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The Lost Grizzlies: A Search for Survivors in the Wilderness of Colorado
Author and naturalist Rick Bass searches with a veteran grizzly expert and a biologist for proof that the grizzly bear still inhabits the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, in spite of being hunted nearly to extinction. In the process, he describes the dangers and clues on the trail of the grizzly bear as well as the mystery and beauty of the creature who has inspired such a wealth of lore, not to mention terror. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
239 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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1034 people want to read
About the author
Rick Bass
117 books482 followersRick Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Houston, the son of a geologist. He studied petroleum geology at Utah State University and while working as a petroleum geologist in Jackson, Mississippi, began writing short stories on his lunch breaks. In 1987, he moved with his wife, the artist Elizabeth Hughes Bass, to Montana’s remote Yaak Valley and became an active environmentalist, working to protect his adopted home from the destructive encroachment of roads and logging. He serves on the board of both the Yaak Valley Forest Council and Round River Conservation Studies and continues to live with his family on a ranch in Montana, actively engaged in saving the American wilderness.
Bass received the PEN/Nelson Algren Award in 1988 for his first short story, “The Watch,” and won the James Jones Fellowship Award for his novel Where the Sea Used To Be. His novel The Hermit’s Story was a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year in 2000. The Lives of Rocks was a finalist for the Story Prize and was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in 2006 by the Rocky Mountain News. Bass’s stories have also been awarded the Pushcart Prize and the O. Henry Award and have been collected in The Best American Short Stories.
Bass received the PEN/Nelson Algren Award in 1988 for his first short story, “The Watch,” and won the James Jones Fellowship Award for his novel Where the Sea Used To Be. His novel The Hermit’s Story was a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year in 2000. The Lives of Rocks was a finalist for the Story Prize and was chosen as a Best Book of the Year in 2006 by the Rocky Mountain News. Bass’s stories have also been awarded the Pushcart Prize and the O. Henry Award and have been collected in The Best American Short Stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 25, 2011
I really wanted to read this book, my second on the subject, but was really disappointed in the style of Rick Bass, who seemed to just meander around in the woods with a group of misfits--a former medic from Vietnam turned mountain man who was unable to interact normally around people, etc., etc. Most of the time they spent drinking heavily, babbling about nature, and wandering around. No self-respecting long-lost Colorado grizzly would come within 100 miles of their whining, complaining drunkenness. Their cars break down: I don't care. They go shopping for groceries and booze: I don't care. Bass steals toilet paper from a service station: I don't care. I want to find out about the existence of the bears! In the last quarter of the book, they do a little bit more serious searching, and he writes a lot about elk. Then, out of the blue, wandering around as he does, babbling about how nature is disappearing, he has an "encounter" with what he thinks is a grizzly. Or a really large black bear. Or in the confusion, a mule deer. I hope that there are still grizzlies in the San Juan mountains of S.W. Colorado, but these dudes won't find any of them. They'll be stuck in the bar.
October 16, 2022
The utter holiness of being alive and part of such a system, the holiness of being allowed to be lichen within the system— I’m not normally a cheery person, but here on the chalk-rubble slope, tucked into my little lunch cave, I find myself grinning, then laughing at how tenuously alive I am. To hell with electricity, with sizzling nerve endings and mispronounced words. I want to learn a new language anyway, the language of breathing forests, the language of further mystery.
September 17, 2022
3.5 stars
I do love Rick Bass' writing and I consider him one of my favorite authors. But ...
Spoiler ahead. This book despite the good writing has two fundamental problems.
1. They didn't find any Grizzlies
2. I am not a huge fan of Doug Peacock. He seems incredibly self absorbed. Peacock is the lead biologist and Grizzly bear expert who featured in the book. He was also a good friend of Edward Abee.
I usually donate any three star books (and many of my four star books). In this case there are enough memorable lines and well crafted insights that I will hang on to the book.
I do love Rick Bass' writing and I consider him one of my favorite authors. But ...
Spoiler ahead. This book despite the good writing has two fundamental problems.
1. They didn't find any Grizzlies
2. I am not a huge fan of Doug Peacock. He seems incredibly self absorbed. Peacock is the lead biologist and Grizzly bear expert who featured in the book. He was also a good friend of Edward Abee.
I usually donate any three star books (and many of my four star books). In this case there are enough memorable lines and well crafted insights that I will hang on to the book.
October 21, 2012
“The Lost Grizzlies” could have been published last week or last year--but is, in fact, 15 years old.
There is little that didn’t feel like it couldn’t have happened recently. The search, after all, is still on.
Going backcountry with grizzly expert Doug Peacock and biologist Dennis Sizemore, Bass makes three trips into The San Juan Mountains to search for tracks, claw marks and scat. Or a bear. A bear sighting wouldn’t hurt. “The Lost Grizzlies” is as much about Rick and his erstwhile collection of buddies, including the singular Peacock character, as it is about the actual search. There is time for introspection and nature-gazing and I drank every word like I was sipping from a fine bottle of tequila. (Sorry, I don’t drink the George Dickel bourbon these guys prefer.)
