Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to Yukon on the Grizzly Bear Trail

Science & Math

Heuer, Karsten

Nature & Ecology

McClelland and Stewart

Since time immemorial, the Porcupine caribou herd has ranged the Arctic in a 2,800-mile annual trek between its winter feeding grounds inland and its summer calving grounds on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea. In 2003, the caribou were joined on their spring journey, possibly for the first time ever, by two humans: wildlife biologist and writer Karsten Heuer and his wife, filmmaker Leanne Allison. Where the herd once roamed through unpopulated wilderness, it now treks from one country to another. This may well be its downfall, for under its calving grounds lies enough oil to keep the United States going for six months. Nowadays in Washington, that’s considered a lot of oil, enough to justify imperilling this venerable herd. Determined to let the world know what will be lost if drilling takes place, Heuer and Allison accompanied the 123,000-strong Porcupine caribou for five months in an uncharted course over mountain ranges, through deep snow, and across semi-frozen rivers. En route, the heavily pregnant caribou and heavily laden humans alike were stalked by wolves and grizzlies newly awake from hibernation — and ravenous. An adventure story like no other, Being Caribou reveals the drama and beauty of the migration and brings home the enormity of the loss that will surely be felt if drilling goes ahead.

Being Caribou: Five Months On Foot With An Arctic Herd

Biological Sciences

MCCLELLAND STEWART

Since time immemorial, the Porcupine caribou herd has ranged the Arctic in a 2,800-mile annual trek between its winter feeding grounds inland and its summer calving grounds on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea. In 2003, the caribou were joined on their spring journey, possibly for the first time ever, by two humans: wildlife biologist and writer Karsten Heuer and his wife, filmmaker Leanne Allison. Where the herd once roamed through unpopulated wilderness, it now treks from one country to another. This may well be its downfall, for under its calving grounds lies enough oil to keep the United States going for six months. Nowadays in Washington, that’s considered a lot of oil, enough to justify imperilling this venerable herd. Determined to let the world know what will be lost if drilling takes place, Heuer and Allison accompanied the 123,000-strong Porcupine caribou for five months in an uncharted course over mountain ranges, through deep snow, and across semi-frozen rivers. En route, the heavily pregnant caribou and heavily laden humans alike were stalked by wolves and grizzlies newly awake from hibernation — and ravenous. An adventure story like no other, Being Caribou reveals the drama and beauty of the migration and brings home the enormity of the loss that will surely be felt if drilling goes ahead. From the Hardcover edition.

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd

Children's Books

In one of the earth's most amazing migrations, more than 100,000 caribou trek thousands of miles each year over high mountain ranges, through snowy passes, and across icy rivers. But they have to battle more than just the brutal elements. Hungry wolves, huge grizzly bears, human hunters, and hordes of bloodthirsty insects besiege the herd as it travels to its one safe haven―Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, those that survive the trip have a few peaceful weeks to give birth and prepare their calves for the harsh year ahead. Karsten Heuer and his wife, Leanne Allison, are the only humans ever to become part of a caribou herd and join it on its arduous journey. They shared the same mind-numbing cold, the endless miles of physical hardship, and all the dangers along the route to chronicle the epic battle for survival these animals face. To keep up, they had to move, act, and even think like caribou. Karsten and Leanne's incredible adventure gives us a window into a world that we have never seen before.

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with a Caribou Herd

Animals

Walker Childrens

Being Caribou

In one of the earth's most amazing migrations, more than 100,000 caribou trek thousands of miles each year over high mountain ranges, through snowy passes, and across icy rivers. But they have to battle more than just the brutal elements. Hungry wolves, huge grizzly bears, human hunters, and hordes of bloodthirsty insects besiege the herd as it travels to its one safe haven―Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, those that survive the trip have a few peaceful weeks to give birth and prepare their calves for the harsh year ahead.
Karsten Heuer and his wife, Leanne Allison, are the only humans ever to become part of a caribou herd and join it on its arduous journey. They shared the same mind-numbing cold, the endless miles of physical hardship, and all the dangers along the route to chronicle the epic battle for survival these animals face. To keep up, they had to move, act, and even think like caribou. Karsten and Leanne's incredible adventure gives us a window into a world that we have never seen before.

