Wilderness Journals

Wandering the High Lonesome

By Jack Ward Thomas

Wilderness is smooth sippin’-whiskey for the outdoorsman’s soul. But it’s also espresso for those determined to keep America’s wildest places untrammeled by man. For Jack Ward Thomas, it was both.

Wilderness Journals tells the story of how Thomas came to know the “high lonesome,” and how his experiences packing into rough country with fine horses and good friends would fuel his passion and vision as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, a position he assumed in 1993.

A true journal-style memoir, Thomas describes adventures along the trail, including encounters with bold bears, reclusive war veterans, and vast expanses of the West that only the heartiest explorers ever see. He writes about the wildlife, forests, meadows, and mountains with two voices. One is the voice of an emerging conservation leader looking into the future of natural resource management. The other is the voice of a backcountry horseman simply doing what he loves.

An appendix in Wilderness Journals reveals Thomas’s goal as Forest Service chief to enhance and expand America’s wilderness system. He describes behind-the-scenes political struggles, internal resistance, and final analyses of his defeats—as well as his hopes for the future.

• 18 B&W photographs

• 6 x 9 inches

• 288 pages