The account is complete with the supply-gathering and car repairs that go with this group’s efforts and so you get a little taste of the communities near where they searched, such as Del Norte.
Most challenging of all, however, is how do you go find a mammal that doesn’t want to be seen? That can smell you coming from miles and miles away? That knows every escape route and hiding place? The slow-motion hikes are beautifully written.
Bass believes there are bears. Or, at least, compounds belief with hope and some logic and the result is a sense that you might be able to will a grizzly into your midst. Just maybe. Finally, on a solo hike at a high elevation, comes the encounter that we have waited for and Bass believes and makes us believe, too. Alas, all the exacting scientists and fussy wildlife officers want actual physical evidence—even a fresh hair will do—but Bass and the team are unsuccessful in producing such a worthy tidbit. (No spoiler alert there.) Or are they? Bass is sure he saw a grizzly. Sure but not, you know, positive. He has no proof. The moment was brief, but close. It’s a heart-pounding scene.
I could launch a couple dozen superlatives about Bass’ writing style, but I’ll just leave it at this—I was drawn along effortlessly from the first word to the last.
So the outcome is no surprise, but the journey is immensely satisfying with Bass’ smooth and engaging prose as our guide. I wish Bass would go back and write an update. It’s time.
There is little that didn’t feel like it couldn’t have happened recently. The search, after all, is still on.
Going backcountry with grizzly expert Doug Peacock and biologist Dennis Sizemore, Bass makes three trips into The San Juan Mountains to search for tracks, claw marks and scat. Or a bear. A bear sighting wouldn’t hurt. “The Lost Grizzlies” is as much about Rick and his erstwhile collection of buddies, including the singular Peacock character, as it is about the actual search. There is time for introspection and nature-gazing and I drank every word like I was sipping from a fine bottle of tequila. (Sorry, I don’t drink the George Dickel bourbon these guys prefer.)
The account is complete with the supply-gathering and car repairs that go with this group’s efforts and so you get a little taste of the communities near where they searched, such as Del Norte.
Most challenging of all, however, is how do you go find a mammal that doesn’t want to be seen? That can smell you coming from miles and miles away? That knows every escape route and hiding place? The slow-motion hikes are beautifully written.
Bass believes there are bears. Or, at least, compounds belief with hope and some logic and the result is a sense that you might be able to will a grizzly into your midst. Just maybe. Finally, on a solo hike at a high elevation, comes the encounter that we have waited for and Bass believes and makes us believe, too. Alas, all the exacting scientists and fussy wildlife officers want actual physical evidence—even a fresh hair will do—but Bass and the team are unsuccessful in producing such a worthy tidbit. (No spoiler alert there.) Or are they? Bass is sure he saw a grizzly. Sure but not, you know, positive. He has no proof. The moment was brief, but close. It’s a heart-pounding scene.
I could launch a couple dozen superlatives about Bass’ writing style, but I’ll just leave it at this—I was drawn along effortlessly from the first word to the last.
So the outcome is no surprise, but the journey is immensely satisfying with Bass’ smooth and engaging prose as our guide. I wish Bass would go back and write an update. It’s time.
February 23, 2016
Bass goes gaga for Peacock the first however many hundred pages, and they all just look like dumbasses in the woods, with their land ethic that mostly amounts to "let's get drunk and stomp through the woods looking for bear shit," and "we should be here, but no one else should, because they'll ruin this land in ways that we won't." I don't get the love for Peacock here (he seems to be an Abbey disciple that somehow comes off as maybe even more of an ass...), nor do I care for the junk show shenanigans, but I do get the idea of wanting wild places to stay distant, aloof, untouched. The idea of wanting wild places to stay more than just "untrammeled" - the idea of wanting to protect a place from everyone but yourself, and maybe a few chosen friends - this is a thought I harbor often in my favorite wild places.
And, so, when Bass finally gets out of his own way and lets the land - the wild, remote, mostly inaccessible corners of the San Juans - speak for itself, it speaks: clearly, beautifully, eloquently. Bass just takes two hundred pages (or more?) to get there, unfortunately.
[Four stars for the last section - minus one star for each of the first two sections = two stars. See also: there are so many other writers that might have done such a better job with this...]
And, so, when Bass finally gets out of his own way and lets the land - the wild, remote, mostly inaccessible corners of the San Juans - speak for itself, it speaks: clearly, beautifully, eloquently. Bass just takes two hundred pages (or more?) to get there, unfortunately.
[Four stars for the last section - minus one star for each of the first two sections = two stars. See also: there are so many other writers that might have done such a better job with this...]
January 3, 2020
Today, I took a journey through the Colorado wilderness; specifically, in the San Juan Mountains. I did this with the help of Rick Bass and his book: The Lost Grizzlies.
Bears are a subject of fascination for me though most creatures are. But I have a special love for bears because they are often misunderstood as these terrifying man-eaters. And, when provoked, I am sure they are terrifying. But a large part of their diet, save the polar bears, is actually vegetation or nuts or berries. They certainly eat meat, but it is not the whole of their diet, much like it is not the whole of many humans’ diets.
