Dirt Work

Christine Byl took a temporary job with the National Park Service as a "trail dog" in Montana's Glacier National Park, clearing paths for the millions of visitors it draws every year. This tiny college graduate arrived with little experience or muscle, but she quicklylearned how to clear trees, move boulders, and build stairs and culverts in the back country. Dirt Work is a contemplative but unsentimental look at the pleasures of labor, our place in nature, and learning to...
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Christine Byl took a temporary job with the National Park Service as a "trail dog" in Montana's Glacier National Park, clearing paths for the millions of visitors it draws every year. This tiny college graduate arrived with little experience or muscle, but she quicklylearned how to clear trees, move boulders, and build stairs and culverts in the back country. Dirt Work is a contemplative but unsentimental look at the pleasures of labor, our place in nature, and learning to thrive in unfamiliar circumstances.