A weekend with wolves
By DENNIS APRILL, Outdoors Columnist
A three-hour drive north of Chateaugay will take the weekend adventurer to the turf of the most controversial mammal in North America — the wolf. While the actual chances of seeing one are slim, there is an excellent possibility of hearing them howl, and maybe even seeing their tracks or viewing the remains of their old kills.
The place to do all this is the sprawling Papineau-Labelle Wildlife Reserve, which lies northwest of Montreal. Brothers Carl and Michel Therrien, who run Harloup, take groups wolf calling Saturdays from July to early September, and every one of the five times I have gone out with them, we have heard at least one pack.
The usual procedure I follow, when I go with a family member and not lead an organized group, is to leave on Saturday morning and arrive at the southern gate of the Reserve around noon. If we are to stay in a chalet (which must be reserved ahead of time), we check in there. If we stay outside the Reserve in a motel, like Auberge La Pineraie on the shores of Lac Simon just south of the Reserve, then that is our first stop.
I am familiar with that area, so we sometimes go fishing (a one-day license and permit to fish a lake are needed and can be had at the Visitors Center-Accueil Gagnon). Because the trout fishing, the main angling opportunity in the Reserve, slows in July and August, we often drive about the gravel and dirt roads looking for moose, bear or deer. It is surprising how many deer there are that far north. In fact, they are a primary food source for the 85 or so wolves in the Reserve.
That evening, we meet at a location picked out in advance by the Therrien’s — usually on the beach at Lac Ernest, not far from the Visitor Center. Here the brothers give background information on the wolves in Papineau-LaBelle. If the audience is primarily French, they speak French; if English, Carl and Michel translate into English as well.
Then the actual calling begins with a drive to the first spot where the Therrien’s have found a wolf pack nearby. While the people quietly get out of their cars in the darkness, the brothers walk down the dirt road to an open area and begin to call.
The wolves of Papineau-Labelle are of the smaller eastern Canadian wolf variety, also called red wolves or timber wolves. They weigh from 60-90 pounds and live in packs of six to 10. In late summer, the pups that were born in the spring are left at a safe spot, usually near a bog or other wetland, along with a yearling or two, while the adults hunt. They communicate back and forth by howling. The Therrien’s try to imitate these howls.
The convoy then moves on to another location. Depending on the success or lack of success early on, the number of stops could continue until midnight. Last summer the group I was with was lucky: we heard a pack at our first stop.
Unlike the hundreds or even thousands who go to "howlings" in Ontario’s Algonquin Park, 100 miles to the west, the Harloup groups are often small, sometimes only 20 people, but they are growing in popularity.
The next morning, if we feel like it, my family members and I may climb nearby Mount Devlin or just relax then drive home.
The wolves in Papineau-Labelle are the closest viable packs to New York State.
Trip Information
It is difficult giving directions, lodging information, and contacts about an area where just about everyone speaks only French. With this in mind, and also that we are describing a two-day wolf-calling trip and not an extended camping or fishing trip, the recommendations that follow are for the most part user-friendly bilingual accommodations and not necessarily the closest to the actual wolf calling.
La Pineraie, a motel-like lodge, is located on the shore of Lac Simon. There is a sandy bathing beach on the shore and an adjoining restaurant. To get to La Pineraie from west of Montreal, get on Highway 417, which melds into Highway 17 to Hawkesbury, Ontario. From here, cross the Ottawa River to Quebec Highway 138 to Papineauville about 20 miles to the west. In Papineauville, turn onto Highway 321 north 50 miles (or 8 miles north of Cheneville). The marked turnoff to La Pineaire is on the left.
To get to Harloup from here, take Route 321 four miles north to Duhamel and follow the signs to Reserve Faunique de Papineau-Labelle. Carl Therrien of Harloup will give exact directions to the meeting place when he receives a reservation. The usual meeting spot is Accueil Gagnon at the Reserve entrance.