Of the 48 contiguous states, much of what remains of wild America can be found in the rugged folds of the northern Rocky Mountains. Naturalist Gary Ferguson set out on a five-hundred-mile journey by foot to explore the heart of this region - a place called the Yellowstone Rockies. This is the story of what he found along the way. Walking Down the Wild is an unforgettable armchair journey through the wilderness. Written in the grand tradition of such American naturalist-authors as John Muir, Edward Abbey, and Edward Hoagland, Ferguson shares the peace gained from hiking for days without human contact, the thrill of sharing the land with bull moose and sandhill cranes and the suspense and anticipation of a possible encounter with one of Yellowstone's legendary grizzlies. Along his spectacular route we learn of harrowing journeys through the region by early explorers, of the myths and legends of Native peoples, and of the glorious weave of flora and fauna that still blankets the land today. But against this excitement and beauty we also encounter the growing presence of extractive industry. More and more, gold mines, clearcuts, and oil drilling operations threaten to unravel the threads of this delicate, irreplaceable ecosystem. Throughout the book Ferguson examines the collision between our deep spiritual hunger for wild places, and our insistent demands for economic exploitation. In the end, though, Walking Down the Wild is one man's unique perspective on the Yellowstone Rockies. It is a perspective shaped from a slow, deliberate walk through the secret nooks and crannies of the land, from listening to the stories of the people who live there, and from basking in the sights and sounds, the fears and joys, of untrammeled nature. In Walking Down the Wild Gary Ferguson offers a good-natured account of a 500-mile hike through the mountains and valleys and geyser fields that make up Yellowstone National Park and its environs. Anyone who has made a long trek will appreciate Ferguson's catalog of moleskin patches, fungicides, and mosquito repellents, but not many folks have had to figure out how to ward off bears every night (pee around your campsite, he advises), steer clear of the occasional cantankerous bull moose, and avoid stepping into steel- jawed traps. It's clear that Ferguson loves his self-appointed mission to protect the Yellowstone ecosystem, and he has a lot to say. "The horizon of the American West," he warns, "is framed more and more not by wild, ragged patches of stone and timber, but by clear-cuts and mine tailings, by housing developments, by oil derricks blazing in what only yesterday was a dark and secret sky." In the grand tradition of John Muir and Edward Abbey, an acclaimed naturalist takes us on a rare trip of discovery through "wild America" as he treks by foot for 500 miles through the rugged folds of the northern Rockies.