(Article originally published on Real World Survivor)

An attack from a pack of wolves was the furthest thing from forester Rory Mattson’s mind as he walked a new logging road in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula one day to see if it needed any modifications. He eventually came to a place in the freshly plowed dirt where there were many wolf tracks. One of the prints stood out due to its large size.

Rory put his hand next to the large track for comparison and the print was larger than his palm. “I thought it would be nice to see the wolf that made that track,” Mattson said, “and I got my wish.”

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But it was much closer than he expected and under much different circumstances than he could have anticipated. After walking further, Rory came to a curve in the road, and when he was halfway into the corner an odor caught his attention. He was wondering what the smell was, but, as he rounded the corner, he got his answer. It was a dead carcass.

“The first thing I saw was blood all over,” Mattson said. “Then I noticed a good-sized doe with a wolf standing over it and another wolf nearby. They were in full growl and snarl mode. ‘OK, they are going to protect this kill,’ I thought to myself, ‘so I am going to get out of here.’ I think I only backed up a couple of steps when I heard growling behind me. I turned around and there was a big male 50 feet away. He was standing in the road with a smaller wolf.”

With retreat the way he had come along the logging road cut off by the big male, and the kill in the opposite direction on the road, Rory’s only option to get away from the wolves was to cut through the woods. Mattson was wearing a denim shirt that was unbuttoned with a T-shirt underneath. 

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