STEVENSON — At 76, author Linda Jo Hunter is hard to catch up with. If she’s not out paddling in the Sea of Cortez (winters in Baja), she’s in the deep woods of Washington (her summer home), trailing a bear on her eBike to discover what it’s eating and when. Or hauling away downed trees to seek out beavers where they weren’t expected to be.
A book launch party for her upcoming book, “Lonesome for Wilderness: Tracking and Trailing in Forest, Desert, or Your Own Back Yard” is slated for June 4, 3 to 5 p.m. at North Bank Books, Stevenson. The night will end with a paint party across the street at Stevenson Hotel, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The self-taught naturalist is a popular speaker, artist, author and advocate for the preservation of wild places. Her first book, “Lonesome for Bears,” about her seasons as a grizzly bear viewing guide in Alaska, remains highly regarded among bear enthusiasts.
Her latest, “Lonesome for Wilderness” will publish June 4, 2024, and promises beginners and pros alike new wilderness adventures following and learning from the wild animals who share our planet. It features 20 illustrations and a cover painting created by the author herself, who paints, writes, and teaches as ways to share her earned wisdom and tips for enjoying the outdoors.
It’s a rare summer opportunity when Hunter is not far out in locations only she and her tracking friends know. And her watercolor classes in Baja are favorites, so the painting event promises to be as fun as her bear and cougar stories.
Her new book is seasoned with captivating tales from her 30 years of tracking and trailing. She also shares insider advice about how to stay safe, have fun, and remain comfortable in wild places, whether forest or desert or your own back yard, no matter who or what you meet on the trail, no matter your age or ability.
The book has been chosen for a Library Journal review in its June issue, and is already generating a lot of buzz among tracking enthusiasts around the world.
About the book
“Lonesome for Wilderness” aims to teach readers how to advance their tracking skills, keep themselves safe and comfortable, avoid ending up in a survival situation, practice self-care away from home, respond effectively to being “lost,” work in a group while thinking for themself, deal with strangers on the trail, respect and survive wildlife encounters — and most of all, how to have priceless adventures!
Author Linda Jo Hunter has often been entrusted with safekeeping groups of wilderness adventurers: as an Alaska grizzly viewing guide, trained search and rescue volunteer, private yacht caption and public tour boat operator.
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