According to the book's foreword, the opening section of the novel is taken almost directly from the journal he kept when he was a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascade mountains of Washington state.
Ifølge bogens forord er bogens begyndelse taget næsten direkte fra en dagbog, han skrev, mens han arbejdede som brandvagt i et udkigstårn på Desolation Peak i North Cascade-bjergene i staten Washington.