Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones (300 pages) - Mt Falcon Upper Lot (5.1 miles)

A spellbinding and darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy, whose family lives on the fringe of society and struggles to survive in a hostile world that shuns and fears them. He was born an outsider, like the rest of his family. Poor yet resilient, he lives in the shadows with his aunt Libby and uncle Darren, folk who stubbornly make their way in a society that does not understand or want them. They are mongrels, mixed blood, neither this nor that. The boy at the center of Mongrels must decide if he belongs on the road with his aunt and uncle, or if he fits with the people on the other side of the tracks.

Let's discuss "Mongrels" while hiking the upper trails of Mt Falcon. At the release of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, the author kept talking about how the characters in Mongrels were his favorite. Let's find out why!

Copies of the book are available from the Denver Public Library.

We'll meet at the kiosk by the vault toilets at 6am, starting down the trail at 6:15am. Sunrise is at 5:43am so we'll have plenty of light. We'll go to the ruins, the Summer White House, Two Dog Trail, Devils Elbow, and up to the Tower. 5.1 miles, not a huge elevation gain (few hundred feet?). 2mph pace, not super fast since we'll be discussing the book.

https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/19619/Mount-Falcon-Park-map

I prefer to hike without pets or children.

You'll want normal hiking stuff, hat, water, sunglasses.