A Wilderness of Smoke and Mirrors: Exploring Interstitial Spaces in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Monument 83/Holdover Peak is located along the international border of Canada and the United States. Situated in a subalpine clearing of E.C. Manning Park in southwestern British Columbia, this area is part of the shared traditional territories the Stó:lōand Similkameen First Nations. It was traditionally used as a meeting ground for fishing, hunting,and trading, and the present-day Skyline Trail was a well-used travel route. Monument 83 is notable for its location as a fire lookout site. The US Forest Service built a cupola-style log cabin in 1930, but an international border survey during the 1960’s determined that the existing lookout was actually located on the Canadian side of the border, so it became the southernmost fire outlook in Canada(Redwic, n.d.). Today two fire towers exist, situated in a burnt-outregion: the old lookout ontothe Canadian side and the more recently built fire tower on the American sideof the border, which is still used occasionally. ...