BY KAREN BOSSICK
Bikepack the Great Divide mountain bike route without a single peddle Thursday when the Hailey Public Library presents the final talk of the season in its Wanderlust series.
Hailey resident Shannon Jackson mountain biked the trail along the Continental Divide from Mexico to Banff, Canada, with her husband Don Jackson. And she will talk about the adventure—with pictures—at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Hailey Town Center West adjacent to the library.
The program will be livestreamed on the library’s website at https://haileypubliclibrary.org/.
“Shannon is well known in the valley as an avid backpacker, skier and cyclist,” said Kristin Fletcher, the library’s education and engagement manager. “She may have outdone herself when she tackled the 2,700-mile route from the Mexican border to Banff, Canada, on mountain bikes with her husband to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary!”
Jackson, a retired dietitian and sports nutritionist, included a chapter on the couple’s latest adventure in her new book “Better and Happier together: Stories of Epic Adventures During Our First Forty Years of Marriage.”
“I will bring my mountain bike to the presentation to talk about gear. It’s a lightweight bike with higher handle bars and wider tires to handle the load,” said Jackson, who tells about her book in today’s Eye on Sun Valley story, “Recounting a Marriage Full of Adventure.”
The Wanderlust series, launched this winter, has taken audiences from Morrocco to Greenland to the Great Rift of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, even offering a look at the wildflowers of the Himalaya. Fletcher said she plans to bring it back next winter.