Old John and the Forest Fire (Part 1)

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

(Psalm 121:1)

  

Part 1 of 8

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This is basically the story of an elderly man - Old John.  Many people did not really know him, though a very few in the area did.  Many had heard stories about him, but as is often the case, most of those stories were rumors built upon other rumors.

As a result, most people believed he was mean-spirited, ornery and selfish – perhaps even with a criminal background.  Many thought he actually delighted in seeing bad things happen to good people.  Of course, there were many who just took the stories as nothing more than folktales - not attributing them to anybody who really might live high up on Baldcrest Mountain.

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Baldcrest National Wilderness Area was a very large expanse of beautiful forests with a large variety of mountain peaks and ridges, interspersed with beautiful deep valleys and wonderful clear streams meandering downward toward several larger rivers.  The fishing and hunting were generally very good, and the camping was excellent – especially if you preferred to leave your car behind, and had several days to explore bits and pieces of this captivating wilderness on foot.

Baldcrest National Wilderness Area was named after the tallest and most majestic peak in the area – Baldcrest Mountain.  Baldcrest was a natural name to give this large outcropping of rocky mountaintop, which soared several hundred feet above the timberline.  From a distance, Baldcrest looked like an old white-haired patriarch keeping watch over his large family.

If you knew the right paths to take, you would be able to hike for just over three days to get to the summit of Baldcrest from the end of the nearest dirt road.

It was on the summit of Baldcrest where Old John lived and worked.  You see, Old John was the fire lookout whose job was to keep his eyes on the vast expanse of Baldcrest Wilderness.  Day and night, he watched for trouble that could bring disaster – the destruction of thousands of acres of the most beautiful forests by fire – Or worse, could bring the death of any hikers who might be spending one day or even a couple of weeks fishing, hunting or just enjoying the beauty of this wilderness.

Old John had worked at this same post for so many years, that nobody really remembered where he had come from.  During the winter, nobody knew, or even paid attention to where he stayed.  But at the snow-melt each spring, Old John would briefly report in at the ranger station, pick up his supplies for the coming season, and make his annual trek up to his "home" on Baldcrest.

So there was plenty of room for rumors and stories about Old John.  And, of course, true to the way people's minds work, most of those stories were far from the truth, and certainly not representative of Old John's real character.

[To be continued - jad]