Don Scheese

Few people remember that beatnik legend Jack Kerouac spent part of his wayward youth perched literally in the clouds, employed by the federal government—he was a lookout for forest fires in the High Cascades. From high atop what he called Mt. Desolation, he could survey most of what is now known as Glacier National Park. We don’t doubt that this experience was no less enlightening than it’s ever been throughout history. (Moses, Jesus, and Buddha—to name just a few great spirits—went “up to the mountain” for a better view, both literally and spiritually.) Denizens of Northern Minnesota know, too, that there are dozens of fire towers scattered across our wilder sections. And with the advent of GPS systems, high-flying heat-seeking satellites, most fire towers have fallen into public hands. So much the better, since now you don’t have to be wearing a badge and a uniform to shimmy up many of these glorious perches. Don Scheese offers his own memoir, Mountains of Memory, after more than a decade as a lookout. A thoughtful book that provokes us into action—pulling out the old-fashioned topo maps and scanning for our own vertiginous adventures. Ruminator Books in St. Paul, (651) 699-0587