Acknowledgments

First, I would like to recognize my wife Melanie for her constant companionship over hundreds of miles of trails, who maintained her humor and mine through the wind and the rain and the snow, on tedious forest treks and over the steepest passes. Melanie was in large part responsible for keeping our backcountry patrol reports up to date, and was indispensable in providing extra runs to town for supplies and in giving me a two-car shuttle capability that obviated the need for hundreds of miles of backtracking. Many thanks for a job well done.

Thanks to Hugh Dougher and Kelly Bush for allowing us to volunteer as backcountry rangers and for providing assistance in a thousand small but crucial ways. Thanks to Robes, Tony, and Adam for their hospitality during our exile from the Marblemount compound. Jim Archambeault provided information concerning trails on the Okanogan National Forest. Rosemary Siefrit and Todd Johnson provided valuable information for the revision of the book. Thanks to Marshall and Dawn Plumer for the logistical support and the rare treat of Hozomeen ice cream. The ranger staff at Stehekin provided much-needed assistance in helping us solve the transportation challenges in that remote corner of the world. Mikhail and Vladimir at Northwest Boot Repair in Bellingham did yeoman work in keeping our expensive but disappointing footwear going.

This book, as well as Hiking Olympic National Park, would never have been written without Donna DeShazo’s visionary handling of my Glacier manuscript. Background research was conducted at the North Cascades National Park interpreters’ library in Newhalem, park headquarters at Sedro-Woolley, the University of Idaho, the Texas A&M University map collection, and the Wilderness district office in Marblemount. We appreciate the curators of these collections of texts and maps for their diligence in keeping this information available. Archaeological information was provided by Bob Mierendorf, who generously shared some of the results of his survey efforts.

Thanks to Craig Holmquist, Eli Warren, Kevin Kennedy, Margi Gromek, Barry George, Jim Hammer, and Jim Archambeault of the Forest Service for providing mileage data, background information, and reviews for the trails that fell within their respective districts. John Rose and Jim Wiebe of BC Parks provided information and reviews for hikes in Canada. The park dispatchers, Gaylyn, Lynn, and Vicki, will always have a special place in our memories as the friendly voices on the other end of the radio each morning and evening.

Finally, I would like to thank Little Joe Manley for just being himself.