I was concerned when I began this book because reading about the terrible things done to wildlife and their habitat makes me perilously sad. However, this book reads as an adventure and less about the terrible statistics. I was also worried it might be dated; it was published in 1995. However, because of the adventure-like nature of this book, if it is dated, it is rather minimal. There is a more recent edition of this book, but I am not sure how different it really is to the 1995 version.
I loved this story because Bass is so in love with the world around him; that resonated with me. He also works with many other passionate people like Doug Peacock and a host of other people whose names I could not possibly all remember. There are many one-liners that I read that I really appreciated and also some larger sections that I have marked to use in the future. I also enjoyed the references to Aldo Leopold. I haven’t read anything by Leopold, but I know he is basically the founder of all the things nature, or most things. That may be an exaggeration, but he was a big deal and still is today.
The only possible issue that someone may have with this book is that sometimes Bass is very long on description. I appreciate his commitment to the topic and his love of the mountainous terrain that he explores, but simultaneously, I don’t need so much detail.
I loved this book and I hope that you will try it too.
Content: 5/5
Structure: 4/5 STUPIDLY LONG SECTIONS, not chapters, SECTIONS.
Meets Objectives: 5/5 He does what he says he will do
Creativity: 5/5 Credit where credit is due, he can describe anything.
Bears are a subject of fascination for me though most creatures are. But I have a special love for bears because they are often misunderstood as these terrifying man-eaters. And, when provoked, I am sure they are terrifying. But a large part of their diet, save the polar bears, is actually vegetation or nuts or berries. They certainly eat meat, but it is not the whole of their diet, much like it is not the whole of many humans’ diets.
I was concerned when I began this book because reading about the terrible things done to wildlife and their habitat makes me perilously sad. However, this book reads as an adventure and less about the terrible statistics. I was also worried it might be dated; it was published in 1995. However, because of the adventure-like nature of this book, if it is dated, it is rather minimal. There is a more recent edition of this book, but I am not sure how different it really is to the 1995 version.
I loved this story because Bass is so in love with the world around him; that resonated with me. He also works with many other passionate people like Doug Peacock and a host of other people whose names I could not possibly all remember. There are many one-liners that I read that I really appreciated and also some larger sections that I have marked to use in the future. I also enjoyed the references to Aldo Leopold. I haven’t read anything by Leopold, but I know he is basically the founder of all the things nature, or most things. That may be an exaggeration, but he was a big deal and still is today.
The only possible issue that someone may have with this book is that sometimes Bass is very long on description. I appreciate his commitment to the topic and his love of the mountainous terrain that he explores, but simultaneously, I don’t need so much detail.
I loved this book and I hope that you will try it too.
Content: 5/5
Structure: 4/5 STUPIDLY LONG SECTIONS, not chapters, SECTIONS.
Meets Objectives: 5/5 He does what he says he will do
Creativity: 5/5 Credit where credit is due, he can describe anything.
September 29, 2020
Today is my late Father's birthday. I spent the day reading this book that he gave me. The story is fantastic. Rick Bass accompanies Doug Peacock and several other individuals interested in grizzlies to the San Juan Mountains in Southern Colorado. They search for bears and even find grizzly scat. The author comes face to face with a grizzly.
This book is amazing. Doug Peacock is one of Edward Abbey's best friends. Ed Abbey was my Father's favorite writer and this book allowed me to spend the day with Dad.
This book is amazing. Doug Peacock is one of Edward Abbey's best friends. Ed Abbey was my Father's favorite writer and this book allowed me to spend the day with Dad.
June 28, 2023
I have read a few reviews from others and see that they don't understand the book. They expect a Nature documentary and complain that the characters are drunks lost in the wilderness.
It's a metaphor for those lost souls doomed to wander the diminishing wilderness.
Forced to climb higher and higher into the thin air leaving the "other civilization" behind.
We didn't get into this mess overnight and it can't be undone by the government, capitalism, or wishing. Everyone needs to join in and just make simple changes around them and nature will reconnect the dots.
It's a metaphor for those lost souls doomed to wander the diminishing wilderness.
Forced to climb higher and higher into the thin air leaving the "other civilization" behind.
We didn't get into this mess overnight and it can't be undone by the government, capitalism, or wishing. Everyone needs to join in and just make simple changes around them and nature will reconnect the dots.
July 12, 2022
Fascinating and every word makes you feel like you are right there in the wilderness - seeing and smelling the elk, the campfire, the bear scat. A wonderful story about passionate men searching for grizzlies in the last bastion of forest where they used to dwell in Colorado. Loved every minute of this read.
January 17, 2025
This story is nearly 30 years old now, but it is still an exciting and interesting read. I live in Durango, not far from where the majority of the story takes place, so the story has significance to me. I’ve also read most of Bass’ books, so take my rating with all that in mind. I will say I enjoyed the Nine Miles Wolves book more, but grizzlies are pretty amazing creatures
August 6, 2018
La nature est superbement évoquée. Même si la nécessité de la préserver est évidente, j’ai moins aimé l’aspect assez didactique de la fin de l’ouvrage. Plaisant néanmoins.
