Two brothers try to lead lost campers to safety in the fourth adventure of the Wilder Boys series. The Wilder boys help out at a wilderness camp near Sequoia National Park, a day’s drive south of the Sierras. The camp’s main draw is a multi-day trek traversing woodlands, mountains, and desert during a team-based orientation competition that will take them to the edge of Death Valley. When Jake and Taylor’s team counselor is badly hurt in a flash flood, they must galvanize the lost campers to find shelter, aid the injured counselor, and supplement their low supplies with what can be found around them. At first, stumbling across a ghost town seems like a lucky break from the scorching heat of summer, but the town is already occupied by counterfeiters who are none too pleased about their operation being discovered. The boys must use all their resourcefulness and knowledge of the outdoors to protect their teammates from the criminals and the elements. Trekking solo across the remotest corners of Wyoming and Montana as a young man, Brandon Wallace learned how to survive the hard way in the harshest conditions nature could throw at him. Having spent the subsequent two decades as a trail leader, passing on his knowledge to a generation of budding adventurers, he turned his hand to fictionalizing his experiences, and the Wilder Boys series was born. Chapter 1 1 Jake Wilder stood in the shade of a towering black oak tree and took a huge gulp from his metal water bottle. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was July, and the temperature was rising here in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. There was barely a breeze to cool Jake’s sweaty neck. It had been a long, hot day, and Jake wanted nothing more than to take a dip in the clear water of the mountain stream they’d passed earlier. No chance of that. “Hey, Jake!” his younger brother, Taylor, called out from the front porch of their grandmother’s cabin. “Dad wants to know what’s taking so long.” “Nothing, I’ll be right there!” Jake shouted back. The brothers were in California with their parents, Abe and Jennifer, helping their grandmother move back into her mountain cabin. She’d been forced to abandon it last year by a group of unethical lumber workers who’d tried to drive her off the land. But, thanks to some help from Jake and Taylor earlier this summer, the company’s misdeeds had been exposed and their illegal activities stopped. And Joanna Wilder—or Big Jo, as she was affectionately known in these parts—was free to return to home. Unfortunately, nearly ten months without an occupant had left her cabin in bad shape. Before Joanna could settle back in, they’d needed to clean away the dust, patch the holes in the roof, and fix damage to the floor and ceiling from water leaks. At least Joanna had thought to cover her furniture with tarps when she’d left, so the things she hadn’t taken with her had been spared the worst of it. Jake took another quick slug of water, pulled out his phone, and held it up in search of a signal. Even though his grandmother’s cabin was way off the grid—not a cell tower in sight—Jake still hoped for a connection. He was eager for an update on Cody, the brothers’ beloved Jack Russell terrier. Cody was back home in Wyoming, being cared for by their friend Kim, who’d promised to send regular updates. Unfortunately, the last one Jake had been able to see was yesterday, back in town when they’d been picking up supplies from the local hardware store. “Jake!” Taylor called out again. “Dad says quit goofing around. He wants to know if you’re done mixing up the clay.” Jake put away the phone with a sigh. He reminded himself that Cody was in good—no, make that great—hands. Kim loved that little dog just as much as the brothers did. Well, maybe not quite that much. Jake was pretty sure nobody loved Cody like they did. Cody was basically their other brother. Their best friend. And, as he and Taylor had learned last month when Cody had tried to protect them from a bully, their greatest defender. Cody had been through so much with the boys—good, and bad. It was weird not having their little buddy around. Jake answered his brother. “Yep. Got it right here.” He picked up a bucket filled with a thick concoction of clay, ash, and dirt, and carried it over to his grandmother’s cabin. He set the bucket on the porch and walked inside. The cabin was small and cozy, built from logs harvested from the nearby forest. There was a small kitchen with a propane stove off to the right, and a living area with a fireplace to the left. A tiny bedroom and bathroom occupied the back. The cabin wasn’t connected to a municipal water supply, so Joanna used a composting toilet and carried fresh water in from a cistern for drinking and cleaning. Solar panels and a backup battery powered the lights and a small radio. Jake joined his dad and Taylor, who sat on the living room floor hammering a wood plank into place. The furniture had been pushed