Pine Needle Dry Goods is teaming up with Maria's Bookshop to host author Jane Parnell, the first woman to climb the 100 highest peaks of Colorado. Parnell will read from her mountaineering memoir, Off Trail: Finding My Way Home in the Colorado Rockies, published by University of Oklahoma Press. Parnell's fierce, tender memoir spans half a century, recounting not only her adventures in Colorado's high country, but how mountaineering helped her recover from the trauma of rape as a young woman and a family history of mental illness. Several chapters take place in the San Juan Mountains, including her account of a near-fatal accident. English travel writer Isabella Bird, who in 1873 climbed Longs Peak with the fur trapper Rocky Mountain Jim, figures prominently in Parnell's book. Through Isabella's story, the author shows how despite the conveniences enjoyed by modern-day mountaineers, some things never change when it comes to matters of the heart.

Readers may also know Parnell as Jane Koerner, who has written for High County News, Mountain Gazette and Outdoor Adventure, among other publications.

We hope to see you there!