Rookies in the Wild: Fear and Gloaming on the Pacific Crest Trail

Rookies in the Wild is the backpacking bible for those who don't backpack (and some that do). The true tale of a father and son who head off for one of the most beautiful—and ruggedly remote— areas of the country with no hiking experience, an overload of brand new gear, and a rich complement of paranoia. This comic, soft-core adventure story begins in Iowa and journeys to the Pacific Crest Trail in the Trinity Alps Wilderness of northern California. It's much about the West, the scale and the majesty, and it’s filled with natural history anecdotes that underscore the raw beauty and mystique of America's last remaining wild places. Rookies in the Wild is about facing fears: man-eating cougars, intestinal parasites, shoddy parenting, and mortality. But it's also a story of grace: How nature forgives, forgets, replenishes, and enriches the spirit.