In this Book
- Mountains Of Memory: A Fire Lookout'S Life
- Book
- 2001
- Published by: University of Iowa Press
- Series: American Land & Life
summary
In Mountains of Memory, seasoned wilderness dweller Don Scheese charts a long season of watching for and fighting fires in Idaho's River of No Return Wilderness&151the largest federal wilderness area in the mainland United States. An inspiring tale of self-discovery,Mountains of Memory paints a complex portrait of the natural, institutional, and historical forces that have shaped the great forested landscapes of the American West.
A student of nature writing as well as a fire lookout with over a decade of experience, Scheese recounts his life at the top of the world, along with daring adventures such as backpacking and mountaineering in the Bighorn Crags and kayaking down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. All the while, he touches upon the mysterious and powerful realities of the wilderness around him and stunning dawns visible within the glass cage perched on a 9,000-foot mountain, stirring flashes of lightning visible all around the dark landscape as the radio crackles with reports of strikes observed and fires spotted, long-awaited trips down the mountain to civilization for cold beer and hot pizza.
In the tradition of Edward Abbey and Gary Snyder, Don Scheese offers readers a meditation on the meaning and value of wilderness at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- pp. xxix-xxx
- Spring
- 1. Settling In
- pp. 3-14
- 2. Working a Lookout
- pp. 15-26
- 3. Visitors
- pp. 27-38
- Summer
- 4. Independence Day
- pp. 41-45
- 6. Some Former Inhabitants
- pp. 53-76
- 7. Running the River
- pp. 77-102
- 8. Midsummer Musings and Field Notes
- pp. 103-108
- 10. Society
- pp. 117-122
- 11. Friends
- pp. 123-129
- 12. Pleasing Prospects
- pp. 130-134
- 13. Getting to the Source of Things
- pp. 135-140
- 14. The Bighorn Crags
- pp. 141-155
- 15. The Eagle Bar Fire
- pp. 157-167
- Fall
- 16. Hunting, the Fundamental Diversion
- pp. 171-177
- 17. The Habit of Walking
- pp. 178-181
- 18. The Fires of Fall
- pp. 182-184
- 19. Worship
- pp. 185-190
- Winter
- 20. Last Visitors
- pp. 193-200
- 21. Disappearances
- pp. 201-205
- 22. The State of Nature
- pp. 206-211
- Select Bibliography
- pp. 215-220
Additional Information
ISBN
9781587294075
Related ISBN(s)
9780877457831, 9780877457848
DOI
MARC Record
OCLC
646887634
Pages
255
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2001