Book 2 · Available now · Sam age 11
The Bridge Beyond the End
The bridge was standing. The road across it was not.
Can I reach it and still turn back?
A year after Mile 24, Sam and Mara return north with real packs, real turnaround rules, and one unanswered question. The road reaches a broken bridge—and continuing now requires judgment, not just curiosity.
Inside the story
ALDER • BEYOND MILE 24
THE BRIDGE IS STILL STANDING.
THE ROAD ACROSS IT IS NOT.
THE FAR SIDE HOLDS A NAME.
Eleven-year-old Sam Calder has earned a planned trip beyond Mile 24. Past the stone shelter, he and Mara find a steel bridge spanning a gorge on a road Alder insists goes nowhere.
The trusses still stand. Part of the timber deck does not. Sam sees a difficult crossing and a chance to prove he belongs there. Mara sees a bad plan—and a safer maintenance route descending beneath the bridge.
Across the water, repair plates reveal decades of hidden work and a corroded sign gives the forgotten road a name: NORTH LINK. But reaching the far side means nothing if they cannot get home on time.
A good plan includes the way home.
Sam’s progression
Sam discovers that a good expedition can end with a voluntary turnaround and still move the larger question forward.Reader map after Book 2
What the known network looks like now
