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Mountain Trails: Memoirs of an Alberta Forest Ranger in the Mountains and Foothills of the Athabasca Forest 1920-1945
Jack Glen (1891-1983) was a farm hand, wrangler, railway builder, police officer, forest ranger, fire fighter, artist, writer, inventor and gardener over his long life and varied career. This book tells the story of a 25-year chapter of that career, commencing when he left the Royal Northwest Mounted Police force to become a Dominion Forestry Branch (and later Alberta Forest Service) ranger in the frontier community of Entrance.
His story is full of adventures, colorful characters, and the challenges of bringing order and law to a previously untracked and mostly uninhabited wilderness. This story of the early roots of forest management and administration in Alberta also provides compelling insight into the nature, the character and the daily struggle of the men and women who lived and worked at the very edge of civilization as we now know it.
His story is full of adventures, colorful characters, and the challenges of bringing order and law to a previously untracked and mostly uninhabited wilderness. This story of the early roots of forest management and administration in Alberta also provides compelling insight into the nature, the character and the daily struggle of the men and women who lived and worked at the very edge of civilization as we now know it.
- GenresCanada
298 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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December 29, 2015
Jack Glen left Scotland as a young man, during a wave of Scottish emigration in first decade of the 20th century. His dream was to become a cattle rancher. He took a train to Vancouver, and after a trial run on a dairy farm near Duncan, discovered that he craved much more adventure than that quiet life could provide. He became one of those icons of the Canadian frontier: the brave and honourable explorer.
He worked at various jobs in British Columbia until the early years of WWI, when he joined and was sent to Europe with the Royal North-West Mounted Police. Sometime after his return, changes in the force prompted another career change and he found his niche as a forest ranger in the Athabasca Forest.
As of 1884, the forest trees on the crests and slopes of the Rocky Mountains were to be protected “for the proper maintenance throughout the year of the volume of water in the rivers and streams”. (Pg. 6) Through economic ups and downs, bureaucratic mood swings, marriage and starting a family, Glen scouted and cleared trails through the wilderness and built ranger cabins that are still in use.
In these memoirs, Glen comes across as a pragmatic, hard-working and level-headed man, who developed a deep intimacy with and respect for his territory and many of the people within it. He was a man of his time, with a perspective shaped in the times that were, but always seems to have acted with honourable intentions. The inevitable adventures of a life spent in an uncompromising wilderness are met with patient acceptance and good common sense.
He witnessed much change in his 25 years of forestry service, but adapted as necessary until, in 1945, his unwillingness to send his son away to boarding school to continue his education, prompted him to finally resign his post and move to a larger centre. Jack Glen was, at the time, the longest serving ranger in the Athabasca forest.
Much of Glen’s territory is still protected from industrial activity today as the Willmore Wilderness Park. Glen would be proud to know that more than 70 years after his watch ended, the park continues to support healthy populations of mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, mountain caribou, cougars, wolves and a host of smaller creatures. The trails and cabins that Glen built are used by hikers, horseback riders, hunters and trappers. I can attest that one can still experience true wilderness within the park.
Mountain Trails is well illustrated with quality historical photographs. The editors have enriched the memoir with sidebars and notes about people, places and events mentioned in Glen’s stories. Other additions include a touching forward by Glen’s late son, Jim; an interesting preface, which includes notes on the author; an introductory essay by P.J. Murphy giving historical context; informative appendices and a thorough index. All of which make this book a useful resource as well as a darn good read. With 298 pages and 21x26 cm. Mountain Trails is a somewhat hefty volume, which The Forestry Research Institute has also released in e-book format. Read it online or download the pdf at no charge at foothillssri.ca/resource/mountain-trails-ebook.
He worked at various jobs in British Columbia until the early years of WWI, when he joined and was sent to Europe with the Royal North-West Mounted Police. Sometime after his return, changes in the force prompted another career change and he found his niche as a forest ranger in the Athabasca Forest.
As of 1884, the forest trees on the crests and slopes of the Rocky Mountains were to be protected “for the proper maintenance throughout the year of the volume of water in the rivers and streams”. (Pg. 6) Through economic ups and downs, bureaucratic mood swings, marriage and starting a family, Glen scouted and cleared trails through the wilderness and built ranger cabins that are still in use.
In these memoirs, Glen comes across as a pragmatic, hard-working and level-headed man, who developed a deep intimacy with and respect for his territory and many of the people within it. He was a man of his time, with a perspective shaped in the times that were, but always seems to have acted with honourable intentions. The inevitable adventures of a life spent in an uncompromising wilderness are met with patient acceptance and good common sense.
He witnessed much change in his 25 years of forestry service, but adapted as necessary until, in 1945, his unwillingness to send his son away to boarding school to continue his education, prompted him to finally resign his post and move to a larger centre. Jack Glen was, at the time, the longest serving ranger in the Athabasca forest.
Much of Glen’s territory is still protected from industrial activity today as the Willmore Wilderness Park. Glen would be proud to know that more than 70 years after his watch ended, the park continues to support healthy populations of mountain goats, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, mountain caribou, cougars, wolves and a host of smaller creatures. The trails and cabins that Glen built are used by hikers, horseback riders, hunters and trappers. I can attest that one can still experience true wilderness within the park.
Mountain Trails is well illustrated with quality historical photographs. The editors have enriched the memoir with sidebars and notes about people, places and events mentioned in Glen’s stories. Other additions include a touching forward by Glen’s late son, Jim; an interesting preface, which includes notes on the author; an introductory essay by P.J. Murphy giving historical context; informative appendices and a thorough index. All of which make this book a useful resource as well as a darn good read. With 298 pages and 21x26 cm. Mountain Trails is a somewhat hefty volume, which The Forestry Research Institute has also released in e-book format. Read it online or download the pdf at no charge at foothillssri.ca/resource/mountain-trails-ebook.
Displaying 1 of 1 review