Burning bright
(Book)

War veteran Peter Ash sought peace and quiet among the towering redwoods in Northern California, but the trip isn't quite the balm he hoped for. The dense forest and close fog cause his claustrophobia to buzz and spark, and then he stumbles upon a hungry grizzly bear. Peter doesn't favor his odds in a fight of man against bear, so he makes a strategic retreat up a nearly sapling. There, he finds something strange: a climbing rope, affixed to a distant branch above. It leads to another, and another, up through the giant tree canopy, ending at a hanging platform. On the platform is a woman on the run. From below them come the sounds of men and gunshots.