On his YouTube channel, Brave Wilderness, Peterson and his collaborators have amassed more than 14 million subscribers in almost five years. On camera, he handles the world’s wildest animals, everything from stinging insects to giant lizards to bear cubs. Peterson - better known as the YouTuber Coyote Peterson to his fans, who call themselves the Coyote Pack - has made a career out of that uncertainty. Things, I’ve learned, become unpredictable where humans meet nature. It was as though I was standing on an ice floe in the Arctic somewhere, not on solid earth. It stuck to my boots and held me fast to the ground, even as I was struggling to stay upright. The mud at Prairie Oaks, by the way, is perfect.
But it had been unseasonably warm that week, and the snow that would have otherwise covered the ground had been transmuted into gloppy sludge. I learn this as I’m following him through Prairie Oaks Metro Park on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio, because he’d suggested it might be a good place for an adventure. Nathaniel Peterson is good at tromping through mud - like, really good.
