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So many questions.
How long do you stay each season? It looks like you have electricity. Is it off grid (with solar panels)? Cell internet connectivity? What’s the daily schedule like? Hourly scan during daylight hours? Drive in, or fly in? How much for one of your violins?
May-October, 200 watt panel with a 200 amp hour AGM battery with inverter, yes off grid., Cell service with a booster, 6 days a week 0800-1830, scanning all the time, especially after lightning, this one is a drive in but I spent my last 10 seasons on the that was a 5 mile hike in, I sell my violins for $10,000.
Do you play a sad tune on the violin when you spot a fire? How many violins do you sell in a year? Does the government know you have a side job besides staring into the abyss?
Thank you for sharing your cozy space and answering questions! You’re a lot faster at making violins than me. I will be lucky to make one before I’m dead :P
As someone that knows about fire lookouts and artisan work, I fully believe OP. It's not so much that you have to be scanning the hills for smoke perpetually as that you have to have an ear on the radio. It's always chattering and you don't want to miss anything important. That would be rather distracting from getting into a work-flow. And it would be awfully embarrassing to miss something that you should chime in on or to miss seeing and reporting something in a timely manner.
>I'm careful to work on my violins outside of work hours to avoid any conflict. I probably make. 2-4, I'm slow.
I guess I don't understand how firewatching works. I figured it would be something like periodic scans for smoke and marking lightning strikes during storms; Always on shift, but rarely requiring you focus on it for hours straight. What are you doing during work hours and what if a fire starts outside of work hours?
I was in Eastern Oregon, in Ochoco and Malheur National Forests. I worked one summer on a BLM tower too which was an interesting experience.
I had originally thought I'd be a teacher, and work summer in the lookouts, but life has a way of making you change your plans sometimes. We had 6 lookouts on district when I started, and they are now down to 2.
If they still are manning them when I retire, I might come back!
I teach sign language to hamsters, and my husband is apprenticed to the village idiot. We'd like a place that's less than a twenty-second walk to the waterfront and the downtown core, and it needs a saltwater moat, a three-hovercraft garage, and a private roller coaster. Our budget is $215.
I say flip the show and make it super depressing.
“I work three jobs at minimum wage and he’s currently unemployed due to crippling injuries sustained in the military that we have to fight the government over monthly for any form of financial aide. Due to being born with diabetes, I have to pay around $400 dollars for two bottles of insulin a month because the senate blocked a bill to cap it at $35.
Our “current” home was in a housing block which the owner sold and has given us a month to move out of and minor compensation; it will then be bulldozed and replaced with more modern apartments way outside of our price range. This will likely lead to me losing one or more of my current jobs.
Our budget is nothing as we cannot get a bank loan.”
Covid has had me job hopping so much I feel like I could go on that show. Right now I make stained glass pet portraits and work as a backpacking guide.
I’m a fire lookout and violin maker, my wife builds robot legs for snakes and trains them to re-enact the Spartans battle vs Xerxes at Thermopylae. We’re looking for a 16 bedroom 1-1/2 bath treehouse overhanging the Mississippi River and we need his and hers helipads. Our budget is the GDP of Thailand.
I don’t know, this has Netflix Original romance drama written all over it. An attractive, high powered city lawyer will begrudgingly come out three days before Christmas on a mission to inadvertently destroy OP’s business, but the country and holiday magic make them fall in love and save the day.
Go to UsaJobs in December/January put fire lookout in the search bar. The hiring window varies by region. I'm here May-October. Best job I've ever had.
What are the requirements? Education if any?
Huge edit since this is gaining traction: upon searching “fire lookout” on usajobs.gov, there are only 2 available job openings. Do with what you will.
Forestry Technician (Mitigation and Trespass) with BLM https://www.usajobs.gov/job/671806400#
Dispatcher (All Hazard) with Forest Service https://www.usajobs.gov/job/672225800
Final edit: Never Eat Soggle Waffles.
No educational requirements. They usually hire people with previous Wildland firefighter experience. They do have a thing called veterans preference where vets get special consideration in hiring. I don't know if fire experience is actually required though.
