{"id":91190,"date":"2024-10-30T08:46:20","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T15:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=91190"},"modified":"2024-10-30T08:46:20","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T15:46:20","slug":"lightning-came-in-on-the-telephone-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=91190","title":{"rendered":"Lightning came in on the telephone line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

against the harsh rock peak, the delicate glass and wood of the lookout\u2019s cabin stands defiant in the wind, a beacon in a sea of mountains<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to lie down is to touch two of the four log walls<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a dry bear grass bed on the wood slat floor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

two chairs, one for the lookout and another for the ranger when he visits<\/p>\n\n\n\n

instruments to measure fire direction and a man and the telephone line to bear witness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

mules haul soda + yeast for the morning pancakes and letters to remember the world by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lard + milk and some ivory soap<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a dozen candles to keep a flame to watch for fire by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

streams seldom flow uphill; the smokechaser wakes at dawn break to fill his water bag miles below<\/p>\n\n\n\n

upon the ascent, towards the top of the world, the world gets smaller<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the alpine climate, above the tree line, the church spire tops of sub-alpine firs bow down to a forest in miniature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dwarf willows and mushrooms the size of fingernails and fairy spoons keep close to the ground in that windswept place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the evening, the dispatchers open the telephone lines between the lookouts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

they talk with the phones hung around their necks and call out checker moves, the hands free to play for two<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and at night, the lightning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there is a smell to lightning, and a transmutative quality in its anticipation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

coyote yips sound like human cries and then all is the crash of clouds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the wind washes you clean, sleeping in the slipstream<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and that smell of static in the air, like mother drying clothes, of oxygen split to ozone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

blind and searching, the blue energy seeks contact<\/p>\n\n\n\n

lightning came in on the telephone line<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the pathway of least resistance through the wire and then the water body<\/p>\n\n\n\n

storm paths recorded faithfully by the earthbound<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but with every added observation, reality looms larger and faith in prediction faulters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the recorder turned conductor and split asunder by his very own nature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the spirit may be displaced for some period, the forest of neurons lit momentarily by an alien fire<\/p>\n\n\n\n

freeing of space again and maybe we return, and maybe the rolling clouds wash us clean<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201clightning may do no damage to the wire, or it may burn the telephone wire completely\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

mountain goats clamor back to the peaks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

man sits at the telephone, about to speak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a dial tone, contact missed a beat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Grace D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A lightning strike my uncle caught on camera<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This poem is inspired by recent events and old stories. While researching the Hungry Horse Dam for my last blog post, I came across two histories of the Flathead National Forest: The Flathead Story<\/em> by Charlie Shaw and Trails of the Past<\/em> by Kathryn McKay. Both histories are extensive and cover many aspects of early forest service happenings and 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> century life in the area. I was particularly drawn to the sections on fire lookout life and lightning. The quoted section in the poem, \u201clightning may do no damage to the wire, or it may burn the telephone wire completely\u201d is quoted directly from Shaw\u2019s chapter on lightning (The Flathead Story (Chapter 26)<\/a>). The details in the poem concerning food rations and daily lookout life are also inspired by descriptions from both histories. I was moved by a tragedy that occurred near Pagoda Lookout involving two men maintaining a telephone line during a lightning storm. If you wish to read about this event, the story is in the last paragraph of Shaw\u2019s chapter on lightning (The Flathead Story (Chapter 26)<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“Robert’s Lookout” still standing today in Eureka, MT. The original lookout was a “crows nest” style, built in 1920. The structure seen here was built in 1920 and originally stood at Roberts Mtn west of Fortine, MT. Ross “Shorty” Young was stationed here from 1924 to 1943. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last week I attended a local short film festival in Missoula, MT. One film that stuck with me was \u201cThe Lookout.\u201d The film is not (yet?) available online, but if you are interested in details regarding the actors and the director, there is a profile on IMDb (The Lookout (Short 2024) – IMDb<\/a>). Stay tuned for eventual public release of this film. The film opens on a lone lookout and his simple life. Strange, foreboding signs start to haunt him, bringing into question both his true nature and the environment\u2019s true nature. People are not what they seem, and nature reclaims what was once believed separate. A still from the film of pancake batter dripping off a fire pit and clear secretions running from the lookout’s nose reveal an unknown, lurking presence. In the midst of all this creeping horror, there is great beauty in the landscapes and the natural world. I thought of this film, too, while writing this poem about the wonder and the terror of being outside, exposed to the elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A break in the storm on a hike near Trapper Peak in the Bitterroot National Forest; I only spent about fifteen minutes at the lake because of the foreboding clouds. On the way up to the lake rain came down in buckets.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The smell of lightening is very real, and it appears to be the smell of ozone (Cappucci 2018). For myself, lightning strikes a primal fear in me, and I have rushed down several trails to get away from a high alpine lake as dark clouds gathered around the peaks. On our drive back from delivering seed to the Coeur D\u2019Alene Seed Nursery, my co-intern and I listened to a talk with Cathy Cripps, an alpine mycologist (Ep. 113: Mushrooms of the Rocky Mountains and Arctic Alpine Biome (fea \u2013 Mushroom Hour<\/a>). She talked about her work in alpine climates and the world in miniature up there. She studied short willow forests and their mycorrhizal associations with alpine fungi and her pioneering work with mycorrhizal fungi in white bark pine restoration.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The rock I hunkered under while the storm dumped rain and lightning crackled. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I discovered many things about the world and about myself this season. Thank you to the Flathead National Forest botany department, my co-intern Erynn, and many others who made this season so wonderful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A slow portion of the Flathead River, only a few minutes down the road from where I stayed in Kalispell this summer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cappucci, Matthey. \u201cLighting Has a Smell, and the Science Behind it is Beautiful.\u201d The Washington Post. (2018). https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/here-s-why-you-can-actually-smell-lightning<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKay, Kathryn L.  \u201cTrails of the Past: Historical Overview of the Flathead National Forest, Montana, 1800\u20131960.\u201d Flathead National Forest. (1994). http:\/\/www.npshistory.com\/publications\/usfs\/region\/1\/flathead\/history\/#:~:text=TRAILS%20OF%20THE%20PAST:%20Historical%20Overview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaw, Charlie. \u201cThe Flathead Story.\u201d  USDA Forest Service, Flathead National Forest. (1967) http:\/\/www.npshistory.com\/publications\/usfs\/region\/1\/flathead\/story\/index.htm#:~:text=THE%20FLATHEAD%20STORY.%20By.%20Charlie%20Shaw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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