this is so obvious it makes me crazy no one at the national office realizes it. if you work on a lookout, you experience it every day. people astounded lookouts still exist and they are fired up by the romance of them. the views take their breath away and they can't believe people still looking out for them. i get all kinds of questions about the forest, how it's taken care of (or not). lookouts remain the best advocates the forest service has.
here's a quote from Poets On The Peaks by John Suiter:
the poets gary snyder and jack kerouac established the romance of lookouts in literary history. kerouac wrote of his experience three time in Lonesome Traveler, Darma Bums, and Desolation Angels. these books remain in print. and gary snyder is always asked to read the one lookout poem he wrote:
he also included his lookout journals in Earth House Hold.
another lookout who came a little later and actually had even more success: edward abby. he experienced every lookout's fantasy when he worked on the north rim of the grand canyon. a young woman walked out of the woods and they had a torrid romance. she suddenly disappeared and his heart broken. he wrote of the experience in a novel Black Sun. he finished his most famous book Desert Solitaire while staffing Harness Peak on lassen national forest.
fortunately, the park service does realize the value of what they have and this lookout undergoing a very complete restoration.
i can't resist including this fun audio of edward abby reading:
both symbol and myth, lookouts do more than merely spot fires. they represent america at its best. i would like to see more lookouts renovated and opened. the state of Pennsylvania has re-established 25 lookouts and built two more. i wish the forest service and the state of california would open their eyes.