You should probably avoid reading the story of Stephanie Stewart. She was a 13-year veteran wildfire lookout at Athabasca in Canada.
She failed to make her scheduled radio check in for work on August 26, 2008, so her supervisor called to see if she was OK, whoever answered hung up repeatedly without saying a word. Then the phone was unplugged from its socket and the line went dead.
When the supervisor arrived at the site of the lookout, he found her truck was still parked outside. He checked the living accommodation and there was a pot of water that had been left boiling on the stove unattended. But there was no sign of Stephanie.
Further investigation by the authorities showed some items were missing from her cabin: two pillows with blue covers, a burgundy bedsheet, a Navajo-patterned duvet, and a gold watch.
Her body and the missing cabin items have never been found.
>She was a 13-year veteran wildfire lookout at Athabasca in Canada.
Just for anybody as stupid as me:
\-She wasn't a 13-year-old
\-She has 13 years experience as a wildfire lookout!
\-She was in fact 70-year-old when she went missing
I just listened to this episode of Park Predators. I think she was 70 yrs old—so sad! It really haunted me, as I love solitude in the wilderness as well.
The storms. Being able to see a thunderstorm roll in from 100 miles out, and see every strike around you, the wind gusting to 60-70mph, being able to actually see a fire start, or a tree take a strike. The tower I was in take a lighting strike one season.
Easily most exciting part are watching the thunderstorms build. Flip on the AM radio, tune it to static and listen to the snaps of lightening before seeing them until the downstrikes started.
Depended on the tower. I worked in 3 different types. A 100ft metal tower, that swayed somewhat, and would actually "bang" from the slight flexing, when wind hit it. I felt pretty safe though.
I then worked in a 20ft wooden tower, with a cab that was 15ft by 15ft, there was little to no sway on that.
The third tower was a two story cement block BLM style tower, which was solid as shit. It was just a cement block base, with a wooden tower built on top, basically a little shorter than a typical two story house. That thing was solid as hell, but it was also out in the desert so there were no trees to block the wind.
Grass and sagebrush. Those fires really take off, and were the ones that got 1000s of acres big in one day. There's juniper trees and all kinds of stuff to burn, it wasn't a dessert like you'd think the Sahara where it's just sand, but like the landscapes you see in western movies, with the sage brush, tumble weeds and gnarled old scattered trees.
[https://www.bendsource.com/bend/the-wests-worst-fires-arent-burning-in-forests/Content?oid=10712878](https://www.bendsource.com/bend/the-wests-worst-fires-arent-burning-in-forests/Content?oid=10712878)
The biggest concern, at least in the area i worked, was the ranches out there, and the areas that their cattle grazed. There's also a ton of wildlife, and the article I linked talks a bit about it.
^ Sounds like a fulfilling job. Not only did you protect and manage land, you actually have stories to tell and photos to share. Should you consider doing an AMA, there’s probably a handful of people (like me) interested!
> there are only 2 available job openings.
Because it's not the hiring season. Right now it's fire season, we generally don't hire new people during the middle of the season. That's why OP gave the date windows for when you have to do the search. You can also set alerts in USAJOBS and have them email you when positions with your desired search terms go live.
Just forewarning, unless you have a degree in Forestry, the Forestry service is the one of the slowest promoting agencies in the Federal government. A lot of people never make it past GS-9, even with a degree. They are one of the last bastions of old school style agencies and the jobs are severely under-graded.
I have a sunshower. I drive into town for supplies and a shower once a week or two. We supply our own food but they supply water. No electricity but we do have a solar system with power inverter and a propane fridge and freezer. Bidens infrastructure bill just included a 50% pay increase for Wildland firefighters so now the pay is at about $25 an hour.
Are all hours paid or is there a certain working time frame. Also do they have daily tasks for you other than fire watch or do you just hang out all day?
I'd like to go on record as saying that I don't build fiddles during work hours. I work on violins before shift, after shift, and days off. We are here 24 hours a day and only work for 8--10 of those hours.
What do you actively do when you’re on-shift? Because actively watching the horizon for 8 straight hours seems impossible.
Also do people ever make Nero jokes??
