Tom DeMund heard of Jim Beckwourth from hiking in the Sierra mountains of California. Tom and his wife spend summers in the Sierra, living in a log house not far from Jim Beckwourth’s old ranch.

In Tom’s award-winning hiking book, Feather River Country Adventure Trails, some of the 101 hikes he describes are to places named for Jim (a peak, a valley, and a trail). At the end of that book Tom included a bit of information about Jim.

Tom has always loved the history of the old Wild West. He followed Jim’s footsteps around the United States, hunting for information about him and taking pictures to use in this book.

After graduating from Stanford University, Tom worked in commercial real estate for many years. Now retired, he has been able to spend lots of time doing research about this Wild West superstar.