Emerson Sanford, originally from Nova Scotia, first visited the mountains of western Canada in the summer of 1961. Eleven years later, he moved to Alberta and has been hiking ever since. Emerson has solo hiked every historic route and most long trails between Mount Robson and the Kananaskis Lakes—over 3000 km in the past five years! He now lives in Canmore with his wife, Cheryl.

Janice Sanford Beck is the author of the bestselling No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren (Rocky Mountain Books). She has also written the introduction to the latest edition of Mary Schäffer’s Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies (Rocky Mountain Books) and, with Cheryl Sanford, researched the Mary Schäffer Warren portion of the Glenbow Museum’s permanent exhibit called “Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta.” Janice lives in Saskatoon with her partner, Shawn, and their children.