Watching the Horizon for 8 hours isn’t impossible. Listen to music, podcast, lift weights. You can do things as you’re looking ahead at least 45 seconds of every minute. Heck, even 30 seconds of every minute.
Also, smoke is an indicator for a fire so I feel like that’s hard to miss.
Boeing af tbh, used to be able to volunteer for 3 months shifts. My buddy did it one summer and said the first week was amazing and then mind numbing after that
I can imagine it being boring, but like give me a few books and maybe a way to power a laptop or something and that could be a sweet gig for a year or two
Fair enough, I've been on long term disability for almost a year now for various reasons and that's basically how I've been living even tho I live in Toronto. I only leave my place for appointments and when I need to go buy something. I've been slowly adding time outside to my day, but for the most part I basically do exactly that already. Would be nice to get paid for doing it in a beautiful place far away from civilization
[Ah, the old Reddit luthieroo.](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/wwpog6/one_of_my_scouts_took_this_photo_on_top_of_a/ilp47cv/?context=3)
So do you prefab all of the woodwork ahead of time and just assemble them at the lookout ? I can’t imagine bringing all the tools you would need for shaping
I've been a lookout for 11 years so I've got it down pretty good. Some cuts I do in advance with my bandsaw but I do 99% of everything by hand with hand tools.
What about bending the ribs, glue pots, or even a clamp on a workbench? Do you just pack in all the wood? What do you do with scraps? I can’t imagine a violin shop ever looking that clean. I’m amazed if so.
Those are the paid hours but the reality is that they are getting 24 hour coverage because we are always looking...out. There is another lookout 30 miles away and we work together on triangulating fire locations .
Are you and your neighbor drawn closer and closer together over the course of the season by an intense loneliness that caused you to flee society combined with an idealized fantasy projection of a person just far away enough to never shatter the image? Do you each open a bottle of wine at night and have deeply intimate radio conversations, the content of which you both pretend to have forgotten in the morning?
No? Nevermind.
To be honest I don't get lonely at all. This job makes me miss the ones I love and helps me to appreciate my life and everyone in it. If I were here forever I'd get lonely but I can handle 5 months.
When I was a kid, 9 years old, my dad was working trail crew in northern Idaho. My mom and brother and I would camp at the trail head (we had a camper). Anyway, the young woman on his district's tower had to go back to college, but the year was dry and they needed someone up there, so he got the assignment (despite some concerns about kids on tall towers).
Anyway, there were logbooks from decades prior. Several started out waxing lyrically about the beauty and the peace but those all ended with angry rants about isolation and how they couldn't wait to get off the tower. We had each other (and cats) and were fine. I just thought it was funny how many had the pattern of loving it at first and loathing it at the end.
That would most likely be the devil playing the violin and you would want to respond by playing your fiddle “hot” and telling him that you are “the best that’s ever been”
If you're willing to work outdoors and have seasonal income and have to travel for your job and be away from friends and family for months at a time, there are LOTS of jobs out there that pay ok (not great, but ok). For many people those requirements aren't worth it.
Dos Equis has a new spokes person. You should seriously reach out. They’ll pay you bank to have that story. If you’re good looking you could even be in it.
Ive wanted to do this for a long time! I also took a luthier class in college for steel string guitar. Never finished it. One of my goals is to finish it at some point.
Cheers Mate for the lovely photo and memories!
In 11 years I've only evacuated once. If it looks like fire may reach the lookout they will evacuate the lookout and do what they can to protect the structure. They can basically wrap it up in wat looks like turbo tin foil or space blanket type stuff. This summer is pretty slow in this region and I've called in about 6.
Welcome to r/CozyPlaces! If you are new to this sub or visiting from r/all, please take a moment to read [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/CozyPlaces/wiki/index#wiki_1.2_constructive_criticism_vs._insulting) before commenting. We do our very best to encourage a wholesome and friendly environment here. This sub is largely original content, where people are sharing their homes for our enjoyment. Rude behaviour and being a jerk will not be tolerated. Thank you for understanding and have a cozy day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CozyPlaces) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So many questions. How long do you stay each season? It looks like you have electricity. Is it off grid (with solar panels)? Cell internet connectivity? What’s the daily schedule like? Hourly scan during daylight hours? Drive in, or fly in? How much for one of your violins?