March 31, 2024
Interesting read but I really doubt the validity of some of the information.
January 14, 2015
Quand on conseille un livre de Rick Bass, c'est souvent The Book of Yaak ou The Lost Grizzlies. On se pose la question, compte tenu du nombre d'écrits de Bass, de l'ordre de lecture. J'ai commencé par deux fictions puis poursuivi par The Book of Yaak, puis décidé de tenter une lecture plus ou moins chronologique. Je ne sais pas si finalement c'est bien nécessaire...
Lire Bass, pour moi, c'est une question d'humeur et d'attentes. J'ai de loin préféré Winter & the Book of Yaak à The Lost Grizzlies. Attention, les grizzlis sont tout aussi agréables. Mais je préfère Bass sur son propre terrain. Même Oil Notes m'a été plus agréable dans un sens. Je dirais entrez dans Bass par Winter, découvrez sa vallée avec lui, puis installez-vous avec The Book of Yaak.
Sur son terrain, Bass sait parler de magie et de mystère plus poétiquement, avec un œil presque naïf et émerveillé qui contre-balance sa conscience du constat terrifiant de la nature écrasée par anthropocentrisme, l'existence du tout au service de l'homme...
Loin d'être absents de ce tome, magie et mystère viennent s'y tisser progressivement pour apparaître plus clairement dans la troisième et dernière partie.
J'ai pu lire quelques critiques de lecteurs mécontents ou déçus indiquant leur ennui face aux facéties des principaux protagonistes des deux premières parties. Je peux le comprendre.
Pas du tout cet effet pour moi. Là aussi, Bass se montre fantastique.
Dans ma découverte de ce genre qui à chaque nouveau livre me semble plus riche, je construit petit à petit ma liste de livre et d'auteurs à découvrir ou approfondir. Bass sait citer un auteur ou un autre, ajoutant à ma curiosité, et ma liste.
Dans The Lost Grizzlies, il fait mieux: Doug Peacock. Découverte d'un personnage, de l'alter-ego du grizzli. Peacock qui donne envie de le découvrir, sa vie, son œuvre, son amitié avec Edward Abbey. À travers la première partie surtout, on se joint à l'équipée sauvage et rocambolesque de trois hommes dans les San Juan Mountains du Colorado, à la recherche des mythiques grizzlis. On sent bien la fascination et l'admiration de Bass pour Peacock, à travers quelques jours décrits comme une équipée de scouts maladroits et soûls du manque d'oxygénation en grande altitude. La deuxième partie est un peu moins drôle mais annonce la troisième, où la magie prend une place plus importante.
"Et les grizzlis?!" criez-vous tous. Ah, les grizzlis. Bass oscille entre doute et rêve, on voit encore une fois la dualité de sa réflexion (comme cette histoire de plein de bois pour l'hiver dans Winter), sa certitude que la magie de la montagne existe bel et bien et à travers elle, les insaisissables grizzlis, au cœur du mystère, et son esprit plus scientifique qui lui refuse presque de croire entièrement à ce qu'il entrevoit.
Bass revient toujours à son idée d'interconnexion, partant du haut de la pyramide, du prédateur qui régule les écosystèmes et leur permet de fonctionner et perdurer dans leur ensemble. Et le pas suivant qui fait trembler, celui que l'esprit moderne rationnel (à quel point?) écarte d'un revers trop rapide de la main, la disparition des grands prédateurs annonce celle de l'homme, lui-même grand prédateur. Et on apprécie sa réflexion sur le changement des mentalités, l'importance non pas de trouver une ligne complètement nouvelle mais de ne rien oublier, de reconstruire sur le savoir qui est déjà là, sur l'interconnexion, cette fois de l'homme et son environnement naturel, pas de décontextualisation, réciprocité.
En gros, j'ai lu avec un plaisir non moindre ce tome de Bass, mais différent. Et au lieu de reprendre illico ma lecture gourmande de Bass, je vais me tourner vers Peacock, ou pourquoi pas Barry Lopez? Non, Abbey. Non! Ehrlich... Aaaah, tant à lire!
Lire Bass, pour moi, c'est une question d'humeur et d'attentes. J'ai de loin préféré Winter & the Book of Yaak à The Lost Grizzlies. Attention, les grizzlis sont tout aussi agréables. Mais je préfère Bass sur son propre terrain. Même Oil Notes m'a été plus agréable dans un sens. Je dirais entrez dans Bass par Winter, découvrez sa vallée avec lui, puis installez-vous avec The Book of Yaak.
Sur son terrain, Bass sait parler de magie et de mystère plus poétiquement, avec un œil presque naïf et émerveillé qui contre-balance sa conscience du constat terrifiant de la nature écrasée par anthropocentrisme, l'existence du tout au service de l'homme...
Loin d'être absents de ce tome, magie et mystère viennent s'y tisser progressivement pour apparaître plus clairement dans la troisième et dernière partie.
J'ai pu lire quelques critiques de lecteurs mécontents ou déçus indiquant leur ennui face aux facéties des principaux protagonistes des deux premières parties. Je peux le comprendre.
