SOLVED. Post-apocalyptic fiction from 1970s or '80s. Travels west by foot and bicycle having many adventures. Somewhere along the way he gets a dog/wolf [s]

[Thomas]

I'm asking this for a friend, so any confirmation may be delayed while I ask him about it. It would have been published in the 1970s or '80s. Here's what he gave me, though:

Post-apocalypse.

Young guy, 20's, lives in Midwest brother runs ranch in Montana (maybe Wyoming but probably Montana)

He's a city boy but needs to leave Illinois or Indiana or Ohio, wherever he lives, due to extreme carnage, gangs, etc.

Travels west by foot and bicycle having many adventures. Somewhere along the way he gets a dog/wolf/wolf-dog/canine companion. The wolf-dog ranges wide and far but sticks with him.

He gets to the "mountains" and I believe is attacked by a bear. Bad fever and so forth ensues but he survives.

I believe he meets up with a charming lass who may or may not also be injured or pursued by terrible men who mean her harm.

Somehow they get past that, hole up in the foothills/mountains, tear down a building and drag the siding up to make a comfy winter cabin, have sex many times, eat meat, scavenge on the plains below.

Decide "what the hell", the brother is probably dead anyway, he now knows how to skin a deer, mule or bear and she's lovin' it. No internet so plenty of sex.

I forget how it ends. Or who wrote it. I thought it was Gene Wolfe but I didn't see anything like that on his page. It wasn't "literature" but it was well-written, the dog-wolf was awesome and I want to read it again.

[Thomas]

It turns out it was Wolf and Iron, for all you playing at home.