Rohde, who worked as a guide on hiking trails near Cave Junction in Oregon’s Illinois Valley in 2007, said putting together the 126-page “Hiking Oregon and California’s Wild Rivers Country” was its own long, difficult haul.

“It’s really exciting, and hasn’t really hit me yet,” Rohde said. “I’ve been slammed with field work this summer, and it’s a little bit surreal to have my name on the cover of a book — it makes me proud. The photo on the cover is a particular trail I cleared myself just because I loved it so much. It took a lot of effort to map it, clear it, get it in the book and describe it well.”

Rohde said a lot of the trails described in the book are in primitive condition — but that’s the point.

“There’s a certain solitude and interesting characteristics involved in the area that you can’t find anywhere else — wild and scenic rivers pulsing throughout the region,” he said. “It’s a very special place, and I encourage people to explore it.”

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