February 26, 2018
Well ... as early as 2016 there were rumors that the Forest Service was thinking about ending the volunteer program at Baptiste, and placing one of its paid employees there instead. Those rumors gained steam last year, and by the fall I was hearing on the grapevine that it was all a done deal. The official word finally came down last month.
My boss up there knew that I was a good fit for the place, and he called me right after the holidays to suggest that I apply for the job myself, even though we both knew that it was an insanely long shot. The new job at Baptiste was instantly one of the most desirable summer posts in the entire Forest Service system, and of course it ended up going to one of their most experienced summer employees -- a 71-year-old guy with years of lookout experience who had been a Forest Service smokejumper before that. (He was a veteran, too ... and veterans receive preference in the federal hiring process.)
So my summer weeks at Baptiste are over, at least for now.
----------
And then on Friday morning I received a call from an unfamiliar number in the tiny town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. It turned out to be one of the guys in the Fire Management program for the Forest Service up there ... and he was looking for someone to be at their lookout this summer. My letter of interest in Baptiste had been forwarded to him, and he wanted to talk to me. You can see where this is leading. :)
The lookout is at a place called Porphyry Peak, in the center of a range called the Little Belt Mountains. The place couldn't be more different from Baptiste ... mostly because there's a dirt road that goes up to the tower, so most days there would be visitors. It's the same tower design as Baptiste, but it's been remodeled with luxuries like double-pane windows and carpeting and on-the-grid electricity. Not nearly as picturesque a view as Baptiste (no place is!), but at least the horizons are broader. And it's the only remaining fire tower for a good hundred miles in any direction.
It's also only two hours from Bozeman, which has some practical advantages. And it would be a paid Forest Service position rather than a volunteer gig. The pay is minimal, to say the least, but of course I could take some day-job work up there with me as I did at Baptiste ... and more importantly, the paid status would give me an "in" if I wanted to try for a future summer working full-time at a wilderness lookout.
So one door is closing, and maybe another is opening. I'm talking to the Forest Service guy again this afternoon.
As nearly all you guys know, for the last three years I've spent part of each summer volunteering at a remote fire lookout on Mt. Baptiste, up by Glacier Park. It's definitely been one of the cooler experiences of my life.
Well ... as early as 2016 there were rumors that the Forest Service was thinking about ending the volunteer program at Baptiste, and placing one of its paid employees there instead. Those rumors gained steam last year, and by the fall I was hearing on the grapevine that it was all a done deal. The official word finally came down last month.
My boss up there knew that I was a good fit for the place, and he called me right after the holidays to suggest that I apply for the job myself, even though we both knew that it was an insanely long shot. The new job at Baptiste was instantly one of the most desirable summer posts in the entire Forest Service system, and of course it ended up going to one of their most experienced summer employees -- a 71-year-old guy with years of lookout experience who had been a Forest Service smokejumper before that. (He was a veteran, too ... and veterans receive preference in the federal hiring process.)
So my summer weeks at Baptiste are over, at least for now.
----------
And then on Friday morning I received a call from an unfamiliar number in the tiny town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana. It turned out to be one of the guys in the Fire Management program for the Forest Service up there ... and he was looking for someone to be at their lookout this summer. My letter of interest in Baptiste had been forwarded to him, and he wanted to talk to me. You can see where this is leading. :)
The lookout is at a place called Porphyry Peak, in the center of a range called the Little Belt Mountains. The place couldn't be more different from Baptiste ... mostly because there's a dirt road that goes up to the tower, so most days there would be visitors. It's the same tower design as Baptiste, but it's been remodeled with luxuries like double-pane windows and carpeting and on-the-grid electricity. Not nearly as picturesque a view as Baptiste (no place is!), but at least the horizons are broader. And it's the only remaining fire tower for a good hundred miles in any direction.
It's also only two hours from Bozeman, which has some practical advantages. And it would be a paid Forest Service position rather than a volunteer gig. The pay is minimal, to say the least, but of course I could take some day-job work up there with me as I did at Baptiste ... and more importantly, the paid status would give me an "in" if I wanted to try for a future summer working full-time at a wilderness lookout.
So one door is closing, and maybe another is opening. I'm talking to the Forest Service guy again this afternoon.