“Hey! How’s our boy?” Taylor shouted, scratching Cody behind the ears. “Did you chase lots of deer today?”
“Man, I hope not,” said Jake. “With their new fawns around, those white-tailed moms could kick field goals with him.”
Taylor laughed and stood back up. “Cody’s too smart for that.”
“Aren’t you forgetting a certain skunk he met a few weeks ago?”
“Well,” Taylor said, “apart from that.”
Lifting their daypacks up onto their shoulders, the boys started walking up the muddy road toward their house. Blue penstemon, lupine, and arrowleaf balsamroot bloomed all around them, and the songs of chickadees, nuthatches, bluebirds, and flickers filled the air. Jake sucked in the sweet, damp spring air, and said, “Man, I love it out here.”
Taylor looked at him. “You don’t ever miss Pittsburgh?”
“I miss some of the people. Officer Grasso and our old neighbors. What about you?”
“Yeah, I miss them. But, Jake, Wyoming is where we’re supposed to be, don’t you think?”
Jake nodded. “Yep.”
Suddenly Taylor shouted, “Hey, look!”
Jake glanced up the road and spotted Abe and Jennifer walking toward them holding hands. The sight made him smile. When Abe had come east to find them, he and Jennifer had had to work hard to reestablish a relationship after so many years. There had been plenty of arguments—often involving Jake and Taylor, too. What was different now was that both of the boys’ parents seemed determined to work through their problems. More important, for the first time in his life, Abe was learning to compromise.
And it’s paying off, Jake thought, watching his parents approach, hand in hand. Jake had begun to feel like he was part of a real family again.
“What are you both doing home?” Taylor called to Abe and Jennifer. “Did Jackson close up early?”
Jennifer laughed and halted in front of the boys. “Early finish today!”
Jake smiled.
I haven’t seen Mom look this happy in years.
Since leaving Pittsburgh, Jennifer’s health had improved dramatically. Whether it was the clean mountain air or being a real family again, Jake didn’t know, but for the first time in years his mother had plenty of energy. Recently she’d even started working again, finding a part-time job as a legal assistant in Jackson, where the boys went to school.
“What about you, Dad?” Taylor asked. “Did they close down Grand Teton National Park, too?”
Abe, still wearing his park ranger uniform, also chuckled. “Nope, but Skeet and I have to head out tomorrow for an overnight trip to track some wolverines. The District Ranger said we could take the afternoon off to get ready.”
“So we thought we’d surprise you and walk home with you,” Jennifer filled in.
Taylor and Jake grinned as they all continued up the road toward the park service house that had been provided for them. Unlike Abe’s old cabin in the woods, this house had electricity and running water. Even though they had a stove indoors, Abe had built a fire pit outside, and in summer they cooked on it most days.
“So,” said Jennifer, “since we’re all home early, what should we do with the afternoon? We could go for a hike? I’m hearing a lot of new songbirds. Maybe you boys might get some new ones to add to your life lists?”
“Or,” said Taylor, “we could play a game of horseshoes in the front. What do you think, Jake?”
Jake had been looking forward to lying in the backyard hammock and reading one of the new books he’d checked out from the library, but he nodded and said, “Horseshoes sounds good.”
“How about a hike and then horseshoes?” Abe chimed in.
Jennifer elbowed him in the ribs. “Since when did you become so accommodating?”
Abe looked down at her and grinned. “Well,” he admitted, “I’ve had three very good teachers the last few months. Although, I do have one suggestion.”
“And what’s that?” Jennifer asked.
“Well,” Abe said, “how about you boys fill up those notebooks of yours, while you can still remember the details.”
Jennifer nodded. “That’s a great idea! After horseshoes we can take a hike, eat some dinner, and then spend the evening recording your adventures.”
“Oh man,” moaned Taylor. “I’m never going to fill up that journal you got me.”
“You don’t have to fill the whole thing,” Abe told him.
“Just write what you remember,” Jennifer chipped in.
“I doubt I’ll even fill up half of the pages,” Taylor said.
Abe patted him on the back and winked at Jake. “That’s nothing to worry about, buddy.”
“What if there are still a bunch of leftover pages in the back of the book?”
“Then,” Jake said, “you’ll have plenty of room to write about our other adventures.”
Taylor looked at him curiously. “What other adventures?”
Jake punched him in the shoulder. “The adventures that are still to come.”
