Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park

Thirteen-year-old Jake Evans is awakened at four in the morning by his dad as they prepare to begin their two-month trip to 10 national parks across the Western United States. Jake is grumbly at first, but looking at a photo of him and his grandpa after planting the final tree of an orchard together helps boost his spirits. Jake comes downstairs for breakfast and wakes up quickly when his grandma gives him a note that his grandpa left for him. Jake’s grandpa died six months before, and Jake misses him dearly. Jake recently fell out with his friends at school, and his older brother Nick has moved away for college. Finding this note is like being connected to his grandpa again, and Jake figures out that it is actually a clue to something.

The note contains advice about curiosity and friendship but also hints about adventure. Jake deciphers the code hidden within the note, which leads him to a shelf in the attic. Behind a secret panel is a scrapbook bound in leather with the letter “E” on its cover. Before Jake leaves with his parents, his grandma tells him to take care of the scrapbook, noting that it was his grandpa’s “most prized possession” (14).

Jake falls asleep in the truck and wakes up in west Illinois, where the land is flat. The family stops for some snacks at a gas station, and Jake starts going through the scrapbook. He finds a note that points him to a specific photograph of an old cabin with a cobblestone base and large trees surrounding it. Jake wonders what the significance of the photo is until he turns it over and sees instructions to meet someone named Jasper in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Jake’s dad remembers the scrapbook and going to see the parks as a child with his family and points out that his father was the one who planned the current 10-park trip for them. Jake’s grandpa was a park enthusiast and saw them all. He planned a trip that not only led the family through his favorite parks but also on a scavenger hunt across the country. The thought of such an adventure is thrilling to Jake, and he can’t wait to get started. Jake continues going through the scrapbook and finds another clue: a tiny envelope with the words “Find the Old Man of the Mountain” (21) written on it.

On the first night on the road, the family drives through Denver and Estes Park. On the way, they stop when an elk crosses the road, and Jake can’t believe how big it is. When they finally reach RMNP, it is too dark to see anything, but Jake can already sense that the world around him is drastically different. He falls asleep listening to the sounds of nature, eager to start his adventure.

The boy hides in the loft and waits until the men enter the shed. They can’t see him, and when they find the open window, they assume he escaped. After the men are long gone, the boy quietly leaves and goes to the creek to see what the man buried earlier. It turns out to be a large silver object, and the boy believes it belongs to a woman in town who had it stolen from her. He puts it in his bag, even though he knows what he is risking.

Jake is the first to wake up the next morning and is taken aback by the majesty of nature around him. He feels eager to explore, as though the park is calling him. As Jake stares out at the mountains, Ranger Musgrave introduces herself and notices Jake’s curiosity. He asks if she could help him figure out where the cabin in his photograph is, and she tells him to bring it by the visitor center later.

Jake goes to the visitor center and is impressed by the large, textured park map. He finds Ranger Musgrave, and she knows exactly where the cabin is. She explains it is now used as an office for longer hiking trips. Ranger Musgrave marks the cabin on the map for Jake and gifts him a topographical map that shows the entire park, its trails, and its nature. She explains how to read the map, decipher which trails to use, and recognize symbols like the one for a waterfall. He decides to make a detour and heads for the cabin.

Jake hikes to the old cabin and goes inside to find a cozy office with a fireplace. He asks for a man named Jasper, an elderly man who was expecting Jake. He tells Jake he was a friend of his grandpa’s and that he has a package for him that was brought by “the Keeper” from New Mexico a week before. Jake is confused and intrigued, but Jasper refuses to say much about it, claiming it to be unsafe to discuss. He does mention that he and a few others (including Jake’s grandpa) used to talk by ham radio, and the man who sent the package is known only as Mather. Jake takes the package and leaves, finding a place in the woods to open it in private. What Jake finds inside is a small, heavy wooden box with no clear way of opening it. The package also contains a note instructing the new Keeper to burn the note and to protect the contents of the package. It also mentions someone named Marmot. Jake wonders if perhaps there is gold inside and makes his way back to the campground, feeling like he is doing much more than playing a simple scavenger hunt.

The boy walks through the night, manages to start a fire, and falls asleep. He soon awakes to the sounds of dogs and men in the distance and runs in the opposite direction. The boy goes through a creek and comes to a ravine where he sees a ranch at the bottom. Cold and tired, the boy heads there, hoping he can stay in exchange for labor.