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Travis Driskoll is a typical twelve-year-old dreamer. As he prepares for an elk hunting trip with his father -Travis's first wilderness adventure-he spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about the legendary John Coldter, the mountain man who first discovered Yellostone Nation Park. Little does he know that a face-to-face encounter with historic figure is just a few days away. Partners in... More

Travis Driskoll is a typical twelve-year-old dreamer. As he prepares for an elk hunting trip with his father -Travis's first wilderness adventure-he spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about the legendary John Coldter, the mountain man who first discovered Yellostone Nation Park. Little does he know that a face-to-face encounter with historic figure is just a few days away. Partners in the Wilderness chronicles the adventures of Matt and Travis Driskoll as the father-and-son team head out into the Wyoming wilderness, unaware of the tragedy that lies ahead. Written by outdoosman and former educator Ed Kienzle, the novel commemorates the importance of loyalty, love, and trust when it comes to facing danger and fear under the worst of conditions. Travis is overcome with excitement when his father announces that since he is now twelve, Travis will be allowed to accompany him on the hunting trip. As the preparations for the trip are under way, Travis can scarcely think of anything else. He can barely sleep the night before they are to leave. Once at camp, Travis talks almost incessantly about John Colter, even suggesting that a fire pit nearby might have once been used by the mountain man. His father chuckles as he tells Travis the fire pit is his own--he has setup camp here for the last eighteen years. Never one to pass up an opportunity to tease his youngest son, the hours that follow are full of jokes about Colter sightings. Travis grows weary of the wisecracks; they only serve to make an already stressed father-and-son relationship even more tenuous. The first couple days of the hunt offer up no opportunities to shoot anything. But early one morning, Travis and his father come upon two bull elk, antlers locked in a vicious battle. Fascinated and horrified at the same time, Travis cannot stop watching. What had begun as a majestic fight has turned into a grueling, ugly mismatch. The weaker of the two bulls tries to break free, but the stronger elk is too quick and thrusts an antler into the fleeing bull's ribs. Finally, Travis can stand it no longer. With a loud, piercing scream, he jumps up and yells, "Stop it! Stop it! Stop!" His father, who has been videotaping the encounter, chooses not to shoot. Travis is confused and disappointed in his dad, unable to understand his father's reason for not shooting. The young boy's rich fantasies of returning home with a majestic bull elk mounted on their truck grow dimmer and dimmer, especially when a game warden warns the two of an impending snowstorm. Now their hunting adventure will likely be cut short. This turns out to be the least of Travis's worries, however. When his father is brutally attacked by a bear, his life hangs in the balance as Travis is force to decide what action to take. During a desperate attempt to find his way out of the wilderness through a blinding snowstorm, Travis meets up with Colter but isn't sure if he's real. Is he a ghost? A man? A guardian angel? The two form an unlikely partnership as the cantankerous Colter helps Travis make some important decisions and eventually shows him a unique way out of the wilderness. The boy becomes a young man as he realizes what is really important in life.

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