WILDERNESS TIPS
Polaris, the North Star
Polaris is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and can be seen from across the northern hemisphere. You don’t even need a telescope to find it. Just look at the Little Dipper constellation. Polaris sits right at the end of the “handle.”
Polaris is called the North Star because it’s so useful for navigation. Unlike other stars, the North Star hangs directly above the North Pole and never appears to move in the sky. If you can’t find your way or don’t have a compass, you can always find which way is north by looking up into the sky.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
When boiled in water, arrowleaf balsamroot can help boost the immune system. Native Americans also used the roots and shoots for cooking, and even the young stems make for a quick, nutritious snack.
Deadly Parasol Mushroom
Some parasol mushrooms are edible, but get the wrong one, and it can prove deadly. NEVER EAT it if it has green gills or a green spore print. They are very poisonous and can even result in death. Always triple-check when dealing with the parasol.
Berry Cobbler in Dutch Oven
Ingredients:
4 cups of mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries)
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup of water
2 cups of flour
1 tbsp. of baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 stick of butter
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2/3 cup of sugar
Directions:
Wash and drain mixed berries.
In a large bowl mix the berries with sugar, lemon juice, and a splash of water.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and mix until batter is smooth.
Place the Dutch oven over the heat. Melt the butter.
Pour the batter over the melted butter, without stirring. Add spoonfuls of the berry mixture on top of the batter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Put the lid on the oven and cook for 45–60 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
How to Build a Snow Cave
1. Find or build a mound of hardened, compact snow.
2. Take sticks and lay across the snow pile. These will be the rafters of the cave’s ceiling.
3. Dig down into the side of the snow mound to create an entrance to the snow cave.
4. Then dig upward to create a sleeping area. The coldest air will fall down toward the door, creating a heat trap in the raised sleeping area.
5. Make sure to poke ventilation holes up through the snow roof.
6. Pack the entrance with snow, leaving a hole for ventilation.
Snowshoes
Snowshoes let people walk across deep snow without their feet sinking right through it. The shoes work by distributing weight evenly, so that you can move quickly across otherwise impassable terrain. They’ve been in use for thousands of years; it
is believed that the very first snowshoes were used in Central Asia in about 4000 BC!
There are hundreds of different ways to make snowshoes.
Here is one way to make a wooden snowshoe.
1. The wood is split by hand, to get the smoothest and straightest grain.
2. The long, thin strip of wood is steamed to make it flexible.
3. Once the wood is pliable, it is shaped into a teardrop shape (kind of like a big tennis racket) and left to dry in a kiln or a warm room.
4. Holes are drilled for the laces and the wooden slats that go across the middle.
5. The laces are tightly woven in an intricate pattern.
6. A binding is placed on top to hold the foot to the snowshoe.
Animal Tracks (Footprints)
White-Tailed Deer
Mule Deer
Rabbit
BRANDON WALLACE Trekking solo across the most remote corners of Wyoming and Montana as a young man, Brandon learned the hard way how to survive in the harshest conditions nature could throw at him. Having spent the subsequent two decades as a trail leader, passing on his knowledge to a generation of budding adventurers, he turned his hand to fictionalizing his experiences, and Wilder Boys was born.
DON’T MISS HOW IT ALL BEGAN!
ALADDIN
SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
authors.simonandschuster.com/Brandon-Wallace
SEE HOW THE JOURNEY BEGAN
Wilder Boys
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Aladdin hardcover edition January 2016
Text copyright © 2016 by Hothouse Fiction
Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Thomas Flintham
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
Interior illustrations by Jon Howard
The text of this book was set in Alright Sans.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wallace, Brandon, author.
The journey home / by Brandon Wallace.—Hardcover edition.
pages cm.—(Wilder boys ; [2])
Summary: When Jake, thirteen, and Taylor, eleven, learn that their mother is still alive but facing grave danger if they do not return the money they took from her abusive boyfriend, Bull, they leave their father, who is not eager to help, and set off on their own again for a late autumn trek from Wyoming to Pittsburgh.
[1. Survival—Fiction. 2. Wilderness areas—Fiction. 3. Brothers—Fiction. 4. Runaways—Fiction. 5. Voyages and travels—Fiction. 6. Family problems—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.1.W35Jou 2016
[Fic]—dc23
2015016108
ISBN 978-1-4814-3267-2 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3268-9 (eBook)
The Journey Home Page 13
