Across Yosemite’s Wilderness, by Laurel Munson Boyers

 Publication June 17, 2025

Although I hadn't quite planned on reading this one so early, it seems particularly relevant right now given the political minefield our national parks have been caught up in. While written much earlier, I felt the author's genuine love of the park, nature, and reverence toward all living things should be shared. While I've never been fortunate enough to visit Yellowstone, I have visited Denali National Park and thus grasp some of the awe Boyers felt being responsible for this natural wonder. The book focuses on what as her last mounted patrol of the full park after some thirty years as a ranger, some of it as the first female head Wilderness Management Ranger. And what a journey it was. More amazing, her history with the park goes back further. Her grandfather was one of those who welcomed Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir to the park in 1903, leading to it becoming a national park under President Roosevelt, and she was born in Yosemite Village. Although the iconic Yosemite Valley is probably most familiar to most, the park itself is nearly the size of Rhode Island and, as is noted several times, is definitely a land of superlatives. 

I won't detail the journey for you but it was a fascinating ride. As it progressed, stories were shared, both serious and humorous, such as Boyers' own encounters with the unknown as a ranger and tales of the park's history and people. That includes Native Americans, of course, who surely traveled those trails long before its well-meaning but not necessarily well-informed caretakers took over. Being in bear country myself here in Alaska, I had to chuckle at the tales of how many, many efforts were made to keep food sources away from the bears. Uh, hanging it in a tree is no guarantee as, like the ol' cartoon Yogi Bear, these black bears (Yosemite's grizzly population faded out, alas) were smarter than the average bear, not to mention ranger. In between the personal reminiscences and observations, we learn a great deal about the history of the area and its residents, too, not to mention how really, really difficult it is to erase human traces of a campfire and such. Did you know heat from a campfire can basically sterilize the soil beneath it? Or that former Fist Lady Laura Bush is a strong proponent of Yellowstone and, for that matter, national parks period. Largely personal photos illustrated the book.

Through it all, however, the thing that stands out is the rangers' abiding love of their jobs and how seriously they take their oath to protect the lands for all. Anyone who thinks rangers are simply props in cool uniforms has no clue all that is involved. They undergo serious training for a variety of potential problems, problems ranging from tourists determined to pet a buffalo (don't even think about it), to learning the history of not just the lands but the life on it, both plant and animal, and how to best care for it. Many are trained in search-and-rescue, law enforcement, fire fighting, ow best to present their site to visitors that often include political and world leaders, mountain rescue, ecology, wildlife behavior and care, and, well, so many more that I just can't list them all. Even in the case of this book we learn about those responsible for the care of the horses and mules used to cover tough terrain with dizzying drops along the trails, and how to keep the animals and humans safe. It all combines to following the mantra of both preserving and using the areas, often a tough, very narrow line. There are areas, for instance, in the park that have never been logged or had their trees harvested. Nature at her best.

Bottom line, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Boyer has an engaging writing style and utilizes both facts and humor, dropping in bits of history as we go, not to mention some of her own oops moments. I liked her. It was her obvious reverence for all that goes to make up Yellowstone National Park that played repeatedly in my mind, however, as I read. The emphasis of why we need places like Yellowstone. Why people seek out nature. How hard rangers work to keep it wild and free. That it belongs to the people, not the government. And, well, I could go on but it's a strong message of why we should be preserving our parks, not stripping them of resources and all that makes them so special to so many. Okay, off my soap box. My thanks to #TheGlobePequotPublishingGroupInc - #FalconGuides for the early look at this timely, meaningful work.