* Karsten Heuer walks with North American mammals from Yellowstone to the Yukon (Y2Y) to document the animals that use this natural corridor and learn its importance * Preserving the Y2Y corridor has become one of the most critical environmental issues of our day * Winner of the Banff Book Award for Mountain Literature * Grants will fund a multi-city author tour for lectures and presentations related to the Y2Y initiative Walking the Big Wild is the story of Karsten Heuer's extraordinary 18-month journey of hiking, sking, and paddling across 2100 miles of mountains, forests, and rivers from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to the Canadian Yukon. Accompanied by occasional human companions and a remarkable border collie named Webster, Heuer encountered immense challenges: storms, avalanches, floods, and grizzlies. At the end of the journey, Heuer proved that there is nearly continuous wilderness that can support wildlife along the length of the Rockies-and is salvageable if the right decisions are made now.

Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to Yukon on the Grizzly Bear's Trail

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

Braided River

For eons, female members of the Porcupine caribou herd have made the 2,800-mile journey from their winter feeding grounds to their summer calving grounds. They once roamed borderless wilderness; now they trek from Canada, where they're protected, to the United States, where they are not. What's more, beneath the calving grounds lay vast reserves of oil. Determined to convey both the enormity of the caribous’ migration and the delicacy of their habitat, Karsten Heuer and his wife spent their honeymoon following the herd. For five months, they traveled an uncharted course on foot over mountains, through snow, and across frozen rivers, with only three semi-scheduled food drops for support. As with the caribou, Heuer and his wife faced dwindling fat reserves and stalking by ravenous grizzlies and wolves just awakened from hibernation. Both a rousing adventure story and a sober ecological meditation, Being Caribou vividly conveys this magnificent animal's world.

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd (The World As Home)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

MILKWEED EDITIONS *

2007 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award Winner, 2006 Independent Book Publisher Award Winner in Travel Essays, 2006 National Outdoor Book Award Winner in Outdoor Literature <ul>
 <li>Wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and filmmaker Leanne Allison spend five months migrating on foot with more than 100,000 caribou</li>
 <li>Both gripping adventure and stark portrayal of an Arctic ecosystem threatened by oil development </li>
 <li>
Being Caribou, the film created by the author and his wife, won the 2005 Telluride Film Festival "Best Environmental Film Award"</li>
 
</ul>
 It was a very different kind of honeymoon. In April 2003, wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer and his newlywed wife, filmmaker Leanne Allison, set off on an epic adventure: to follow the Porcupine caribou herd as it migrated from its Yukon winter range to its endangered Alaskan calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge -- and back. What they learned along the way would not only show what was at stake in the decades-old debate about whether or not to drill those same calving grounds for oil, but also what was possible when two people immerse themselves in a wild, intact landscape for five months. For more than a thousand miles, Heuer and Allison traveled the roadless, trailless, structureless expanse of northern Yukon and Alaska. Both on foot and on skis, they tracked caribou over four mountain ranges, hundreds of passes, and dozens of rivers. To keep up, they knew they would have to move, act, and even think like caribou, skiing and walking with no schedule, no route plan, and no objective other than finding and staying with the wild herd. The result was an adventure that brought them face to face with wolves, hungry grizzly bears, voracious mosquitoes, Arctic blizzards, and the need for an open mind. Physically and mentally exhausted, the young couple found themselves on the cusp of a different way of knowing, and, after months of migrating, walked into a dimension of consciousness neither had experienced before. Being Caribou is more than a story of grand adventure and an endangered caribou herd. It is a story about the roots of human instinct that are alive in all of us, and how wild landscapes and wild animals hold the power to release them from the avalanche of technology and advertising that typifies the modern civilized world.

Religion & Spirituality

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Books by Heuer, Karsten

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heuer, Karsten. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to Yukon on the Grizzly Bear Trail

Being Caribou: Five Months On Foot With An Arctic Herd

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with a Caribou Herd

Being Caribou

Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to Yukon on the Grizzly Bear's Trail

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with an Arctic Herd (The World As Home)

Being Caribou