions.

After breakfast I would circle the area to see just what had taken place. Up past the guest cabin he had been there but stayed well clear. The same at the main cabin. He had been near my woodshed (some meat scraps there). I took the trail from the point to the hump and found two fresh tracks coming in. A fresh track following my snowshoe trail to the hump and I followed climbing until I was satisfied that he was following the slope headed up country. I stayed awhile and watched the low country. Back down the creek trail – I crossed the creek at the log timber and headed for the Cowgill trail crossing on Cowgill creek, no tracks and none coming down the trail to the lake. I circled up country on the lake. Above the Weiser cabin two tracks going into the timber one of which had come down the lake – the other came from across. Two tracks coming into the area and two going out in opposite directions.

I learned that mr. wolverine is a trail traveler. He would hit my old snowshoe trails and follow them every crook and turn. He would run his own tracks a second time and unless I watched real close I would never know he had run it twice. He hit the same tracks for a hundred yards or more at a time.

After lunch I took the track he had made going down the lake last night. He swung right to Falls creek – entered the timber – came out and back tracked then angled over to solve the mystery of the two tracks coming in. He had come down from up the lake gone into the timber – came to the bait – left and went to Falls creek then came back to run his previous tracks through the timber – came to the bait in early morning – then went a short ways up the lake to enter the timber this side of the point and head back up country by way of the hump. Will he be back tonight? He ate very little last night and I think he is a heavy eater when he can get it. A strange thing – with all his reputation for breaking and entering a quarter and a gamble joint still lays in the half barrel in the brush with my mortar mixing tub (bottom up) for a cover. A very light push would tip it off. Wolverine tracks all around it. If my white weasel weighed 35 lbs. he would be into that in nothing flat. Multiply his courage and determination by seventy or a hundred to equal the skunk bears size and he would have a wolverine for breakfast every morning.

April 1st and I cut a hole in the ice 200 yards out and over 280 ft. of water. The ice 43 inches (out where the snow was kept shallow by the wind).

Tonight a few flakes of snow in the air. A good breeze up the lake and 25°. 8:30 and he is behind schedule by ten minutes.