CYNTHIA COPELAND and THOMAS J. LEWIS are residents of Keene, New Hampshire. Cynthia is a full-time mother of three children, ages fifteen, twelve, and eight, and has written and/or illustrated nearly twenty books. Thomas is an environmental chemist and entrepreneur. Avid outdoorspeople, they have explored every corner of New England on a tandem bicycle and on foot to write Best Hikes With Children in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and Best Hikes With Children in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, also from The Mountaineers.

SHEILA BUFF is a bestselling freelance writer specializing in natural history, the outdoors, and health and medicine. She is the author of Nature Walks in and Around New York City, The Great Tomato Book, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Birdwatching, among many other titles. She lives in northern Dutchess County in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley.

THE MOUNTAINEERS, founded in 1906, is a nonprofit outdoor activity and conservation club, whose mission is “to explore, study, preserve, and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors . . . . ” Based in Seattle, Washington, the club is now the third-largest such organization in the United States, with 15,000 members and five branches throughout Washington State.

The Mountaineers sponsors both classes and year-round outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest, which include hiking, mountain climbing, ski-touring, snowshoeing, bicycling, camping, kayaking and canoeing, nature study, sailing, and adventure travel. The club’s conservation division supports environmental causes through educational activities, sponsoring legislation, and presenting informational programs. All club activities are led by skilled, experienced volunteers who are dedicated to promoting safe and responsible enjoyment and preservation of the outdoors.
If you would like to participate in these organized outdoor activities or the club’s programs, consider a membership in The Mountaineers.

For information and an application, write or call The Mountaineers, Club Headquarters, 300 Third Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119; 206 284-6310. The Mountaineers Books, an active, nonprofit publishing program of the club, produces guidebooks, instructional texts, historical works, natural history guides, and works on environmental conservation. All books produced by The Mountaineers Books are aimed at fulfilling the club’s mission.