Hike with Me

A solo hike gives a person a lot of time to think. During an overnight solo hike over Labor Day weekend in 2013, Jeanne Bustamante found herself thinking of her mother.No matter how much Jeanne wanted to share the experience of the hike, the backpacking, the views of wild Idaho forests and occasional wildlife, with her mother, it couldn't happen. Her mother uses a wheelchair and a walker, and cannot be outside in the heat. She has Multiple Sclerosis, and Jeanne could never bring her on a backpacking trip.Hike with Me: Stump Lake brings the trail to her.It is an account of a solo hike from a woman who still considers herself a beginning backpacker, told for her mother, who has never backpacked, and never will. Jeanne begins with an explanation for the lay person of what backpacking entails for her, and continues with pictures and written descriptions of how the overnight solo hike to Stump Lake, near Donnelly, ID, went.A portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the National MS Society.

Jeanne Bustamante didn't start backpacking until her late twenties, but once she started, she was hooked. On her first overnight solo hike in 2013, she had a lot of time to think about what backpacking means to her, and she wanted to find a way to share her love of backpacking with people who might not be willing or able to go out into the wilderness themselves. Foremost in her thoughts was her mother, who has had Multiple Sclerosis for over thirty years and could not come with her on a backpacking trip or even a short hike.Hike with Me: Stump Lake was the tale of that trip into the Boise National Forest. And it was the seed of another trip. In 2014, Jeanne went on a four day, three night solo backpacking trip through Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness.The stakes are higher in a wilderness area, where vehicles are not allowed and permits are required for entry. Multiple nights on over 30 miles of trail provided both challenge and the opportunity for incredible views.Join Jeanne on this trip through the wilderness which includes over 200 color photos.

Come hike with Jeanne and her husband along Washington's Wild Coast, in the Olympic National Park, along the Pacific Ocean. Over 150 color pictures bring this six day, five night beach hike into your hands. Find out what it's like to carry a backpack and bear canister for miles along sandy and rocky beaches. Learn what kind of seaweed not to step on and try to spot a sea lion.

Hike along with Jeanne on a five day solo backpacking adventure. Experience over 70 miles of the Idaho Centennial Trail through the Sawtooth Wilderness from Willow Creek to Stanley Lake.Over 200 full color photographs."Carrying a heavy pack across many miles can hurt the body, making it sore and tired. But its presence on my back is also a symbol of my self sufficiency. All that I need for my journey is on my back, weighing me down, yes, but also challenging me to figure out what is important. What do I really need to carry? Not just in my pack, but in my mind. The weight asks the question and forces me to answer."

Hike along with Jeanne on a solo backpacking adventure. Experience the beginning of the Idaho Centennial Trail from the Nevada border to the small town of Hammett.The book includes over 180 full color pictures."I walked down a highway that rolled just enough to prevent me from seeing very far in the distance, with wind trying to blow me directly back the way I came, and trucks roaring by with their own eddies of wind and dust to contribute.And I thought about my goal for the hike.I wanted to hike 100 miles.Why?Because it would be cool. It was a good number, a round number. But it was also arbitrary. Sure, there were sections of the ICT that would require 100 miles of me, and this was a safer section to practice that. And 100 miles would be a nice chunk out of the 900 miles I am planning to travel over the next decade or so. But the end point of 100 miles was a crossroads that might not be accessible by car, and I knew that even if I could push my body to complete the 100 miles, it would take just about all that I had.So what was the purpose of the hike? The real purpose, not the arbitrary, cool-sounding sound bite of a goal.I was out there, in the blazing sun, dirty, sweaty and in pain, to learn."

Come along on a hike on the Idaho Centennial Trail, linking up the desert to the Sawtooths to connect Jeanne's first and second section hikes of the ICT. Explore the transition from road walking the desert to approaching the snow topped Sawtooth mountains in the spring. The Idaho Centennial Trail is a trail that traverses the state of Idaho from the border with Nevada in the south nearly to the Canadian border in the north. Along the way, it travels through deserts and mountains, along roads and trails.

Come back to the Wild Coast, on a hike along the ocean in Washington State's Olympic National Park. Come along on a nine day backpacking trip with Jeanne, Ambrose and a new friend for incredible experiences, unpredictable weather, gorgeous views and wild animal encounters.This book contains over 225 full color pictures.

Come along on a hike on the Idaho Centennial Trail, from Stanley Lake to the farthest point the roads can reach into the Frank Church "River of No Return" Wilderness. This is a short section of the trail, but has its share of animal sightings, vistas, and a brush with fire.This book contains over 90 full color photos.

Hike along with Jeanne through the first half of the Frank Church "River of No Return" Wilderness on the Idaho Centennial Trail. Featuring over 200 full color pictures, as well as a crash course in what to do when the backpacking plan doesn't survive the engagement with trail reality, in ways good, and not so good.

Join Jeanne on another attempt to hike the Idaho Centennial Trail through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. The river might not return, but this backpacker can't stop coming back! Nothing goes exactly as planned, but it was a great adventure. Includes over 100 color photos!

Join Jeanne as she hikes with her husband, Ambrose, and their good friend Bill to finish off the Frank Church section of the Idaho Centennial Trail, starting with a flight into Chamberlain. Featuring full color photos and lots of fun!