The Wild Nearby

Do you love wilderness, literature, and photography? Then you’ll enjoy the latest book from Braided River, The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby. The 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act provides us with a reason to look back and ahead.

Join us for the book's launch party at the Mountaineers Program Center on October 10 to celebrate what’s been preserved in the North Cascades and to hear Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Dietrich’s take on where stewardship needs to go next.

Event Details

WHAT: Book launch of The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild NearbyWHEN: Friday, October 10, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

WHERE: Seattle Mountaineers Program Center, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA‎ 98115

WHO: Hosted by The Mountaineers and supported by NPCA

TICKETS: You can purchase your tickets here.

OTHER INFO: Free parking is available at The Mountaineers Program Center. Or, take bus 75 which drops you off directly in front of the Program Center. Additional launch parties will be held later in North Cascades National Park, Everett, Twisp, and Bellingham.

Camping at Colonial Creek? Backpacking in the Sawtooths? Out for a stroll in Stehekin? Share your photos with the hashtag #wildnearby and they’ll be displayed at the book launch party.

We hope you will join us,Sincerely,



David G. Graves
Northwest Program Manager

P.S.: Check out the Northwest Regional Office's most recent field report here (PDF, 371 KB).

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
On her Majesty's Supernatural Secret Service

This is a novel about adventures on her Majesty’s supernatural secret service, and the author telling the tale has an imagination with no limits.  Anything and everything goes as these agents come up against unpredictable, supernatural foes and forces all requiring action in order to protect the blissfully ignorant public.  Fortunately these agents are armed not just with their wits and common weaponry; they have their own diverse supernatural abilities.

“Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine. . .”  At the beginning of the book, this mysterious letter is read by a young woman who inhabits the body of an agent who was working for good.  Myfanwy Thomas is her Welsh name (pronounced like Tiffany).  The new Myfanwy comes conscious in the agent’s body for the first time in a London park, surrounded by dead bodies that are all wearing latex gloves.  What’s a girl to do?  She follows the limited guidance contained in the ominous letter.  This is the beginning of a fast paced action novel.  Circumstances force the new Myfanwy to learn how to take on and succeed in her responsibilities as a Rook, which is a high-level operative in the secret British government agency that protects the world.

There is a lot to learn from a series of well hidden letters and other clues from the former Myfanwy, which were intentionally left hidden for her successor.  The new Myfanwy has no memory at all of what has happened before the moment in the London park.  The letters are a help to her, and to the reader throughout the book, as you both try to understand this new world and how to survive.  You both learn so much too about the former Myfanwy as the letters go on, and how the new Myfanwy is different too.  Reading the letter clues at the same time as the heroine, you’ll feel directly a part of the action. 

But time is of the essence when dangers are all around, including covert dangers within the agency itself.  Myfanwy must stop her unknown enemy before being destroyed herself.  She can’t just spend her time reading letters, she has to think and act for herself.  She also has to learn how to control and use her own interesting, supernatural powers.  There’s a lot to take on while handling her day to day job activities.  This book is suspenseful, mysterious, funny, and action packed.

The author has a master’s degree in medieval history and in his other life he works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats.  In this debut work he has created a complex, unique, logical, imaginative and entertaining paranormal fantasy where you have license to let your own imagination run wild.

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .

Storms of Denali - Hanging On Every Word

The Storms of Denali, by Nicholas O’Connell

Reading this book, I found myself continually re-checking whether it’s a novel, or a factual account. These characters are so touching they ascend from the page and bivouac in my heart and soul as real people. The harrowing description of their expedition is so believable, it‘s gripping.

John Walker narrates the story and expedition. He’s a family man who is dissatisfied with what he views is a sedate life as an outdoor equipment store manager, husband and father. He contrasts this to his previously active, mountain-climbing, single life. He’s nursing the wound of turning back before making the summit at Denali last time. Wyn Mitchell is John’s long-time friend, former climbing partner, and a world-class climber who boasts a risky climbing style. Wyn is the expedition leader. He’s driven to make his own personal big splash with this Denali climb in order to attract backers for his desire to attempt Everest next.

John’s wife sets conditions on his undertaking this long and potentially fatal trip. One condition is that John and his partner share the climb with two others, and that one of them has medical skills. That brings into the story Al McKenzie, a Boeing engineer who hopes this climb will help him forge an individual victory that will carry him past his divorce and beyond his corporate work life. Lane Frederickson also signs on. He is a fireman, medic and novice climber who desperately wants to establish himself as a serious climber. The author gives full and vivid treatment to each of these characters – their strengths, weaknesses and how their combination is a volatile mix that precipitates a disaster.

The prominent character towering from the page is the deadly Denali, the great one. Not enough to climb Denali, Wyn wants to make his splash with a new route to the top. Denali will have the final say about that. This is an authentic tale of man’s struggle in nature, and man’s struggle with human nature. The author, Nicholas O’Connell, is a mountain climber. One of the mountains he’s climbed is Denali. His experiences and talented writing bring such realism to this story.

You don’t have to be a mountain climber to appreciate this daring fight for survival on the highest and coldest mountain in North America. I’m a casual hiker, and I was enthralled with every page of this adventure. The pristine descriptions transported me to this foreign destination. The magnificent setting is both alluring and frightening. I recommend that you begin your own expedition into “The Storms of Denali” and experience it for yourself.

Thereby hangs a tale . . . .