Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk in Yellowstone National Park

This is a brilliant assessment of a precious national treasure. Those who said booooring or no substance just don't get it. Cahill has his finger on the pulse of all things Yellowstone, and shares it with those of us who care stridently for the park's past, present and future. I was especially interested in his report about fallout from the Waterfalls book. No, this is not a definitive guidebook. Yes, this is an insiders look and appraisal of the state of our oldest, biggest and best national park. I applaud Tim Cahill and his writing. -- Joyce B. Lohse, Mammoth '73 Centennial, Colorado

Moments after opening the cover, readers are pulled from mundane lives across the globe and transported to one of this world's most fantastic hotspots: Yellowstone National Park. Who better than Tim Cahill to serve as guide and hiking partner? From a bizarre winking spire in the Hoodoos to falling asleep at a grizzly picnic, Tim never fails to weave a wonderful tale. Included in a selected bookshelf appendix, a list of Yellowstone books of every stripe and shade will enlighten the curious and transform the uninitiated. While you may be disappointed that this book is so quickly over, you won't be let down by its quality. In defense of Mr. Cahill less than lengthy book, this Crown Journeys offering is just one of an entire series of walking books, all of them brief. I doubt Tim had the option to plow beyond a contracted word count. That's fine with me. If he had given us the natural history of every flower on Mount Washburn, or any other feature in the park, this diminutive read could have easily mutated from a collection of cool essays into a two score set of encyclopedia. Take it from a guy who has worked in park. This book is a great, albeit brief, introduction to Yellowstone.

Cahill's "Lost in My Own Backyard" is a different kind of book: rather than commenting on the sights and smells, the first short essay, entitled "Mount Washburn," describes current theories of the historical development of Yellowstone in terms of a catastrophic volcanic eruption, and observes "we're all just potential puffs of steam anyway, and the earth is might beyond our imagining." The book as a whole most closely resembles a cross between a travel narrative and a guidebook. Though it contains elements of the common guidebook (such as describing specific trails and hikes), the perspective is most often completely different from a standard trail guide. In fact, Cahill includes an appendix of excellent books on Yellowstone (include trail guides) that he considers essential for enjoying the park. I agree; they would be an indispensible addition to Cahill's book for anyone looking to explore the backcountry of the park. The first half of the book - nine short essays - discuss short to moderate hikes in Yellowstone National Park with a twist: rather than the usual discussion of trail markers, precise distances, and the names of various peaks and viewpoints, Cahill focuses on the geological, thermal and ecological wonder of Yellowstone. His writing is a wonderful blend of humor, meditation on the natural beauties of the park, and half tongue-in-cheek yet deadly serious warnings about the dangers of the park and its wildlife. The final three essays of the book are longer and discuss backcountry journeys Cahill and some of his neighbors have taken through Yellowstone. These more closely resemble common travel narratives, though they still maintain their guidebook-like feeling at some points. This book is clearly a winner. Though Cahill frequently protests (in the words of Ferdinand Hayden) that "No language can do justice to the wonderful grandeur and beauty" of Yellowstone, his writing manages to capture something of the spirit of the natural wonders of the park, as well as the adventure of backcountry exploration. His writing is crisp, clear, and not particularly long-winded, which makes it a joyful relaxing read. Be warned: Lost in My Own Backyard may inspire you to go and get lost in America's backyard as well.

Ignore the nay-sayers. You can never go wrong with a good Cahill book and this is a good Cahill book. His descriptions are crisp and snap you into his world as he treks along in the glorious Yellowstone. Cahill is always interesting and entertaining. Good stuff.

Lost in My Own Backyard amalgamates renowned and perpetually witty author Tim Cahill with one of his favorite haunts: Yellowstone National Park. "Part of the joy of walking in Yellowstone is that it is still, for the most part, a wilderness, which means that it is untamed, which in turn means that it is not impossible to get hurt, even if you follow all the rules. Thus the wilderness that is Yellowstone Park affirms our mortality. That is why walking its trails makes us feel so damn alive" (16). Cahill, in Lost in My Own Backyard, cleverly and humbly connects with the reader by admitting that he is neither a biologist nor a geologist. Instead, he confesses, "I am more interested in suggesting ways to think about the park and its significance. I'm especially interested in the exhilaration anyone with a heart feels while walking Yellowstone Park" (138). He encounters wiki-ups, "deliciously creepy nights" in the Goblin Labyrinth, bugling elk, lovelorn bull moose attempting to "shag" the frigid females, two-minute-old grizzly tracks, among other adventures.The book is written in three parts-"The Trails: Day Hikes," which are fun, informative, and often hilarious; "In the Backcountry: Three Good Backcountry Trails," where Cahill admits to his "hopeless sense of direction." He is hired by National Geographic Adventure magazine along with his longtime friend, Tom Murphy, to write up backcountry trips; finally, Cahill conspicuously chides The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery, listed in the last part of the book, "A Selected Yellowstone Bookshelf," where he lists a selection of books that he uses and some that he's clearly not particularly fond of: One in particular presents Cahill with "certain philosophical problems" (128).Lost in My Own Backyard is written from a madcap adventurers perspective. Cahill unleashes yet another humdinger of a book.