World Famous Comics: Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter Alone in the Wilderness
Indian Creek Chronicles: A Winter Alone in the Wilderness
By: Pete Fromm Publisher: Picador Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: October 01, 2003 Studio: Picador
Product Description: Winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award, Indian Creek Chronicles is Pete Fromm’s account of seven winter months spent alone in a tent in Idaho guarding salmon eggs and coming face to face with the blunt realities of life as a contemporary mountain man. A gripping story of adventure and a modern-day Walden, this contemporary classic established Fromm as one of the West’s premier voices.
Interesting adventure in the wilds of Idaho ^ An exciting, engaging, informative memoir about a 19 year old U. of Montana Wildlife Biology major, who quits school going into his jr. year to take a job over the winter 85 miles away, into the wilderness of the Bitterroot Mts of Idaho, tending baby salmon by keeping ice jams from forming on a creek. Pete's always been enamored of the image of being a mountain man and as a complete greenhorn he sets off with his new puppy, sorely unprepared for his 7 month sojourn of isolation in a tent. We survive in the bitter cold among the wild animals along with Pete, learning as he learns, in his often humorous, good natured, self deprecating style. The writing flows easily, beautifully detailed, keeping you pinned to the pages far into the night. There is an incident of sickening heartache for the senseless killing of a beautiful animal, and brutal description of an animal in a trap which is hard to take, but it speaks to the power of Fromm's writing. I love a book that presents new material that fascinates me to the point of follow-up research, and this book does just that (if you want to know more about tanning an animal hide and how brains (!) [...]). A very enjoyable read though I would have loved some pictures! Highly recommend.
Honest and engrossing ^ A brilliant account. Touching, straightforward, and absorbing. This book led me to read every other book Fromm has written.
Not really so alone... ^ Pete Fromm's narrative of the seven months he spent guarding salmon eggs in Idaho is an interesting, but not quite stirring look at life alone in the wilderness. In the early sections of the book where he pulls no punches about his own inept preparation for the task at hand makes for some fun reading, but his gradual change into someone who appreciates the wonder that is around him lacks the poetry it should have for such a profound experience. Intertwined are tales of the dog he brings along for companionship and interruptions of the various hunters who cross his path as the season changes, both of which create a bit of chaos for the reader. As Fromm portrays his utter aloneness which is regularly interrupted by snowmobiles it's hard to get a true sense of how your supposed to feel. The adventure here was just too civilized for me. Fromm definitely is a talented writer and his descriptions of the wild are detailed and enthralling, but the rest of his tale of hunters and weddings just real were of little interest and while I'm sure they were part of his 7 month time, I found I wish they weren't.
Indian Creek Chronicles ^ VERY ENTERTAING AND HOLDS YOUR INTEREST VERY WELL; PETE IS A REAL PERSON ON A REAL ADVENTURE.
Indian Creek Chronicles ^ Some friends of mine are certainly going to get "Indian Creek Chronicles" for Christmas this year. A wide variety of interests will enjoy this book.
Pete Fromm is justly known as an excellent writer. This memoir is some of his early material and describes some of his earliest wilderness experiences. He was a tenderfoot in an alien environment. Thus this becomes a true story written on a clean slate. A person must believe that the experience had a profound influence on him and on his writings that we enjoy as they reach publication today.
Fromm makes it sound as if it were almost an accident that he ended up deep in Idaho's Selway wilderness while he was still a teen. However, it is never truly an accident that a person strikes out on an adventure. When the adventure works out well, it is usually because the circumstances match a certain makeup in the person's being. Fromm was searching his way through a program at the University of Montana when an opportunity appeared to spend the winter far from civilization watching over a bunch of salmon eggs too small to see. Without really thinking about what it meant to spend months without human contact or access to help if he needed it, he postpones his education and accepts the job. That the job required only a few minutes each day added to the loneliness but provided time to learn from the wilderness.
He lands in a wall tent without much instruction on what supplies he should have brought or how he should survive the challenges he might face. The winter weather in that part of the country is renowned for deep snow, severe temperatures, and long duration. Fortuitously, he brought a young dog that proves to be a good companion and a focus during times of loneliness. He also brought a pioneering spirit without which the adventure would have been a disaster.
The book relates a self-taught crash course in survival skills, learning about one's self, and discovering the ways of nature in the wilderness. There was something unexpected around every corner, and the corners were close together.
One expects the unexpected in such a situation. The phone hanging on a nearby tree doesn't work - this is before wireless - adding to the isolation, and also the risk. On the other hand, snowmobiles unexpectedly appear occasionally with outfitters, hunters, or forest rangers. An attempt by Fromm's brother and father to ski in on a visit ends unsuccessfully, and Fromm's concern over the possible consequences causes him to put himself at risk.
There is some superlative nature writing here, such as the emotions aroused by an eclipse of the sun. Human interaction with the changing seasons and the animals of the wilderness receive a fresh look through the eyes of someone just learning about such things. There is an "Afterword" chapter that brought tears to my voice as I was reading the book aloud.
Regardless of whether your interest turns to the outdoors or to the enjoyment of human nature, you will enjoy this book. It is the kind of book you will refer to frequently in conversations with your friends.
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