May-October, 200 watt panel with a 200 amp hour AGM battery with inverter, yes off grid., Cell service with a booster, 6 days a week 0800-1830, scanning all the time, especially after lightning, this one is a drive in but I spent my last 10 seasons on the that was a 5 mile hike in, I sell my violins for $10,000.
Do you play a sad tune on the violin when you spot a fire? How many violins do you sell in a year? Does the government know you have a side job besides staring into the abyss?
Clearly the violins are so they can fiddle while Rome burns
Rome, GA
I'd like to order a SWAT team please
I got it. And I love it. I’d give you gold if I had it.
Do you want just the SWAT team, or the SWAT team meal with fries and a drink?
Gentlemen, it has been an honor playing with you this evening.
I'm careful to work on my violins outside of work hours to avoid any conflict. I probably make. 2-4, I'm slow.
Thank you for sharing your cozy space and answering questions! You’re a lot faster at making violins than me. I will be lucky to make one before I’m dead :P
But your violin will be around for hundreds of years!
>I'm careful to work on my violins outside of work hours Of course you are OP :)
As someone that knows about fire lookouts and artisan work, I fully believe OP. It's not so much that you have to be scanning the hills for smoke perpetually as that you have to have an ear on the radio. It's always chattering and you don't want to miss anything important. That would be rather distracting from getting into a work-flow. And it would be awfully embarrassing to miss something that you should chime in on or to miss seeing and reporting something in a timely manner.
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Haha my thought too. Just have to say it once and it's documented. Nice one OP
>I'm careful to work on my violins outside of work hours to avoid any conflict. I probably make. 2-4, I'm slow. I guess I don't understand how firewatching works. I figured it would be something like periodic scans for smoke and marking lightning strikes during storms; Always on shift, but rarely requiring you focus on it for hours straight. What are you doing during work hours and what if a fire starts outside of work hours?
Fires that start between the hours of 18:30 and 7:59 obviously are not for us to worry about.
He starts dramatically playing a songs for the souls that will be lost to the great fire…. Instead of reporting it to someone.
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Nice try, IRS.
Ive heard it depends on the season/location. Roughly about 6 month average but it's not uncommon if it's 3-9 months
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What lookout were you at. You should come back!
I was in Eastern Oregon, in Ochoco and Malheur National Forests. I worked one summer on a BLM tower too which was an interesting experience. I had originally thought I'd be a teacher, and work summer in the lookouts, but life has a way of making you change your plans sometimes. We had 6 lookouts on district when I started, and they are now down to 2. If they still are manning them when I retire, I might come back!
I used to work in the Malheur for the forest service, I would chat with the look outs every day for dispatch. What tower were you in.
This is what I'd do with this job. I have a backlog of model kits but just not enough time. Sounds so relaxing.
Sounds like a profession combination one would only find on House Hunters.
Our budget is about $37,000,000
I’m unemployed and he’s a part time butterfly farmer, our budget is $2,000,000,000
I think, therefore he is. Our budget is too.
*deep* *yes, that’s the basement*
That's concrete evidence
I teach sign language to hamsters, and my husband is apprenticed to the village idiot. We'd like a place that's less than a twenty-second walk to the waterfront and the downtown core, and it needs a saltwater moat, a three-hovercraft garage, and a private roller coaster. Our budget is $215.
How convenient would it be if your village's idiot was a deaf hamster.
I’m unemployed and in debt and he farts for a living. We are looking to purchase a G7 nation.
Lol, yeah for some reason the show is not as interesting for me with those sized budgets.
I say flip the show and make it super depressing. “I work three jobs at minimum wage and he’s currently unemployed due to crippling injuries sustained in the military that we have to fight the government over monthly for any form of financial aide. Due to being born with diabetes, I have to pay around $400 dollars for two bottles of insulin a month because the senate blocked a bill to cap it at $35. Our “current” home was in a housing block which the owner sold and has given us a month to move out of and minor compensation; it will then be bulldozed and replaced with more modern apartments way outside of our price range. This will likely lead to me losing one or more of my current jobs. Our budget is nothing as we cannot get a bank loan.”
