Deschutes Public Library is pleased to welcome author Jonathan Stewart to the Downtown Bend Public Library on Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. for a reading from his book  “Pilgrimage to the Edge,” a new book which blends details of Stewart’s four-year odyssey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail with unique insights gained from his thirty-three years of public service. The reading is free and open to the public.

Stewart’s trek began in the summer of 2003, when he followed the Pacific Crest Trail from its lowest point on the Columbia River to the Canadian border. It ended four years later in the fall of 2006 near Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States. In between, Stewart walked 2,650 mountainous miles from Mexico to Canada along the western edge of the North American continent. During his hike, he learned that anyone, no matter what their age or physical condition, can succeed in tackling life’s greatest challenges with flexibility and persistence. “Pilgrimage to the Edge” showcases the hard-won beauty of America’s public lands and the diversity of the people who use them. It also echoes the author’s thirty-three year career of national service as a member of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and the U.S. Forest Service. In his book, Stewart shares his perspectives on the contemporary challenges of caring for national forests, a century of Forest Service history and the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of hiking.

Jonathan Stewart tackled the Pacific Crest Trail after working over three decades as a backcountry guard, smokejumper, fire management officer, volunteer coordinator, national fire plan coordinator and public affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest. This included serving six years as the executive director of the Northwest Service Academy, an AmeriCorps program that focuses on hands-on conservation. He also earned a degree history and journalism from the University of Oregon, worked as a journalist for the Tuscola Journal and joined the Green Revolution as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal.

For more information about this or other library programs, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz at (541)312-1032.