Search and Rescue Alaska

by Tracy Salcedo

In a place as vast and extreme as Alaska, no one takes safety for granted. Whether adventurer or homesteader, tourist or native, people look out for themselves and for each other. But sometimes it just goes bad, and no amount of resourcefulness or resiliency can make it right. That’s when search and rescue teams kick into gear, launching operations by air and by land that have generated amazing tales of heroism, tenacity, and human kindness. Some of those stories have been gathered in Search and Rescue Alaska,
These stories and others in this compilation of essays will kindle a new appreciation for the skilled and selfless pilots, troopers, military personnel, and rangers on call for search and rescue in Alaska.

208 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2020

About the author

Tracy Salcedo has written guidebooks to a number of destinations in California and Colorado. Her most current books include Historic Yosemite National Park, a book of essays describing the natural and human history of the nation's oldest park, and Hiking Through History San Francisco, which traverses the history-rich parklands around the Bay Area. Her best-selling title is Best Easy Day Hikes Lake Tahoe, now in its third edition and featuring more than 25 short, spectacular hikes around the superstar lake of the Sierra Nevada. She has also written Hiking Waterfalls in Northern California, which describes 99 waterfalls on public lands in the northern part of the state. Hiking Lassen Volcanic National Park is a favorite; Salcedo has hiked every path in California's best-kept-secret park. Other titles include Best Hikes Near Reno–Lake Tahoe, Best Hikes Near Sacramento, Best Rail-Trails California, Exploring California’s Missions and Presidios, Exploring Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Best Easy Day Hikes guides to San Francisco’s Peninsula, San Francisco’s North Bay, San Francisco’s East Bay, San Jose, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Sacramento, Fresno, Boulder, Denver, and Aspen. She lives with her family in California’s Wine Country. You can learn more by visiting her website at www.laughingwaterink.com.

Reviews

[Elisa Stancil Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An even handed, deep look into search and rescue in the absolute wilderness of Alaska. Riveting exposition kept me fully engaged throughout the book. The short chapters and varied settings and time periods gave the narrative an unfaltering sense of urgency. A great read, Tracy Salcedo's visceral accounting of the philosophy --and reality --of search and rescue in icy realms was moving, thought provoking, and inspiring.

[Ed Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ate this book up! Part history, part thriller, part downright unbelievable, there is adventure and heroism on every page. I'm not sure that truth is stranger than fiction, but in this writer's able hands it is every bit as exciting. Strap on your snow shoes and let's go!