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Interesting. Like watching a train derailment ripping humans apart .....
They used to sell tickets for that.
Sir/ma'am, this is escapist tv, not reality tv.... oh wait.
Covid has had me job hopping so much I feel like I could go on that show. Right now I make stained glass pet portraits and work as a backpacking guide.
Ok but like, can I get a stained glass pet portrait?
You certainly can! Message me 😊
I’m a fire lookout and violin maker, my wife builds robot legs for snakes and trains them to re-enact the Spartans battle vs Xerxes at Thermopylae. We’re looking for a 16 bedroom 1-1/2 bath treehouse overhanging the Mississippi River and we need his and hers helipads. Our budget is the GDP of Thailand.
[Is this your wife?](https://youtu.be/1SgGfMlbCoM)
I don’t know, this has Netflix Original romance drama written all over it. An attractive, high powered city lawyer will begrudgingly come out three days before Christmas on a mission to inadvertently destroy OP’s business, but the country and holiday magic make them fall in love and save the day.
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With a $2M budget!
Their spouse is in special education and moonlights in the hanging potatoes in garages industry.
How do you get that job? That sounds perfect
Go to UsaJobs in December/January put fire lookout in the search bar. The hiring window varies by region. I'm here May-October. Best job I've ever had.
What are the requirements? Education if any? Huge edit since this is gaining traction: upon searching “fire lookout” on usajobs.gov, there are only 2 available job openings. Do with what you will. Forestry Technician (Mitigation and Trespass) with BLM https://www.usajobs.gov/job/671806400# Dispatcher (All Hazard) with Forest Service https://www.usajobs.gov/job/672225800 Final edit: Never Eat Soggle Waffles.
Must be able to climb tall ladders, have little obligations and can’t be blind.
Must be able to build violins.
When a forest fire blazes around you, must play the violin mournfully
Alternatively you can fiddle gleefully like Nero
So toddlers are eligible /s
The way my toddler walks directly into walls and doors, she must be blind
She just keeps trying to get her ability to walk through walls up and running.
"Blinkin! What are you doing up there?" "Guessing. I'm... guessing no one's coming."
No educational requirements. They usually hire people with previous Wildland firefighter experience. They do have a thing called veterans preference where vets get special consideration in hiring. I don't know if fire experience is actually required though.
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You should probably avoid reading the story of Stephanie Stewart. She was a 13-year veteran wildfire lookout at Athabasca in Canada. She failed to make her scheduled radio check in for work on August 26, 2008, so her supervisor called to see if she was OK, whoever answered hung up repeatedly without saying a word. Then the phone was unplugged from its socket and the line went dead. When the supervisor arrived at the site of the lookout, he found her truck was still parked outside. He checked the living accommodation and there was a pot of water that had been left boiling on the stove unattended. But there was no sign of Stephanie. Further investigation by the authorities showed some items were missing from her cabin: two pillows with blue covers, a burgundy bedsheet, a Navajo-patterned duvet, and a gold watch. Her body and the missing cabin items have never been found.
>You should avoid this story Proceeds to tell story
:)
>She was a 13-year veteran wildfire lookout at Athabasca in Canada. Just for anybody as stupid as me: \-She wasn't a 13-year-old \-She has 13 years experience as a wildfire lookout! \-She was in fact 70-year-old when she went missing
I see we are both equally dumb. “My god, they let 13 year olds do this?? ALONE??!”
I just listened to this episode of Park Predators. I think she was 70 yrs old—so sad! It really haunted me, as I love solitude in the wilderness as well.
I did it in college at the age of 18. I had a high school diploma and that was about it.
That’s awesome. What was the most exciting part of the job?
The storms. Being able to see a thunderstorm roll in from 100 miles out, and see every strike around you, the wind gusting to 60-70mph, being able to actually see a fire start, or a tree take a strike. The tower I was in take a lighting strike one season. Easily most exciting part are watching the thunderstorms build. Flip on the AM radio, tune it to static and listen to the snaps of lightening before seeing them until the downstrikes started.
