Pete KJ began explorations at age three in the wooded ravine that was his backyard in Seattle. He also began a lifelong writing habit. Backyard expanded as Pete stomped all over the Cascades and Olympics as a youth, and headed onward to the Pyrenees, Alps, Himalayas, and Andes. Peace Corps service in Africa cemented his deep desire to always be out in the world, and when he finally sat in a cubicle as a chemical engineer, it was in places like Puerto Rico and India. Long absent from the cubicle, he moved on to raise kids, travel the world with them, and write about it—and also write novels. Career originally brought Pete to Colorado in the 1990s; its gravity and beauty drew him back and continue to captivate him. In his continuing quest to experience everything this remarkable region has to offer, Pete has hiked hundreds of trails in the front range and beyond.