Years before the railway, and with only a network of ramshackle forts to support them, James Hector and his colleagues braved harsh winters, hot summers, unpredictable wildlife, personal conflict, and Native war parties to scout routes through the Rocky Mountains, often with only their wits to keep them alive.

The Intrepid Explorer tells the story of the famous Palliser Expedition from the point-of-view of one of its most remarkable members as he looks back on his life during one final visit to Canada in 1903. By the end of his life Sir James Hector had become a world-renowned geologist and explorer, but it was for his exploration of the Rockies that Hector was best remembered.

Ernie Lakusta uses journals, newspaper articles, and the original Palliser reports to paint a vivid picture of a true hero of Canadian history, a man whose brush with death is commemorated to this day by the Kicking Horse Pass in British Columbia.

Ernie Lakusta``s interests have always been science and the mountains. Majoring in the biological sciences, Ernie graduated with a B. Ed. degree in 1966 and a M. Sc. degree in 1970. His research was based in Kananaskis Country and it was during this period that he became an avid hiker, amateur photographer and self-taught naturalist. To this day, the mountains are his passion and he avails himself of every opportunity to travel off the beaten track with his Krummholz Krew hiking buddies. In Canmore & Kananaskis History Explorer, he shares the myths, legends and the fascinating history of the region. Ernie lives in Calgary.

Ernie Lakusta's profile page