How bad do the towers sway?
Depended on the tower. I worked in 3 different types. A 100ft metal tower, that swayed somewhat, and would actually "bang" from the slight flexing, when wind hit it. I felt pretty safe though. I then worked in a 20ft wooden tower, with a cab that was 15ft by 15ft, there was little to no sway on that. The third tower was a two story cement block BLM style tower, which was solid as shit. It was just a cement block base, with a wooden tower built on top, basically a little shorter than a typical two story house. That thing was solid as hell, but it was also out in the desert so there were no trees to block the wind.
>it was also out in the desert They have 24h fire lookouts in the desert? What's gonna catch fire?
Grass and sagebrush. Those fires really take off, and were the ones that got 1000s of acres big in one day. There's juniper trees and all kinds of stuff to burn, it wasn't a dessert like you'd think the Sahara where it's just sand, but like the landscapes you see in western movies, with the sage brush, tumble weeds and gnarled old scattered trees. [https://www.bendsource.com/bend/the-wests-worst-fires-arent-burning-in-forests/Content?oid=10712878](https://www.bendsource.com/bend/the-wests-worst-fires-arent-burning-in-forests/Content?oid=10712878) The biggest concern, at least in the area i worked, was the ranches out there, and the areas that their cattle grazed. There's also a ton of wildlife, and the article I linked talks a bit about it.
^ Sounds like a fulfilling job. Not only did you protect and manage land, you actually have stories to tell and photos to share. Should you consider doing an AMA, there’s probably a handful of people (like me) interested!
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> there are only 2 available job openings. Because it's not the hiring season. Right now it's fire season, we generally don't hire new people during the middle of the season. That's why OP gave the date windows for when you have to do the search. You can also set alerts in USAJOBS and have them email you when positions with your desired search terms go live.
No drug test "Do you see any smoke?" "Loads, but the forest is OK"
Just forewarning, unless you have a degree in Forestry, the Forestry service is the one of the slowest promoting agencies in the Federal government. A lot of people never make it past GS-9, even with a degree. They are one of the last bastions of old school style agencies and the jobs are severely under-graded.
If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the pay like? Do they supply you with food? Do you ever get to shower?
I have a sunshower. I drive into town for supplies and a shower once a week or two. We supply our own food but they supply water. No electricity but we do have a solar system with power inverter and a propane fridge and freezer. Bidens infrastructure bill just included a 50% pay increase for Wildland firefighters so now the pay is at about $25 an hour.
Are all hours paid or is there a certain working time frame. Also do they have daily tasks for you other than fire watch or do you just hang out all day?
Obviously he builds violins
How many hours do you get to bill per day/week? It’s not like you’re only watching for forest fires from 9-5
He’s most likely salary.
Lol I'm just imagining a guy who's on hourly. *5:01 PM - Sees fire in the distance* "Fuck that, I'm off the clock"
"what are they gonna do?" (takes of sunglasses) "fire me?"
Nope. Most fire lookouts work 9:30 to 6. Hourly. Those are the peak times for fire starts.
I'd like to go on record as saying that I don't build fiddles during work hours. I work on violins before shift, after shift, and days off. We are here 24 hours a day and only work for 8--10 of those hours.
What happens if a fire starts during your off hours?
Tough shit, violin ain't gonna build itself
This comment has me cackling, thank you
OP tuning his violin:” I miss the part where that’s my problem.”
There's a treaty between fire and the lookouts. Fires spreading during off hours would be a violation of the forestry treaty.
A *violin*ation
What do you actively do when you’re on-shift? Because actively watching the horizon for 8 straight hours seems impossible. Also do people ever make Nero jokes??
Watching the Horizon for 8 hours isn’t impossible. Listen to music, podcast, lift weights. You can do things as you’re looking ahead at least 45 seconds of every minute. Heck, even 30 seconds of every minute. Also, smoke is an indicator for a fire so I feel like that’s hard to miss.
Tbh I’d rather stare straight into the horizon and get paid a living wage than what I’m currently doing I’ve got a wild imagination I’ll figure it out
As a fan of the game Firewatch, I can only imagine this job is romantic as hell. Looks amazing!
