Loeffler has recorded interviews with representatives of the diverse cultures of New Mexico, revealing the cultural mosaic of the people along the Continental Divide.

Lightweight and small enough to fit in your pocket or tucked into your backpack, Survive Mountains is the must-have item to keep with you in case you find yourself in a mountainous survival situation. Including topics on administering basic first-aid, finding food and water, building shelter, and mental preparation, Survive Mountains also has full-color images and illustrations throughout. Expert hiker, and first-ever winter thru-hiker of the entire Pacific Crest Trail, Justin Lichter gives you the absolute essential information needed to get you home safely. Inside you’ll find: How to build fire, construct shelter, find water, and get food Navigation, orienteering, and signaling Worst-case-scenario advice for precarious situations Tips for common trail concerns, from lightning to blisters

An avid outdoors woman, Jennifer Hanson, with her husband Greg Allen, set off to thru-hike the 2,400-mile Continental Divide trail. During the hike, Jennifer learned she had lost her father to cancer, and her husband was forced to leave the trail due to a foot injury. Jennifer finished the last nine hundred miles of the trail- alone. This story is about their incredible summer filled with courage, humor, stunning scenery, local personalities and the simple joys of backpacking.

This magesterial and thrilling history argues that the story of American mountaineering is the story of America itself. In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Mountains were originally seen as obstacles to civilization; over time they came to be viewed as places of redemption and renewal. The White Mountains stirred the transcendentalists; the Rockies and Sierras pulled explorers westward toward Manifest Destiny; Yosemite inspired the early environmental conservationists. Climbing began in North America as a pursuit for lone eccentrics but grew to become a mass-participation sport. Beginning with Darby Field in 1642, the first person to climb a mountain in North America, Isserman describes the exploration and first ascents of the major American mountain ranges, from the Appalachians to Alaska. He also profiles the most important American mountaineers, including such figures as John C. Frémont, John Muir, Annie Peck, Bradford Washburn, Charlie Houston, and Bob Bates, relating their exploits both at home and abroad. Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural, and political roles mountains played in shaping the country. He describes how American mountaineers forged a "brotherhood of the rope," modeled on America’s unique democratic self-image that characterized climbing in the years leading up to and immediately following World War II. And he underscores the impact of the postwar "rucksack revolution," including the advances in technique and style made by pioneering "dirtbag" rock climbers. A magnificent, deeply researched history, Continental Divide tells a story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.

Artfully blending Scott Bischke and his wife Katie Gibson's agonizing struggle against Kate's advanced, recurrent, "terminal" cancer, this is the story of their three month, 800+ mile hike along the Continental Divide Trail across Montana. Numerous themes and parallels weave through the book: several encounters with grizzly bears, for example, provide an avenue for metaphorical comparisons between the fear of grizzlies and the fear of cancer. Similarly, Kate's ability to persevere through the toils of a long-distance hike provides a constant parallel to her ability to persevere against cancer. Other themes include the importance of a dogged spirit in battling cancer and the importance of wild country in revitalizing the soul.

It's the summer of 1939, and thanks to the New Deal's WPA, New England landscape artist Euclid Lane has come to paint the high mountain country along the Continental Divide in northwest Colorado. Wilderness and solitude are what Euclid is expecting, but when a local cowgirl by the name of Ursuline Kelley offers him a proposition, the picture changes. Past conflicts and misunderstandings between miners, ranchers, rangers, and sheepherders, epic accounts of death and survival in the wilderness--and new mysteries as well-- unfold and intertwine as Euclid finds trails into the heart of a beautiful and rugged country where aspects and attitudes of the old west remain alive.

With its towering mountains, sun-scorched deserts, fierce wildlife, and hard-to-predict weather, the American West ranks among the most forbidding places on Earth. Yet many are drawn to the beauty of this wild and rugged region. Some are daredevils. . .some are athletes. . .and some are outdoors enthusiasts who find themselves in a chilling battle for survival. In their extraordinary, heart-stopping true stories, you will discover how much can go wrong when people find themselves caught in the cross-hairs of nature's power. . . Dare To Survive Flash floods, plane crashes, animal attacks, avalanches, landslides--these devastating phenomena all too often claim the lives of men, women, and children in the American West. But some beat the odds, living to tell about their terrifying ordeals. There are inspirational stories of extreme survival and tremendous bravery. Of the hiker who--though armed with only a knife--survived a 30-minute nightmare with a cougar. . .of the backcountry snowboarder buried alive by an avalanche, saved with only minutes to spare. . .of the outdoorsman pinned by an 800-pound boulder who freed himself by amputating his own arm. And there are the unexplainable, senseless tragedies--the little girl whose mysterious disappearance at a national park was never solved. . . the inexperienced charter pilot who crashed trying to beat curfew in a snowstorm. . .and the veteran backwoods camper who, despite every precaution, fell victim to a fatal bear attack. What does it take to endure the impossible? Dare to Survive tackles that question as it vividly reminds us that when danger strikes, survival becomes the ultimate human challenge. "This frightening but enjoyable book reveals that Mother Nature has more ways to kill than even the toughest Mafia godfather." --Ted Schwarz, author of Hollywood Confidential: How the Studios Beat the Mob at Their Own Game Rick Rinehart is a publisher, writer, and former Colorado Humanities Scholar whose honors include recognition by the National Park Service for contributions to wolf recovery in Yellowstone National Park. His wife, Amy Rinehart, is a former publisher of endurance sports books who consults with outdoor retail and environmental organizations in the development of publishing programs. Rick and Amy live in Lafayette, Colorado.