Archie G. Norcross’ Maine Forest Fire Maps (1918–22) In the summer of 1956, the Beat writer Jack Kerouac ascended the North Cascade Mountains, climbing up through the glacial crests of Washington State to Desolation Peak, where he would assume a summer post as a fire lookout for the United States Forest Service. Alone in his sparsely furnished cabin in the sky, Kerouac kept watch for smoke, the fi...