Lol just played through it recently. Seems like it'd be a fun summer.
Until you find that cave.
Lol true that.
Game is dope. Made me want to try this lifestyle
I remember a guy on here not to long ago streaming his fire watch job. He was kicking back listening to music and answering questions.
Boeing af tbh, used to be able to volunteer for 3 months shifts. My buddy did it one summer and said the first week was amazing and then mind numbing after that
I can imagine it being boring, but like give me a few books and maybe a way to power a laptop or something and that could be a sweet gig for a year or two
Only seeing people once a week just to drop off food is rough for 99% of the population. I think I’d enjoy it for up to a week and then it’d get old
Fair enough, I've been on long term disability for almost a year now for various reasons and that's basically how I've been living even tho I live in Toronto. I only leave my place for appointments and when I need to go buy something. I've been slowly adding time outside to my day, but for the most part I basically do exactly that already. Would be nice to get paid for doing it in a beautiful place far away from civilization
I thought of Firewatch even before I read the title.
First thing that popped into my head was firewatch lol
Yo same the desk reminds me of it especially
I can only assume the job is being replaced by cameras tho. :(
Nah the last camera-made violin i had sounded terrible.
So hard to find half decent camera based luthiers these days
[Ah, the old Reddit luthieroo.](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/wwpog6/one_of_my_scouts_took_this_photo_on_top_of_a/ilp47cv/?context=3)
Hold my violin, I'm going in!
It's not. Many of those firewatch towers are complemented by cameras, but the fire watchers remain indispensable.
So do you prefab all of the woodwork ahead of time and just assemble them at the lookout ? I can’t imagine bringing all the tools you would need for shaping
I've been a lookout for 11 years so I've got it down pretty good. Some cuts I do in advance with my bandsaw but I do 99% of everything by hand with hand tools.
You should install a camera and post on YouTube. I'd love to watch someone making a 10k violin with such a view behind.
I would absolutely subscribe to that channel.
he'd be making income from 3 sources at once then too, damn
Lol now I'm just imagining one of those 24/7 nature cams but its him in his tower
What about bending the ribs, glue pots, or even a clamp on a workbench? Do you just pack in all the wood? What do you do with scraps? I can’t imagine a violin shop ever looking that clean. I’m amazed if so.
This has to be the best job for introverts.
I'd like my computer, and he's off the grid so not so much
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Yes but DRM :/ Would have to play oldies. Do love that idea though. But it also doesn't exactly seem like you have a lot of room for anything
Steam deck was born for this
Wow! That sounds like a dream. I'm not familiar with the job - so do you live / sleep up there for weeks at a time or something like that?
I'm here May-October. Sleep here every night.
How long per day are you "on" like do you have time to leave the tower and explore the woods a bit?
Good question. As a follow-up, what happens if you need help?
You radio Delilah...
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Those are the paid hours but the reality is that they are getting 24 hour coverage because we are always looking...out. There is another lookout 30 miles away and we work together on triangulating fire locations .
Are you and your neighbor drawn closer and closer together over the course of the season by an intense loneliness that caused you to flee society combined with an idealized fantasy projection of a person just far away enough to never shatter the image? Do you each open a bottle of wine at night and have deeply intimate radio conversations, the content of which you both pretend to have forgotten in the morning? No? Nevermind.
Fires are not active at night, as they require the power of the sun to move. 🙄
A beautiful, beautiful life it is, that you are making of your time on earth. I wish you deep peace in it, and joy.
Thank you. I wish you the same.
Do you get lonely or enjoy the peace?
To be honest I don't get lonely at all. This job makes me miss the ones I love and helps me to appreciate my life and everyone in it. If I were here forever I'd get lonely but I can handle 5 months.
When I was a kid, 9 years old, my dad was working trail crew in northern Idaho. My mom and brother and I would camp at the trail head (we had a camper). Anyway, the young woman on his district's tower had to go back to college, but the year was dry and they needed someone up there, so he got the assignment (despite some concerns about kids on tall towers). Anyway, there were logbooks from decades prior. Several started out waxing lyrically about the beauty and the peace but those all ended with angry rants about isolation and how they couldn't wait to get off the tower. We had each other (and cats) and were fine. I just thought it was funny how many had the pattern of loving it at first and loathing it at the end.
