About
Dan Nelson’s personal and professional life focused on the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. He met his partner, Donna Meshke, in a Mountaineering Oriented First Aid (MOFA) course in 1991 and they’ve been enjoying the living and playing together ever since. Donna appears in all of his books – both in the photos and as a photographer of some of the pictures.
After high school, Dan spent a year at Walla Walla Community College, then moved on to Washington State University (WSU) where he worked on the daily newspaper and received a BA in History/Political Science in 1989.
After a short stint as a newspaper reporter (Pierce County Herald and Tacoma News Tribune), Dan joined the staff of the Washington Trails Association where he worked and played for 11 years as the editor of Washington Trails magazine. While at WTA, he was “required” to spend considerable time each year out hiking and enjoying the backcountry trails of Washington. Currently, Dan serves as the Public Information Officer for Olympic Region Clean Air Agency—an agency charged with ensuring the air remains clean, clear and healthy on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula while continuing to serve the outdoor community as a freelance journalist. 
Dan’s adventures focus around his ‘work’ as an avid hiker, fly fisher, canoeist, snowshoer, telemark skier and paraglider pilot. If he’s not out enjoying the backcountry, he’s indoors writing about it. In addition to his past work at Washington Trails, Dan continues as a regular contributor to The Seattle Times, BACKPACKER, Men’s Journal and many other magazines. He specializing in northwest destinations and outdoor equipment reviews. He is also author or editor of several guidebooks, and launched a number of popular guidebook series with the Mountaineers Books, notably the new Day Hiking series (Day Hiking: Mount Rainier, Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region and Day Hiking: South Cascades), the Best Hikes with Dogs series (Best Hikes with Dogs: Western Washington) and the Snowshoe Routes series (Snowshoe Routes: Washington). Other titles include Best of the Pacific Crest Trail: Washington, Best Loop Hikes: Washington, Accessible Trails in Washington and co-author of Pacific Northwest Hiking: The Complete Guide with Ron Judd) and one book of wildlife essays — Predators at Risk in the Pacific Northwest. Dan has also created books focused on the outdoor wonders of the U.S. National Parks in the Pacific Northwest and contributed to other collaborative efforts with National Geographic Books.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”2″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]