Pas du tout cet effet pour moi. Là aussi, Bass se montre fantastique.
Dans ma découverte de ce genre qui à chaque nouveau livre me semble plus riche, je construit petit à petit ma liste de livre et d'auteurs à découvrir ou approfondir. Bass sait citer un auteur ou un autre, ajoutant à ma curiosité, et ma liste.
Dans The Lost Grizzlies, il fait mieux: Doug Peacock. Découverte d'un personnage, de l'alter-ego du grizzli. Peacock qui donne envie de le découvrir, sa vie, son œuvre, son amitié avec Edward Abbey. À travers la première partie surtout, on se joint à l'équipée sauvage et rocambolesque de trois hommes dans les San Juan Mountains du Colorado, à la recherche des mythiques grizzlis. On sent bien la fascination et l'admiration de Bass pour Peacock, à travers quelques jours décrits comme une équipée de scouts maladroits et soûls du manque d'oxygénation en grande altitude. La deuxième partie est un peu moins drôle mais annonce la troisième, où la magie prend une place plus importante.
"Et les grizzlis?!" criez-vous tous. Ah, les grizzlis. Bass oscille entre doute et rêve, on voit encore une fois la dualité de sa réflexion (comme cette histoire de plein de bois pour l'hiver dans Winter), sa certitude que la magie de la montagne existe bel et bien et à travers elle, les insaisissables grizzlis, au cœur du mystère, et son esprit plus scientifique qui lui refuse presque de croire entièrement à ce qu'il entrevoit.
Bass revient toujours à son idée d'interconnexion, partant du haut de la pyramide, du prédateur qui régule les écosystèmes et leur permet de fonctionner et perdurer dans leur ensemble. Et le pas suivant qui fait trembler, celui que l'esprit moderne rationnel (à quel point?) écarte d'un revers trop rapide de la main, la disparition des grands prédateurs annonce celle de l'homme, lui-même grand prédateur. Et on apprécie sa réflexion sur le changement des mentalités, l'importance non pas de trouver une ligne complètement nouvelle mais de ne rien oublier, de reconstruire sur le savoir qui est déjà là, sur l'interconnexion, cette fois de l'homme et son environnement naturel, pas de décontextualisation, réciprocité.
En gros, j'ai lu avec un plaisir non moindre ce tome de Bass, mais différent. Et au lieu de reprendre illico ma lecture gourmande de Bass, je vais me tourner vers Peacock, ou pourquoi pas Barry Lopez? Non, Abbey. Non! Ehrlich... Aaaah, tant à lire!
February 10, 2014
After reading the first 50 or so pages of this book, I realized that I had read those pages before, and gotten no further. So I tried again, but I still couldn't get into this book.
The writing is definitely not to my taste. For a nonfiction book about searching for bears in the wilderness, the author certainly does spend a lot of time talking about the people he's with and what life with them is like. I found his descriptions of the people and their actions annoying. I'm pretty sure that Peacock was supposed to come off sounding like an awesome guy to be around, the writer makes him sound like a jerk who I would personally want to stay far away from. I also found that the author spent a lot of time musing about things, rather than being factual about tracking the hidden bears. This definitely seemed more like a philosophical book than a nonfiction wilderness book.
I also didn't really like the characters in the book and their ideals. They definitely seemed to have an elitist attitude (I don't know a good way to describe it), they seemed as if they believed they had a right to be wandering about the wilderness while others didn't. They scoffed at the hikers hiking in the rain with their rain jackets, as if they were better than the hikers (as they themselves weren't wearing rain-gear) and as if they had more of a right to be enjoying the countryside than the hikers.
I also didn't really enjoy all of the drinking that happened in this book. I understand that you're throwing a couple guys together in the wilderness and they're likely to drink but I felt that in this book the drinking was a little silly. The author makes a point of mentioning how he took 'a couple aspirin for the headache and a couple more aspirin from the drinks the night before'. They also, while driving up into the mountains, stumbled across a piece of old mining land that was privately owned. The owner had a sign in his pond requesting that people stay in their cars and not fish in the pond. Well the authors didn't get out of their car, but they did dump some beer cans out of the door onto the guys land. First of all, that's littering. Now I understand that the land was trashed from mining, but still. The author makes a huge point of saying how much the guys respected nature, but then they go and dump some beer cans on the ground right at the start of their trip. Also, that's really disrespectful to intentionally dump your trash on someone's land. That just made me dislike the characters in the book even more.
Overall, I was excited to read this book but found it to be a major disappointment. I just couldn't get into the authors writing style and found myself disliking all of the characters.
The writing is definitely not to my taste. For a nonfiction book about searching for bears in the wilderness, the author certainly does spend a lot of time talking about the people he's with and what life with them is like. I found his descriptions of the people and their actions annoying. I'm pretty sure that Peacock was supposed to come off sounding like an awesome guy to be around, the writer makes him sound like a jerk who I would personally want to stay far away from. I also found that the author spent a lot of time musing about things, rather than being factual about tracking the hidden bears. This definitely seemed more like a philosophical book than a nonfiction wilderness book.
