The Flight of the Arctic Tern, by Constance Helmericks

In June of 1947, Alaskan adventurers, Constance and Bud Helmericks, returned to the arctic wilderness in their first airplane. Originally published in 1952, Connie’s fifth book, The Flight of the Arctic Tern (342 pages), chronicles their lives from constructing a log cabin in the Brooks Range to flying the Arctic coast in search of their Inuit…

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Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People, by Stewart Holbrook

From the brick-paved streets of Boston and New England, to the deserts of Arizona, to the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest, beloved author and columnist Stewart Holbrook takes his readers down uncharted paths in a series of delightful pieces. Little Annie Oakley and Other Rugged People (210 pages) is pure Americana that delves into…

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Final Adjournment, by Don Stuart

The scenic campus of the Washington state capitol is outwardly calm, but the Legislature is in session and no one better understands the turmoil that swirls beneath the surface than professional lobbyist Sandy Dalton. In the middle of a busy day, a powerful senator is found dead in his office with an antique Native American…

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Down the Wild River North, by Constance Helmericks

In suburban Arizona, 1964, Connie Helmericks announced to her two daughters, 12-year-old Ann and 14-year-old Jean, “We’re going to make a canoe expedition to the Arctic Ocean.” And for two successive summers, that’s exactly what they did. Down the Wild River North (328 pages) is the vividly told story of their adventures in the remote northern reaches…

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We Fought the Road, by Christine and Dennis McClure

We Fought the Road (224 pages) is the story of the building of the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II. More than one third of the 10,607 builders were black; thought to be incapable of performing on a war front by many of their white commanding officers. Their task–which required punching through wilderness on a route…

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Riding the Wild Side of Denali, by Miki and Julie Collins

Identical twins Miki and Julie Collins trap, hunt, fish, and garden in Alaska’s wilderness just north of Denali National Park in Alaska’s vast interior. Their closest companions are loyal sled dogs and Icelandic horses, which eat fish and can withstand northern extremes. Whether taking a 1,900-mile excursion around Alaska by dog sled, defending their huskies…

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Klee Wyck Journal, by Lou McKee

After many years of paddling the waterways and outer coasts of the Pacific Northwest, author and artist Lou McKee planned a short kayaking trip near Vancouver Island with friends and family that unexpectedly became a yearly tradition. During the first trip that Pacific Northwestern summer, they chanced upon an enchanting stretch of beach and spent…

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Denali Ranger, by Lew Freedman

Roger Robinson has been Denali mountaineering for over forty years and has worked as a ranger for most of this time. Robinson has climbed Denali, at 20,310 feet, numerous times, leading patrols on the mountain, organizing clean climb efforts on the mountain, meeting the best climbers in the world, and leading rescues that saved lives.…

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The Columbia, by Stewart Holbrook

The Columbia (346 pages) commemorates the disciplining and conversion of a wilderness river from a water passageway to a powerhouse and a source of irrigation. Here is the story of its explorers who came by boat and by foot: the bickering and battles between Hudson’s Bay Company and Astor’s fur trappers, the settlers that turned politicians…

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Trusting the River, by Jean Aspen

Jean Aspen, daughter of arctic explorer and author Constance Helmericks, began life in the wilderness. Throughout six decades, the natural world has remained central to her. What began as a series of letters to her son, Lucas, when she and her husband Tom set out to search for a different future, evolved over the seasons…

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