how do you handle loneliness ?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/miurabucho]

The job caters to people who enjoy being alone, so it is something to keep in mind.

[u/elpocoloco4 → u/miurabucho]

im a pretty heavy ambivert, so i dont really care, but how do you guys pass just being alone?

[u/Apart-One4133 → u/elpocoloco4]

Since it wasnt answered Il' give it a go. 

Even tho you know my situation is unlike some other towers I can still answer that. Im not sure if you're in my country (CAD) but if you are :

People read (that's universal tho no matter the country 😅), in Canada tho you have to maintain your site and cabin, seeing as you're not living in the tower. So peop'e pass time by gardening, carpentry projects, mowing/taking care of your site (painting buildings, steps, etc). All of these things can help you stay busy. 

Im in a 6 month tower and time flies fast, most are there for 4 months so it's not that long really. 

Some towers have electricity so you can even bring a tv or laptop and watch movies/play games. 

There's also the fact you can bring your pets, so people keep busy with them. You find all kind of cool stuff in the forest so walking is a big thing for me. I walk 84km every 20 days on average (I calculated 😅).  Every season I find skulls or even complete skeletons (those are rare tho). So  it became tradition to look for as much skulls as possible snd I bring them home. I got Mooses, Bears, Deers (a lot), Coyotes, Ravens,  but also cows, horses, domesticated pigs (a lot).

You usually have time for these in the ear't season and late season. Mid season you're just always up in the tower. This is when it can get rough depending if it rains or not. 

Up there, I usually keep myself busy with music, writing, reading, playing the harmonica and thinking of life. I spend time on Reddit too, even tho that's an addiction Im trying to get rid of 😅. 

But while you can patch being alone with all these, it never truly fill the void. As others said, you need to enjoy being alone. My wife and I use to have our own towers and we wouldnt see each other for 5-6 months at a time. We didnt mind because ultimately, we enjoy being alone and are independant. 

Hope that helps ! 

[u/trotskythinksnotsky]

Being isolated is a major factor for this job, both physically in the distance you'll be from town / your ranger station and in the ability to work long hours on weird schedules completely independently. If you need people around you in order to work well or be happy, this is not a job for you.

You'll get more camaraderie and interaction doing other, just as cool and important jobs with the Forest / Parks Service. Wildland fire crew, park ranger, guide, just to name a few.

[u/abitmessy]

I was at a pretty busy tower and people came and went from about 8-4 and then it got quiet. So technically, I was hardly alone. But answering the same 3 questions all day and having superficial conversation with 40 strangers a day is still not real interaction. They don’t want to know that I’m missing my husband or my mom is not well, that I’m worried about a personal financial issue or even good gossip from the friend group back home. They just want to know if they can come up, if I really sleep there, what’s down that road, etc… it’s weird to feel lonely with people around all day. The job itself being super cool will not make that bearable for anyone. If you don’t like being alone where you’re at, you’re really not going to like it with limited or no cell service and a long haul to get to town where no one knows you anyway. I did fine but my dog really helped.

[u/Apart-One4133 → u/abitmessy]

Oof that's harsh. I was fhinking of swapping tower with a guy I know and I was told he got 300 visitors per season 😬. I cancelled that idea right then and there haha. Don't know how you do it but I tip my hat ! 

[u/abitmessy → u/Apart-One4133]

300/season would be lovely. I had 10k+ at that tower. 🤣

[u/ilikealmondmilk444 → u/abitmessy]

This is the most accurate and honest of the comments^

[u/Fluid_Supermarket711]

To be alone is inherently the job but doesn’t mean it has to equate to loneliness. Some lookouts communicate with each other on forest for companionship and almost all lookouts I know are able to get some sort of cell service on their mountain. I don’t get lonely but more so once or twice a season I get bouts of homesickness. But my season is closer to the 5 month mark so it’s a bit longer stretch than some.

[u/Sensitive_Implement]

Generally speaking, you don't apply for fire lookout jobs if you get lonely easily. Except those people who want, and apply for, known busy locations.

I had a little over 100 visitors in my 4 months as a lookout, and that didn't bother me a bit. A bit more than I needed really lol. But not bad. I went days and even a week at a time with nobody.

If I had been subjected to several thousand I would have been miserable.

[u/Fluid_Supermarket711 → u/[deleted]]

That farmer part was lovely to read. What an experience!

[u/elpocoloco4 → u/[deleted]]

awh that sounds so awesome

[u/Apart-One4133 → u/elpocoloco4]

Thanks ! Btw I deleted the comment due to personal information, now that you'v seen it.