I also didn't really like the characters in the book and their ideals. They definitely seemed to have an elitist attitude (I don't know a good way to describe it), they seemed as if they believed they had a right to be wandering about the wilderness while others didn't. They scoffed at the hikers hiking in the rain with their rain jackets, as if they were better than the hikers (as they themselves weren't wearing rain-gear) and as if they had more of a right to be enjoying the countryside than the hikers.
I also didn't really enjoy all of the drinking that happened in this book. I understand that you're throwing a couple guys together in the wilderness and they're likely to drink but I felt that in this book the drinking was a little silly. The author makes a point of mentioning how he took 'a couple aspirin for the headache and a couple more aspirin from the drinks the night before'. They also, while driving up into the mountains, stumbled across a piece of old mining land that was privately owned. The owner had a sign in his pond requesting that people stay in their cars and not fish in the pond. Well the authors didn't get out of their car, but they did dump some beer cans out of the door onto the guys land. First of all, that's littering. Now I understand that the land was trashed from mining, but still. The author makes a huge point of saying how much the guys respected nature, but then they go and dump some beer cans on the ground right at the start of their trip. Also, that's really disrespectful to intentionally dump your trash on someone's land. That just made me dislike the characters in the book even more.
Overall, I was excited to read this book but found it to be a major disappointment. I just couldn't get into the authors writing style and found myself disliking all of the characters.
June 29, 2011
This is a very unique book written by an author that has a wonderful way with words. Its kind of a book about discovery and people with different ideas but one common goal, to see a grizzly bear.
Rick Bass tells this book in three parts. Each describes a trip that he takes out to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado to determine if there are still Grizzly Bears in the area. They are thought to be hunted out, but more and more evidence points to the fact that they may still be roaming the mountains, just infinitely more solitary then they ever once were. Each trip takes place a year apart and has some reoccurring people that join him. Most noticeably is Doug Peacock, a wilderness guy who could arguably be called the heart of the operation. He leads the expeditions and seems to organize things while being somewhat solitary himself. Once in awhile the mission for bears will be sidetracked by the discovery of chantrelles and the subsequent eating of them.
As a narrator Bass presents himself pretty well, although I found it a bit disconcerting the he mentions medical problems but never really says whats going on exactly. It makes you worry about him and distracts from the actual telling of the book since he never really goes any further with it. His descriptions of the other people are fair, but I think he does tend to over-characterize them a bit. At times, Peacock does not even seem like a real person.
I liked the premise of the novel although it does go somewhat slow at times. Bass gets caught up in his tale and he starts focusing on trivialities when he could be moving the story along. But his writing is beautiful and it does make up for that. He is very descriptive and you can almost feel his emotions through reading his words. And his description of the mushrooms they fixed during the book absolutely made my mouth water. And I do think he did a favor for the bears of San Juan Mountains; he makes them mysterious which in turn makes them more special and could even help their cause as people fall in love with their story.
Definitely an interesting book. If you're into non-fiction this is one to read.
The Lost Grizzlies
Copyright 1995
240 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
Rick Bass tells this book in three parts. Each describes a trip that he takes out to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado to determine if there are still Grizzly Bears in the area. They are thought to be hunted out, but more and more evidence points to the fact that they may still be roaming the mountains, just infinitely more solitary then they ever once were. Each trip takes place a year apart and has some reoccurring people that join him. Most noticeably is Doug Peacock, a wilderness guy who could arguably be called the heart of the operation. He leads the expeditions and seems to organize things while being somewhat solitary himself. Once in awhile the mission for bears will be sidetracked by the discovery of chantrelles and the subsequent eating of them.
As a narrator Bass presents himself pretty well, although I found it a bit disconcerting the he mentions medical problems but never really says whats going on exactly. It makes you worry about him and distracts from the actual telling of the book since he never really goes any further with it. His descriptions of the other people are fair, but I think he does tend to over-characterize them a bit. At times, Peacock does not even seem like a real person.
I liked the premise of the novel although it does go somewhat slow at times. Bass gets caught up in his tale and he starts focusing on trivialities when he could be moving the story along. But his writing is beautiful and it does make up for that. He is very descriptive and you can almost feel his emotions through reading his words. And his description of the mushrooms they fixed during the book absolutely made my mouth water. And I do think he did a favor for the bears of San Juan Mountains; he makes them mysterious which in turn makes them more special and could even help their cause as people fall in love with their story.
Definitely an interesting book. If you're into non-fiction this is one to read.
The Lost Grizzlies
Copyright 1995
240 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
February 20, 2013
I'm not sure where to begin this review, so much are my thoughts still throbbing around the complexity of the many themes central to this story, which are as much about Rick Bass and his eccentric band of grizzly-revering brothers as they are about the ethical and geographic conundrums centering around the reintegration of shrinking species, and the overwhelming need to reclaim, before it's too late, wild places for the maintaining of their sacristy, and for the survival of all species, mankind included.
