Peter Massey grew up in the outback of Australia, where he acquired a life-long love of the backcountry. After retiring from a career in investment banking in 1986 at the age of thirty-five, he served as a director for a number of companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. He moved to Colorado in 1993.

Angela Titus was born in Missouri and grew up in Virginia, where she attended the University of Virginia. She traveled extensively throughout the western states, pursuing her interests in four-wheeling, hiking, and mountain biking. She moved to Alabama and worked for Southern Living magazine traveling, photographing, and writing about the southeastern U.S. She moved to Colorado to join the APC team in 2002.

Jeanne Wilson was born and grew up in Maryland. After moving to New York City in 1980, she worked in advertising and public relations before moving to Colorado in 1993.

After traveling extensively in Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa, the authors covered more than 80,000 miles touring the United States and the Australian Outback between 1993 and 1997. This experience became the basis for creating the Backcountry Adventures and Trails guidebook series.

Since research for the Backcountry Adventures and Trails books began, Peter, Jeanne, and Angela have traveled more than 100,000 miles exploring the western states.