Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzle Bears' Trail [Paperback]

Karsten Heuer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2004

A wildlife biologist and park warden describes his eventful eighteen-month journey with a remarkable border collie named Webster from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to the Canadian Yukon by hiking, skiing, and paddling across mountains, forests, and rivers. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Far-ranging grizzlies, elk and wolves don't know where the parks and preserves established to protect them end and much less hospitable public (and private) land begins. Thus, environmentalists have focused on creating wilderness corridors along which animals—mammals, birds and even fish—can migrate from one seasonal "island" habitat to another. Canadian wildlife biologist Heuer gives a harrowing, humorous, engagingly personal and unabashedly polemical account of his 2,100-mile trek along one such potential link, from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Watson Lake in the Canadian Yukon, along what activists hope will become the Y2Y (Yellowstone to the Yukon) corridor. Heuer hiked, skied, snowshoed and canoed his way along Rocky Mountain ridges, across icy rivers and through near-impenetrable forests; he encountered heart-stopping beauty and soul-soothing calm, as well as harsh winter storms, clouds of voracious mosquitoes and fierce opposition from logging and mining interests. He also found signs that the grizzly—the animal most vulnerable to the creeping incursion of logging roads, oil pipelines and suburban sprawl—was somehow hanging on. Heuer's journey is exciting, and his passionate vision of a network of protected pathways connecting two mostly pristine wilderness areas is inspiring. Photos, maps.
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Review

It's a wonderful paean to the natural world-wrapped up in the tale of a grand adventure. -- Blue Ridge Outdoors

[Heuer] is an engaging guide to both the idea and the terrain. -- National Geographic Adventure

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Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (December 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898869838
• ISBN-13: 978-0898869835
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wyoming

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it!, November 9, 2006

By 

S. Fitzgibbons (Newton) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzle Bears' Trail (Paperback)

An easy, entertaining read and a nice snapshot of the good and bad elements currently effecting the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Through a personal story Karsten makes both his huge trek and the region's biological challenges seem relatively easy to face. This is an important feat conssidering he and others hope to engage and mobilize thousands in a pioneering international conservation initiative.

As a PS, I was surprised to learn the Canadians were doing as much, if not more, damage to the environment then we 'mericans. And I thought they were so innocent up there.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walking the Big Wild: Get informed before we loose our national treasures forever!, June 18, 2010

By 

Mastercard "jadeitejo" (Greater Yellowstone) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzle Bears' Trail (Paperback)

This book first caught my attention as I was searching for books on grizzly bears. It drew my interest first of all because the author had a border collie named Webster who did most of this hike with him. Several years ago my son was looking in the dictionary for a name for his new border collie puppy. Not finding a name he liked inside, he closed the dictionary, and "Bingo," he saw the title "Webster's." That became the puppy's name, and he was so smart he probably could have read the dictionary if someone had turned the pages for him!

When I saw that the book was about a plan to walk from Yellowstone to the Yukon to do research to help establish a connecting corridor for wildlife from the lower 48 states north, I was excited to read it.

The book is very informative, though a little slow at times. It was a courageous, sometimes dangerous journey for someone to take, but hopefully, it gave a lot of people who had a negative attitude about bears and the preservation of habitat for all wildlife a different view of how man can learn to live with nature, prosper in their livelihoods, and still preserve the habitat and wildlife that cannot be replaced if we loose it.

I've been blessed to live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for the last 10 summers. Having lived near a large city in the South for the first 45 years of my life, the peace and magnificence of this area has completely captured me. I've traveled all over the country, and this is almost the only place in the lower 48 states where you can experience unspoiled beauty, nature, and animals in their natural habitat very close to the way it was long ago. Bears have always been a particular favorite. They are one of the most unique, fascinating creatures on the planet.

I'm not a total "tree hugger." I realize there are times when an animal may have to be destroyed for the safety of people or property, but only in extreme circumstances. An open-minded understanding and cooperation between conservationist, ranchers, farmers and the general public can lead to new attitudes and ideas of how to coexist with nature and preserve our national treasure. I believe the ideas found in "Walking the Big Wild" can educate us on how this can be accomplished before it's too late. I recommend that anyone who is interested in preserving our wild spaces and animals read this book. We can always build another ranch, farm, ski resort, etc., but when it comes to our wilderness and it's inhabitants, once they're gone, they're GONE!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Read!, August 5, 2005

By 

R. Mabbett (NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzle Bears' Trail (Paperback)

This is a great book for nature lovers or anybody interested in preserving whats left of the american wilderness and its inhabitants. It is a fun read. It really put me in the mood for hiking and camping, though i have yet to attempt anything like the journey in this book. I highly reccommend it.