The book was definitely disjointed in places, and I will admit to highly preferring the latter two sections to the first, which read less like a sacred mountain memory and/or call to conservation arms, and more like a bromance between Bass and Dave Peacock. Peacock's mannerisms, real or exaggerated, are highly overblown, and as such, he becomes highly predictable and even distracting. He was apparently one of Edward Abbey's closest friends, which maybe matters to the story and maybe doesn't at all, but what does matter is that Peacock himself is essential to this particular grizzly narrative, because he is essential to Bass' development as a grizzly-reverer and champion of the San Juans.
Ultimately this book made me long for the San Juans, which were already on our list of places to get lost, and made me long for the ability to share our favorite mountain trails with my dad and my grandfather. They were our people, are Bass' and Peacock's and Dillard's and even Abbey's people, too. People who build their lives upon the belief that, as Bass so aptly stated early in this book, "there need to be places where any of us can get far enough in, if only in our minds. We need to have interiors in this country, at least a few for each state, places against which to measure your spirit, as Wallace Stegner has said."
[Four stars for so many pages I'd read again and again, and so many places I want to see never end.]
The book was definitely disjointed in places, and I will admit to highly preferring the latter two sections to the first, which read less like a sacred mountain memory and/or call to conservation arms, and more like a bromance between Bass and Dave Peacock. Peacock's mannerisms, real or exaggerated, are highly overblown, and as such, he becomes highly predictable and even distracting. He was apparently one of Edward Abbey's closest friends, which maybe matters to the story and maybe doesn't at all, but what does matter is that Peacock himself is essential to this particular grizzly narrative, because he is essential to Bass' development as a grizzly-reverer and champion of the San Juans.
Ultimately this book made me long for the San Juans, which were already on our list of places to get lost, and made me long for the ability to share our favorite mountain trails with my dad and my grandfather. They were our people, are Bass' and Peacock's and Dillard's and even Abbey's people, too. People who build their lives upon the belief that, as Bass so aptly stated early in this book, "there need to be places where any of us can get far enough in, if only in our minds. We need to have interiors in this country, at least a few for each state, places against which to measure your spirit, as Wallace Stegner has said."
[Four stars for so many pages I'd read again and again, and so many places I want to see never end.]
July 27, 2014
I loved this book. I can see this book only reaching certain readers. If you do not possess an abundance of patience for Bass's prose then you will not see the beauty, as I have. Bass's prose mirrors the winding pursuit to answer definitively the question of the grizzly bears existence in the San Juan Mountains. Not every page, nor every chapter for that matter, is going to dazzle readers with riveting accounts about grizzly bears, but it will colorfully describe the characters involved and characters necessary for taking on this enormous challenge. He will recount camp fire discussions, the obstacles facing individuals readying themselves for the lengthy adventures, and finally episodes that occurred along the trail. I really enjoyed the part about them stumbling into a mess of Chanterelle mushrooms in the woods. A common theme in the book appears in another way when he mentions man's ability to locate gas and oil, an incredible feat in its own right, but the exact conditions right for harvesting Chanterelle mushrooms eludes us.
The book has left me with a hunger to see, hear, feel, and breathe in the air from those mountains. It inspires me to live and spread their doctrine to others. Also I just about forgot, but you can look forward to the Native American elements that are mentioned off and on.
The book has left me with a hunger to see, hear, feel, and breathe in the air from those mountains. It inspires me to live and spread their doctrine to others. Also I just about forgot, but you can look forward to the Native American elements that are mentioned off and on.
July 8, 2012
Everything I read by Rick Bass, I thoroughly love. I love his perspective, I love his respect for wilderness, for natural balances, I love his reverence and his ideology, his suggestions for ways to fix the harrowing problems presented by our frighteningly rapid expansion of civilization, the diminishing realms of wildness around us, I love his humility in the face of the mighty mysteries and intricacies that comprise the communities of nature. I love that he acknowledges our place in nature, and not our place aside from nature. He pleads with us all to remember that we and nature are not disparate, are not strangers, are not even neighbors; instead, strange as it is for so many of our species who have found themselves born into a world so ostensibly distanced from the land, we are cells within the big body, dancing around organs, contributing to the greater functions. Like the elusive Grizzlies of the San Juans. But we often forget our place, forget that we are animals, and shit straight into the heart of our breathing home. We are just shitting on ourselves, into ourselves.
November 29, 2021
Il ne se passe pas grand chose dans ce roman. Dans le genre « récit de randonnées et de communion avec la nature » j’ai préféré « traité du zen et de l’art de la pêche à la mouche » de Gierach. Le roman de Rick Bass m’a semblé confus et m’a souvent perdue. Qui sont ces personnages qui entrent et sortent du cadre sans nous laisser d’empreinte ? Quelle est vraiment la démarche du protagoniste et de ses compères ? Camper, faire la tête, être misanthropes, à quelles fins ? L’ensemble paraît une liste d’anecdotes sans nécessairement de liens les unes avec les autres. Rick transporte des dizaines de litres d’eau dans son sac car il refuse de boire l’eau filtrée de Doug / Rick boit l’eau filtrée de Doug au chapitre suivant. Tout ça pour quoi ?
