Barbara I. Bond discovered her love of the outdoors at an early age. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she camped, backpacked, and hiked in the Sierra Nevada and Santa Cruz mountains. Barbara has continued to explore the outdoors on hiking and climbing trips in France, Italy, Switzerland, Peru, and Tanzania. Domestically, she has hiked trails around the country, and has explored the West and Midwest extensively.

Barbara served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a deputy sheriff before receiving a degree in biology and chemistry from San Jose State University. She attended graduate school at University of Texas Southwestern, then moved to Chicago where she began her early exploration of the Midwest. Four years later she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she joined Mazamas—a nonprofit mountaineering organization—and used her love of the outdoors to expand her freelance writing career. Barbara and her family returned to the Midwest in 2008, and she began exploring the subtle landscapes of the Prairie State once again.

In addition to hiking, climbing, and backpacking, Barbara enjoys long-distance running, biking, kayaking, skiing, and snowshoeing. She is an active member of her community and serves on the boards of the Geneva Park District Foundation and Geneva Green Market. She is also a member of the Mazamas and Forest Park Conservancy and a life member of Phi Kappa Phi. Barbara has published two previous outdoor books and she continues to write for various publications, including the Chicago Tribune.