6/2/2006: Yellowstone: National Park or Suburban Safari?

For the past two weeks or so since my last entry, Mac and I have been religiously hitting the national parks. (We're finally able to explore some backcountry without moshing in snow within the first mile.) We're in Utah right now, after a five-day death march through Zion. But that's not what I want to talk about. Instead, I want to go back in time about one week and talk about Yellowstone, our country's first national park.

To set the tone, let me get it out there that I fear grizzly bears. It's an irrational fear, I'm aware. But nonetheless, a deeply seeded fear which pokes out at dawn, at dusk, in the middle of the night, when eating, when digging a hole, or upon any long hike. I became especially aware of this fear while in Yellowstone, one of the only U.S. national parks (along with Glacier and Grand Teton) that still teems with these powerful mammals.

Yellowstone doesn't only house grizzlies. It serves refuge to other big-game species, birds, and rodents - like black bear, bison, elk, ospreys, and yellow-bellied marmots. I came to Yellowstone for the wildlife, sure. But mainly, I came for the views - namely the renowned meadows, limestone, hot springs, geysers, and yellow stone. However, after visiting, I'd surmise to say that most other visitors come mainly for big game. Especially in the Spring, when most snow northside of the park (around Mammoth Springs) has melted, uncovering wildlife which didn't survive the frigid winter. And nothing awakens bears - or our gas-guzzling 4-wheel drives - from their winter slumber more than freshly decaying carcasses.

This is the Yellowstone we arrived in - predatory with bears and people. Upon arriving, we enter the visitor center to get the low-down on hikes and open trailheads. To our chagrin, the park has closed off most trails due to heavy grizzly activity. (Poke, poke goes my grizzly gut.) 'Grizzly activity?,' I retort warily to the ever-cheerful ranger. 'Grizzlies and their cubs carving up the carcasses. It's not prudent to get in their way during the grazing season,' says the smiling ranger. I miss what he says after that because the poking has made its way to my ears.

>But what the hell? We're in Yellowstone and Mac's looking at me pleadingly. So we set out on our hikes. About one mile in to the first one (Lava Point Trail), we encounter a pack of wolves - about 50 meters away in the forest. They wear dense, grey coats and move away as quickly as we pick up nearby rocks in defense. We both back off. It's exhilarating. Unfortunately, this somewhat threatening wildlife encounter proves to be the only authentic one during our time in Yellowstone. The other encounters occur in Charlie's black nylon seats.

Like the herd (of people, that is), Mac and I join our upright counterparts in the sitting position to view big game treasures. These wildlife drives generally occur at dawn and at dusk - the height of the feeding frenzy. While good hours for wildlife watching, these are even better hours for people peeping. Many congest the viewing turnouts, sporting 300mm lenses intent on seeing carnivorous beasts. Some simply stop their cars in the middle of the street, gawking at ranging bison. And others actually get out of their metal boxes to take close-range pictures of park animals.

The worst and best wildlife spotting happened at dusk during the end of one such drive. A black sow and her cubs were feeding beside the edge of the road. It might have been a spectacular event if we hadn't hit a wall of people gawking at the same wonder. We got out of our car, along with scores of others, and watched. The bear seemed completed habituated, uncaring about the flashing lenses or gasps and groans. When the sow made her way onto pavement, Mac grabbed me and we skirted out while the press corps kept turning their shutters.

This is the story of present-day Yellowstone: people ogling at wildlife from the sanctuary of their gigantic cars. On a grander scale, Yellowstone kind of reflects America - a sheltered area bordered by big fences and paved roads. Is Yellowstone real? Are we real? I think parts of both are. But I'm fearful of the future.