Burkhardt charts new course in latest book

Burkhardt's first book, Backwoods Railroads: Branchlines & Shortlines of Western Oregon, was published by Washington State University Press in 1994. Since then, he has produced a new book about every two or three years.

In 2001, Freight Weather: The Art of Stalking Trains, became Burkhardt's third book. In the book's essays and photos, he captures the essence of his love for trains, the country, and the earth itself. In a passage about the Columbia River Gorge, he writes: "The railroads carry a sense of magic. The trains seem to connect in a spiritual way with the land, as if they belong there and have always been there: blasting out of the raw, rock-faced tunnels, gliding under bridges, snaking along the edges of towns and along the river, always rolling somewhere distant; the symbol of our national and international connectedness."

The Columbia River Gorge is the starting point for Freight Weather, and from there Burkhardt's photos and essays take us on to the Upper Midwest, back to the West Coast, and then north to British Columbia and Alberta in Canada.

The phrase "freight weather" describes the type of weather suitable for hopping freight trains, mostly spring through fall.

Freight Weather provides the background for Burkhardt's most recent book, Travelogue From an Unruly Youth, published in January 2007 by his White Salmon company, Rolling Dreams Press.

In Travelogue, his sixth book -- and the first that is strictly a narrative -- he introduces us to the "lost art" of riding freight trains.

Travelogue chronicles a young man's adventures nearly 30 years ago. Burkhardt left the comforts of a good life, good friendships, and a stable relationship in Ashland, Ore., to answer the call of the rails. He hopped freight trains that took him to the Eastern United States, the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada, the Southern states, and back to the West again.

He explains that he didn't "hit the road" because of any dissatisfaction with what he had. Rather it was for the lure of new experiences, places, and relationships. Perhaps it was as simple as this: "I was 23 years old. I didn't want to be settled and didn't want to face the next 35 years as someone's employee. I never believed in the wizardry of retirement -- of waiting until age 65 or so to start having fun and being free. I rejected that path with all that I had. Now was the time; there was no promise for tomorrow."

Burkhardt shares with us the magic of traveling North America by freight train. "It was a time filled with close encounters with freedom, passion, romance, adventure, and danger, and the brew was heady and seductive for a guy in his early 20s," he writes. "The road was a sweet mystery, and I played it hot and to the hilt. Over the years, I rambled some 37,000 miles of freight track from coast to coast."

Burkhardt will be featured locally April 6 with a "First Friday" book signing at The Book Stop in Hood River, starting at 6 p.m. His books are also available at Artisan's Jewelers and Butterflies Flowers & Gifts in White Salmon, Antiques & Oddities in Bingen, The Book Stop and Waucoma Books in Hood River, Klindt's Books in The Dalles, and via Amazon.com.

For e-mail orders, contact: rollingdreams@gorge.net.