Overview
Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for the University of Idaho PressWarren Yahr turned every boy's dream of being on his own into reality when he signed up to work in an isolated lookout watching over huge stands of virgin fir, pine, hemlock, cedar and spruce in Idaho back country. Yahr warmly and humorously describes how he provided for the necessities of life in the middle of the wilderness through a combination of traditional solutions and creative adaptations.
Synopsis
In the 1940s, the Clearwater Forest, a vast wilderness area in northern Idaho, was watched over by a unique breed of men - fire lookouts. It was an isolated, lonely life that was not for everyone. Warren J. Yahr came to Idaho as a teenager to work for the Forest Service and became a lookout in the remote Bungalow Ranger Station 28 miles from Pierce, Idaho, near the North Fork of the Clearwater River. In Smokechaser, he recalls his experiences during the years he worked as a lookout watching over large stands of virgin fir, pine, hemlock, cedar, and spruce. In the early 1940s, no commercial logging had yet been done in the Bungalow District, parts of which had burned off in the fire of 1910 and were just recovering. Mr. Yahr describes his experiences as a lookout - the struggles of daily life and the joys of wilderness living. He recalls the dangers of being lost in a snowstorm, befriending wildlife, and enjoying the remote wilderness. His experiences are told with enchanting good humor and give readers a unique opportunity to learn firsthand about this chapter of Idaho history.