Mark Hufstetler Interview, November 29, 2022

Mark Hufstetler describes being born in Utah in 1958. He says his father was a career U.S. Forest Service employee, and Mark’s family lived at Forest Service ranger stations within the Challis, Bridger, and Dixie National Forests until his family purchased a homestead in the Uinta Mountains. Mark tells of visiting Twin Peaks and Fly Creek Point Lookouts in 1966, sparking an interest in lookouts. After attending college in Salt Lake City, Mark describes spending six years with Glacier National Park concessions, where he visited many lookouts. Mark discusses getting his master’s degree at Montana State University and then working as a historian in Glacier National Park. He describes working with the Flathead National Forest as a volunteer lookout for 24 days on Cooney, Cyclone, and Baptiste Lookouts. In 2018, Mark staffed Porphyry Peak Lookout with the Lewis and Clark National Forest before returning in 2019 to Baptiste Lookout as a paid staffer. Mark says he has worked there ever since and plans to return in 2023.