You are basing the statement "fear of wolves is completely irrational" on your experience as an outdoorsperson and 25 years of yellowstone. This is not a good basis. Wolves had lived in huge populations and had been in conflict with humans for thousands of years, with human casualties. Humans were very much afraid of wolves, and rightly so. Physically weak and isolated humans such as children and elderly are prime targets of wolf attacks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks