Member Meeting:

April 20, 2011 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Peter Stekel, Author, Final Flight: The Mystery of a WWII Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen of the High Sierra

His work describes the story behind the 2005 discovery of a WWII aviator in a California glacier and Peter’s own discovery of a second aircrewman in 2007. Peter’s archival research, interviews with experts along with his life long experience as a mountaineer tells the story of the four young Army Air Corps fliers who disappeared on a training flight in 1942 and remained a mystery for nearly seventy years. Peter will offer sale of autographed copies of his book at our membership meeting.

“When I was twelve years old I went away to summer camp in the High Sierra. My mother was fond of saying I never came back.” Peter Stekel is an award-winning writer specializing in feature articles and photography of the Sierra Nevada. Stekel grew up in Southern California and has been hiking and backpacking in the Sierra since he was twelve years old.

Peter Stekel

Peter Stekel’s first trip to the Sierra Nevada was at summer camp with his Boy Scout troop in Sequoia National Park. Under the weight of a heavy backpack and his own inexperience in the wilderness, Stekel believed he might actually die from exhaustion. Upon reaching their destination—amidst the beauty of an alpine lake, granite cliffs, and wildflower fields—Stekel changed his opinion, and believed he had died—and gone to heaven. Since that time he has hiked all over the Sierra Nevada, returning again each year.

Peter Stekel is also the author of Best Hikes Near Seattle, and the novel The Flower Lover. Stekel has appeared as an authority on the Sierra Nevada in various national and international media outlets including National Geographic, BBC 4, and many other print, radio, and television media. He holds a B.A. in Botany from the University of California at Davis, and a teaching credential from Humboldt State University. He makes his home in Seattle with his wife, their tropical fish, and a menagerie of stuffed animals.

Location:

Mesa Beverage Company, Inc.
3200 N. Laughlin Road. Santa Rosa, CA

Directions: From Santa Rosa, take Highway 101 North and exit at Airport Blvd. Turn left on Laughlin Road toward the museum. The Mesa building is located on the left side of the street just past the museum and Nob Hill south gate.

Missed one? in 2010?

Don't miss the next one!

May 18	Will Whiteside & Pacific Coast Air Museum Member, Reno Air Races Debrief
June 15	Jeane Slone, Author & Pacific Coast Air Museum Member, She Built Ships During WWII. Book sales