Néanmoins, j’ai aimé les récits de randonnée, de marche, de forêt et de champignons. C’est pour ça que je lis les Gallmeister : pour la mousse sous mes pieds et la lumière qui filtre entre les feuilles. Maintenant, j’ai envie de rando dans le Colorado... et de chanterelles à l’ail.
Néanmoins, j’ai aimé les récits de randonnée, de marche, de forêt et de champignons. C’est pour ça que je lis les Gallmeister : pour la mousse sous mes pieds et la lumière qui filtre entre les feuilles. Maintenant, j’ai envie de rando dans le Colorado... et de chanterelles à l’ail.
November 18, 2011
I liked the book on several levels. the personalities were unique. I have met crazy's before, Doug Peacock is one of them. His antics were interesting and made the story worth reading. The writing was clear and scenic when they were in the mountains. A good read on a cold afternoon. The book left a bit to desire when they were out of the mountains. The reader was left hanging when the question was asked, do they still live in the San Juan's. There was plenty of scat to retrieve but no conclusive evidence was presented at the end. Rick Bass would have us to believe that this because they want to keep their existence confidential. While that is understandable why write about their possible existence and then not answer the question. Overall I look forward to reading more of Rick Bass's writing.
September 23, 2015
The Lost Grizzlies: A Search For Survivors in the Colorado Wilderness by Rick Bass (Houghton Miflin Harcourt 1995) (599.74446) is the story of the search for proof that the grizzly bear has somehow managed to survive in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. A ragtag band of professional and amateur naturalists searching the mountains so desperately hope to prove that the grizzly has not been extirpated that they almost manage to convince themselves. After reading this, I'm not sure that Doug Peacock (noted grizzly expert) is a good influence on Rick Bass. My rating: 7/10, finished 10/24/13.
November 12, 2008
I was amazed by his collection of Hermit's Story essays. This is a much different Rick Bass.
I'v had to forgive him for being lazy in this book. It is more of a diary/journal than anything else. There are some good moments, enough to keep reading, and once the myth of Doug Peacock was replaced by Bass's (realistic?) version, I've had plenty to think about.
Ultimately I can't get away from the feeling that this book could have been condensed down to thirty kick ass pages instead of a few hundred average sleepy eyed lullabys.
I'v had to forgive him for being lazy in this book. It is more of a diary/journal than anything else. There are some good moments, enough to keep reading, and once the myth of Doug Peacock was replaced by Bass's (realistic?) version, I've had plenty to think about.
Ultimately I can't get away from the feeling that this book could have been condensed down to thirty kick ass pages instead of a few hundred average sleepy eyed lullabys.
December 19, 2007
I believe there are grizzlies left in Colorado.
Not because there is fact to prove it but because I want it to be true. Robert Fulghum is quoted as saying "I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience...."
This book tells the story of a handful of men who believe in grizzlies and are searching for them in CO. The world is a better place if there are grizzlies in CO.
Not because there is fact to prove it but because I want it to be true. Robert Fulghum is quoted as saying "I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience...."
This book tells the story of a handful of men who believe in grizzlies and are searching for them in CO. The world is a better place if there are grizzlies in CO.
December 20, 2011
Are they still there? I doubt it-way too many people all over Colorado these days, but the search is interesting, and Bass travels with some unique folks (the Grizz expert Doug Peacock among them) and through some swell Colorado mountains, which makes for a good read...and there is an encounter that leaves us all, including Rick Bass, guessing about the possibility of Grizz in the Centennial State. Certainly a worthwhile read.
January 26, 2009
This was the first book I read by Rick Bass. I don't really enjoy his writing style. He seems too preachy and like the weight of the world rests on every action.
I also didn't like that they didn't talk at all about the evidence they found afterward.
I did like the brief glimpse at Doug Peacock and the subject matter in general.
I also didn't like that they didn't talk at all about the evidence they found afterward.
I did like the brief glimpse at Doug Peacock and the subject matter in general.
June 29, 2015
A superb, well-executed and well-felt examination of the grizzlies of the San Juans. Bass makes a persuasive case for their presence-- but more than that, a persuasive argument for the value and need of wildness inside us all. I think they're out there, but then again, that's where I want them. But this book is about the journey, not the destination.
September 16, 2016
This introduction to R. Bass recommended to me was an interesting entree into the Southern Colorado wilderness by word rather than by foot or by car. While I may have expected a more technical read, this was a fairly relaxed tromp into the woods with its fair share of characters, misadventures, and ultimately, a few sightings to keep the hunt and the nature of the beast alive.
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January 10, 2008i liked this one too. i really like rick bass. his writing is not pompous, but detailed, educational, adventurous, and heartfelt. this book features doug peacock who has also written a grizzly book worth looking into.
January 18, 2009
This book is divided into three chapters, the first one says very little about bears and is more of a biography of Doug Peacock (interesting, but I want to read about bears). If your interested in Colorado grizzles, then I recommend David Peterson's book Ghost Grizzles.
June 3, 2009
I love Rick Bass's writing and his style comes through in this book. Unfortunately, I was looking for a book about grizzly behavior filled with lots of science and this was more of a personal commentary.
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