To Washington

By: Gentry, Ross

Questions linger about Congressman Washington "Wash" Westmore after he quietly disappears from Capitol Hill.

Where has he gone-and why did he leave?

After an accident on a mountain summit, Wash leaves Washington D.C. behind to hike hundreds of miles through the wild landscapes that shaped the thinking of Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau.

From the bleak, beautiful Dakota Badlands to the granite heights of the High Sierra, and the rugged ridgelines of the White Mountains, he presses further into the wilderness-to what end?

The deeper into the backcountry Wash goes, the more he is pursued by the machinery of Washington-paparazzi, a relentless reporter, and political operators desperate to protect the status quo.

Guided only by his late historian father's journals, Wash navigates a dance of political espionage, unlikely relationships across party lines, and the hidden pressures of national power.

Stories unfold.

Motives are revealed.

And one man's walk through America's wild places begins to stir something few believed possible in the nation's Capitol.

To Washington is a lyrical adventure through wilderness and public life-an exploration of history, conscience, and the enduring hope that people, even in politics, can still find their way back to their better selves.

"To Washington is a gripping narrative that exposes the price of power in Washington while examining what it means to live a meaningful life." - Michael Beckel, Director of Money in Politics Reform at Issue One.

"Readers who enjoy stories that blend adventure with an examination of purpose, identity, and public life will find To Washington engaging, especially those drawn to narratives in which physical journeys parallel inner transformations." - Reader's Favorite

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1737655926
• ISBN13: 9781737655923
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Goodlands Publishing House
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Introspective and Thought Provoking

Washington “Wash” Westmore started his career as a young congressman with lofty ambitions and grand ideas. After his time in Washington he was nothing but exhausted and disillusioned. Looking for some quiet thinking time, he decides to walk in the footsteps of his father. Grant Westmore was a both a student and professor of history. His grand adventure was to walk what he called the Wild Triumvirate, following in footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir, men who Grant admired and was well versed in their history. In his treks, Grant kept journals of his thoughts. It was the journals of his father that set Wash on his own journey of discovery. This book is a fascinating combination of philosophical musing, historical lesson and political machinations. As Wash follows the paths of those before him, he reads his father’s journals. They contain Grant’s ruminations, but also bits of history of the men in whose footsteps he is following. Wash meets a myriad of people. Talking to them starts to open his eyes and change his attitude. One of my favorite quotes in the book is “….if everybody could get a little more of the natural world around them it would wash them clean of the muck. Give them not only perspective, but hope.” As a person who seeks nature for the same reason Wash did, this book offered a lot of things to think about. The author’s language, at times, had a poetic feel, especially when Wash was speaking of the wonder and the beauty he encountered in his journeys. The pace of the story seems to quicken as Wash gained new insights and became anxious to attack Washington his way instead of following the rules of the establishment. The pieces of history made me curious. I want to go find a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, to read the writings of Henry David Thoreau. And, in some ways this book made me nostalgic. To wish for the times when politics was more civil. When people could disagree without hate, where compromise didn’t mean losing. And it gave me hope we might look forward to seeing those times again. This book had so much to absorb and to learn from; I need to start again at the beginning to find all that I missed.