Trail of the Lost

The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail

By: Andrea Lankford

Narrated by: Kristi Burns

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

From an award-winning former law enforcement park ranger and investigator, this female-driven true crime adventure follows the author’s quest to find missing hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail by pairing up with an eclectic group of unlikely allies.

As a park ranger with the National Park Service's law enforcement team, Andrea Lankford led search and rescue missions in some of the most beautiful (and dangerous) landscapes across America, from Yosemite to the Grand Canyon. But though she had the support of the agency, Andrea grew frustrated with the service's bureaucratic idiosyncrasies, and left the force after twelve years. Two decades later, however, she stumbles across a mystery that pulls her right back where she left off: three young men have vanished from the Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,650-mile trek made famous by Cheryl Strayed's Wild, and no one has been able to find them. It’s bugging the hell out of her.

Andrea’s concern soon leads her to a wild environment unlike any she’s ever encountered: missing person Facebook groups. Andrea launches an investigation, joining forces with an eclectic team of amateurs who are determined to solve the cases by land and by screen: a mother of the missing, a retired pharmacy manager, and a mapmaker who monitors terrorist activity for the government. Together, they track the activities of kidnappers and murderers, investigate a cult, rescue a psychic in peril, cross paths with an unconventional scientist, and reunite an international fugitive with his family. Searching for the missing is a brutal psychological and physical test with the highest stakes, but eventually their hardships begin to bear strange fruits—ones that lead them to places and people they never saw coming.

Beautifully written, heartfelt, and at times harrowing, TRAIL OF THE LOST paints a vivid picture of hiker culture and its complicated relationship with the ever-expanding online realm, all while exploring the power and limits of determination, generosity, and hope. It also offers a deep awe of the natural world, even as it unearths just how vast and treacherous it can be.

On the TRAIL OF THE LOST, you may not find what you are looking for, but you will certainly find more than you seek.

©2023 Andrea Lankford (P)2023 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"Kristi Burns narrates in a confident tone as she recounts author Andrea Lankford's strong record of finding missing hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail.... Burns re-creates the varying moods of search parties along the PCT, the elation of making progress during interviews with witnesses, and the exasperation of dealing with bureaucratic obstacles." (AudioFile)

Connected

Fantastic read! Took a bit to get “hooked” and I will need to re-listen as there are a lot of people to keep up with and keep straight while listening. I feel like the author did an incredible job of helping the reader truly be in the searchers shoes. There were times I felt like I couldn’t keep listening because of how drawn out it was and how emotional and yet I just couldn’t stop. I wanted, dare say, needed a find. I am assuming it would be the same for the searchers, and magnified significantly. I also had unresolved emotions when it became obvious we would not learn about where some of the hikers were and I can now imagine, after listening to this book, if only a little, how the families and searchers must feel when they have to let go.
Thank you for an incredible truth!

Ho-Humm

The book is well, wrtten and narrated, and indeed has some interesting content, but it is far too detailed and goes on and on with a lot of details that don't really don't matter much. It would make a good condensed book.

The dedication of searchers

Very good story and learned so much about search and rescue…and how a story can change the more you tell it.

Buy the physical book

Love Andrea Lankford’s way of storytelling. However, if you were drawn to this after hearing her on NPAD, the narrator does not have the same effect as the author. Feels like the narrator is reading lines for an educational module instead of an immersive story.

informative and emotional

so good. I felt emotional and intrigued all at once. acknowledging what the families were going through was extremely impactful. she was also extremely informative with hiker knowledge on the pct

Excellent

Such a great story. I admire those who love the wilderness and those seek them when they are lost.
I felt like I was there with the search teams.

Factual and Heart Touching

Couldn't put this book down, grateful to all whom actually helped find the lost.

Engaging and interesting

This was a good read, or listen. I was unfamiliar with the missing hiker cases and found the descriptions of the circumstances and challenges engrossing. The narrator did a good job and performed well.

My only issue is a pet peeve and will probably be thought of as petty by some. Despite the authors’ impressive law enforcement background and scientific credentials she continually refers to “poisonous snakes” rather than using the proper term “venomous.” As a biologist this is distracting and irritating to me. I’m sure the author knows better but this should have been caught during the editing process as it is erroneous.

Great Informative Read for nature loving Trekkers

I am a fan of Andrea Lankford from Ranger Confidential. I love the truth and insight of each situation and truly experience the environment through her detailed writings. She is real and compassionate, and I have become a safer, more respectful, realistic, and prepared outdoors person because of her books.

Smart and engaging

I may be biased since this story literally takes place in my backyard and many of the people mentioned are people I personally know or have met. Some I only know of. As a member of the PCT family who’s followed these disappearances closely, it was interesting and enlightening to learn new-to-me details. I have actually hiked 7 Pines Trail looking for David and I still believe that’s where he will eventually be found.

I will say that these stories make Idyllwild and the surrounding wilderness sound like the tower of nightmares. This is probably a good thing though. Novice wilderness explorers and PCT hikers need to understand how treacherous this mountain range can be. Too many PCT hikers think of this section as the desert without fully understanding they will have to navigate difficult, high-elevation, and snow/icy terrain.

Extremely well written and once I started listening, I didn’t stop until the end. I’m now a fan and am about to begin Ranger Confidential.