Michael P. Ausema

The Search for a Sense of Wildness Michael P. Ausema

In late May, 1997, author Michael Ausema left civilization on a journey to Isle Royale, a remote island deep in the heart of Lake Superior. As a volunteer seasonal park ranger, Mike lived in a small cabin, by himself, at the edge of this freshwater sea. This event set in motion a life that would be anything but ordinary. Mike went on to become a paid seasonal park ranger in Isle Royale, Everglades, and Glacier Bay National Parks. This book details his adventures into some of the wildest places on the planet while backpacking, canoeing and kayaking. Mike encountered bears, moose, alligators and wolves, as well as some odd and fascinating visitors to the parks. At the heart of the book is a quest. Years earlier, Mike had witnessed the Northern Lights on a cold, dark winter night in northern Michigan. The event left him mesmerized by a hidden sense of wildness. As the author discovers, that sense of wildness still lingers in some hidden corners of the world.