For many people, moving to a mountain town is the realization of a dream, the final step in a pilgrimage to a relaxed lifestyle in a rugged and beautiful setting. After a long journey that began when he was a teenager in the 1980s with the vague idea there might be a better life somewhere “out west,” Jamey Glasnovic eventually fled the chaos and stress of the big city and tried to settle into an uncomplicated Rocky Mountain existence.

Canmore, Alberta, a small community nestled in a picturesque valley situated right at the edge of Banff National Park, should have been the perfect end to his searching. A rapidly growing town emerging on the tourism radar can strain anyone’s definition of paradise, however, and Lost and Found is Glasnovic’s account of his attempt, in the fall of 2008, to recapture the simple wonders of living on the boundaries of a vast wilderness.

A spirited amble by bicycle and on foot, inspired by the work of Bill Bryson, Lost and Found explores the heart of the Rocky Mountain Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its staggering beauty, and examines the consequences of celebrating that beauty too effectively with mass tourism and over-ambitious development. Eschewing the convenience of motorized transportation, Glasnovic earns every kilometre that passes beneath his feet, and along the way he learns a thing or two about feeling profoundly connected to place. An experience some would describe as being home.

Jamey Glasnovic was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1968, and grew up in the suburb of Beaconsfield. A family trip to Spain when Jamey was 7 sparked his passion for travel, leading to explorations in Australia, Japan, Mexico, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Romania, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nepal, Tibet, and the Bahamas, as well as 26 provinces, territories, and states in Canada and the US. After relocating to Canmore in 2004, Glasnovic freelanced for newspapers like the Bow Valley Crag & Canyon, the Canmore Leader, and Rocky Mountain Outlook while continuing to explore Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Nepal, and Tibet. He authored Lost and Found: Adrift in the Canadian Rockies and A Few Feet Short: An Uncommon Journey to Everest. His upcoming book, Everything is Poa: One Man’s Search for Peace and Purpose in East Africa, is scheduled for publication in 2024. Jamey now resides in Mount Buchanan, Prince Edward Island.

Jamey Glasnovic's profile page

Glasnovic's book is both an entertaining travelogue as well as a meditation on how the brawl between nature and modern development led him to replace an idealized and somewhat naive view of the mountain West with a view tempered by the reality of commercialism and growth. But his narrative is also peppered with rich descriptions of wildlife, bumbling tourists, over-priced outdoor gear, finicky weather and history. This book provides a reverent yet refreshingly nuanced view of the Canadian West.—Publishers Weekly

"This is my favourite local adventure story. [An] interesting look behind picturesque mountain towns."

Jane Ansley, Avenue Magazine

What do you do when the stark realization hits that same-old, same-old also applies to paradise? Well, if you’re Jamey Glasnovic, you hop on a bike and get out of Dodge for a month-long tour to sort through it all and hopefully have a revelation or two along the way. There is pleasure in Glasnovic’s journey and his story. It’s an honest exploration of place and identity and Glasnovic is something of an ogre philosopher on a touring bike wrapped in his curmudgeonly cloak of pessimism and crankiness as he searches the mountains for answers.—Rocky Mountain Outlook