Cahill gets lost in park, writes funny guide book

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

By Tim Cahill

138 pages; $16

It's not exactly his own back yard — but close enough. In "Lost in My Own Backyard: A Walk Through Yellowstone National Park," Tim Cahill takes us on a journey through Yellowstone National Park, highlighting one of his, and America's, favorite destinations.

Cahill's contemplations on the value of nature and wilderness draw us all a bit closer to what Yellowstone has to offer while his expert advice guides us through. He rambles, he stumbles, he admires the glaciers, and he makes a special visit to hear the mud pots fart (he is, after all, enthusiastic about all of the wonders Yellowstone has to offer).

"You might be the world's most sophisticated individual-it won't matter," he explains, "you'll still laugh when the mud pot farts."

As we follow Cahill through the trails, he reveals much we didn't know about the park and shares useful and intriguing tidbits of information he has collected over the years, including:

- People fall off cliffs, freeze to death, and die in avalanches — but the easiest way to die is to fall into water some distance from shore.

- Never take a short cut through the park — you could find yourself up to your knees in mud the consistency of Jell-O.

- Bears have olfactory systems far superior to those of bloodhounds — they can smell salami from miles away. It's in your best interest to hang your food as the park rules state.

"Lost in My Own Backyard" is divided into two parts — "The Trails" and "In the Backcountry." They cover several hiking trails — on and off the beaten track — that readers can enjoy at Yellowstone. Cahill concludes with an annotated bibliography of his favorite books about Yellowstone.

"Lost in My Own Backyard" is at once a practical guide, and true to form, a side-splittingly funny adventure book.

As the first and oldest national park in the world, Yellowstone welcomes over 4 million visitors every year. Cahill has been a visitor to the park for most of his life, covering almost all of its vast scope as well as the outer-most backwoods few see.

Cahill is the author of eight books including "Hold the Enlightenment," "Road Fever," "Pecked to Death by Ducks" and "Jaguars Ripped My Flesh." He is a founding editor of Outside magazine and writes frequently for National Geographic Adventure and other national publications. He lives with his wife in Montana, just north of Yellowstone Park, in the shadow of the Crazy Mountains.

This title is also available in audio format.