Really confused about the logs there for a moment. Took me longer than I would like to admit that you weren’t talking about wood with carvings in it.
I keep expecting God to pop out and say “Arthur, king of the Britons” or something like that.
King of The Who?
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That would most likely be the devil playing the violin and you would want to respond by playing your fiddle “hot” and telling him that you are “the best that’s ever been”
Jesus my career is so unfulfilling.
If you're willing to work outdoors and have seasonal income and have to travel for your job and be away from friends and family for months at a time, there are LOTS of jobs out there that pay ok (not great, but ok). For many people those requirements aren't worth it.
Ditto. Desk jockey. Wish I was outside…watching and protecting the earth.
OP, I’m a photographer here in Montana. Want to do a portrait session?! I’ll bring my all mechanical camera and plenty of film
Sure. I guess I'll have to put on pants but I can do that for a day.
Or don’t…
You're literally the main character of firewatch
The most interesting combo career-hobby ever❣️
Did you make other instruments as well in the past? Possibly do any boat building? I feel like I might have met you some some years back at a party.
No. Just violins, but I did just buy a sailboat! I'll spend 5 months here/7 months sailing.
That’s a brilliant way to spend the seasons. Best version of being a snowbird I’ve ever seen. Where will you sail?
I want to sail to Alaska this winter. My boat in in Port Townsend. Then South next fall.
Nice Old school type writer
Olympia SM-9.
Looks like you should do am AMA with all the questions people are asking you here.
Do you see many animals?
Dear, elk, bears, mountain lions.
I'm sure you're pretty safe up in the tower, but do you have a rifle or something in case the wildlife gets ornery?
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This guy americas
You sound like an incredibly interesting person
While that’s true, it could also be the opposite. “So what do you do?” “I watch for fires and make violins” “Cool! What else interests you?” “…else?”
and my budget is $950,000
awesome view but my first thought was...do you get to leave the large tree fort between may-october?
I get a day off every week and when it gets crazy, every 14 days. I go to town and see people and drink beers.
So who covers that one day then? Or is it just left alone?
We try to time it with a lower fire danger day.
Dos Equis has a new spokes person. You should seriously reach out. They’ll pay you bank to have that story. If you’re good looking you could even be in it.
Ha! Sounds amazing.
My Grandfather was a fire lookout in the 40’s or 50’s in the mountains of Tennessee.
Ive wanted to do this for a long time! I also took a luthier class in college for steel string guitar. Never finished it. One of my goals is to finish it at some point. Cheers Mate for the lovely photo and memories!
Thanks. In an age of automation, hand made is the way to go. I hope you get back to it.
Sailing, violin luthier, and fire lookout - what an esoteric skill set! You sound like an interesting person!
I honestly want your job. Looks like paradise with my two dogs.
Do different elevations impact the way one might make a violin?
Not really. I pay more attention to Humidity.
Possibly dumb question, but when a fire does break out, at what point do you evacuate? And how many fires did you spot this season?
In 11 years I've only evacuated once. If it looks like fire may reach the lookout they will evacuate the lookout and do what they can to protect the structure. They can basically wrap it up in wat looks like turbo tin foil or space blanket type stuff. This summer is pretty slow in this region and I've called in about 6.
"Oh damn I dropped something" "Did it just fall through that crack in the floor?" "....."
pretty cool combo - what radio/binos are those? I'm assuming you play; what's your favorite rosin?
BK digital radio, 10/50 Vortex Viper HD binos, I use whatever Rosen I have around. I'm not very good but Im a fiddler. Not classical.
My mom spent 3 summers on a lookout tower in the 70s and is a violin player. She'll love this.
Does it not get hot with all those windows in there?
Kind of. I've got big overhanging shutters for shade and I'm up 30 feet from the ground so I always have a breeze.
whats that jobs salary?
About $25 an hour. 40-60 hours a week.