The Cascading of Mountain Poetry

By Mark Doherty

Tragedy in the Canadian Wilderness which happened long ago becomes the catalyst for English teacher Jack Carment to create an entire year of learning that his students will NEVER forget. Challenged to start up a new private school for a small select group of students, Jack hits upon an idea that has probably never been used before in the world of teaching. Outdoor stories, classroom stories, and lively interaction with his intimate group of students keep this tale moving through a wonderful mix of settings and situations. Ultimately, several of Jack's old friends and acquaintances return to help him answer an ultimate question that climaxes his unique year of teaching.
This is the fourth Jack Carment Tale which are stories about Jack's love for the outdoors and passion for sharing his world with his students. Similar to the other four novellas, Jack spends quality time on outdoor adventures both to problem solve and to reflect on his work life as a dedicated and committed high school English teacher. Unique to this most recent story is Jack's evolution as a teacher moving from public education into an entirely new realm of teaching privately. Jack creates an totally unique and surprising entire school year curriculum for a small select group of students, giving them a year of learning that they will never forget. This novella is filled with lively dialogue and repartee, wonderful outdoor description, and challenging conflicts in the world of education.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Doherty
• Release date: Mar 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798223473251

Mark Doherty

Mark Doherty was born and raised in the Colorado Rockies where he developed his passion for both the outdoors and music. After graduating from Western State College of Colorado with a BA in English and Writing, he moved to Moab, Utah where he worked as a guide, musician, and carpenter for nearly ten years. In 1993 he moved to the Salt Lake City area to work as a high school English teacher. He retired from teaching in 2021 and now spends his time writing, playing music, and doing woodworking. In 2016 he completed his MA degree in English, Creative Nonfiction and has produced his sixth manuscript Creativity, Teaching, and Natural Inspiration. His seventh book length work of creative nonfiction will be completed sometime in 2024. In his free time, he and his wife spend as much time as possible hiking, skiing, ocean kayaking, bicycling, and backpacking.

Book preview

The Cascading of Mountain Poetry

The Fourth Jack Carment Tale

(The Howling of Holcomb Peak—First Tale)

(The Light of Shimmering Cove—Second Tale)

(The Gliding Through Nordic Field—Third Tale)

Chapter 1 Mountain Memories

Chapter 2 Interviews and Offers

Chapter 3 (September) Putting it Together, Vital Context

Chapter 4 (October) Memories, Nightmares and Mountaineering Word Riddles

Chapter 5 (November) Flora and Fauna

Chapter 6 (December) Innovations and Inspirations, And the Opposites

Chapter 7 (January) David the Mentor and Teacher

Chapter 8 (February) The Deep of Winter; The Power of Foreshadowing

Chapter 9 ( March) Ecosystems and Latitudes

Chapter 10 (April) Elements of Poetry

Chapter 11 (May) Investigating the Poem’s Reality Factor and Cascading Insight

Chapter 12 (June) The Ledge

Chapter 13 Next Year’s Poem

More About the Author Mark Doherty

Chapter 1 Mountain Memories

The morning mist and fog was just lifting from Puget Sound when long-time English teacher Jack Carment took a deep breath of moisture-laden air, looked up from his laptop and gazed out the open windows at Mt. Rainier towering over the Seattle area. Closing his eyes, he let his memories of mountains wash over him like gentle rain. The smell of spruce and pine and the subtle crunch of frosty ground came back as he recalled an early spring pre-dawn start many years ago on Holcomb Peak. He recalled the distant sound of water cascading in the valley below as it tickled his cold ears when he paused for a moment in the forest, watching his breath steam out in even puffs of white while the first rays of sun goldened the high summits above him.

A second memory materialized out of the morning mist. Jack’s reminiscence savored the smell of yarrow, sage, and wallflower that filtered into his thoughts as he felt the warm summer sunshine fall on his shoulders. He recalled perching precariously on a steep summer snowfield high in the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness. In the distance, the piercing cry of a hawk rang out in the clear morning air, and Jack looked up just in time to see sunlight filtering through its magnificent red tail feathers. Then Jack’s vibrant memories looked back down to earth and his feet, and he instantly felt the pinprick-needly spray of ice crystals on his face as they flew in a shower from his climbing boot where it struck the snow, kicking steps in a nearly vertical couloir leading to a high ridge.

A third memory emerged and launched Jack into a late October climb of Sunshine Peak as he plunged his boots deep into the drifts of autumn snow, fording his way through the krummholz that lined the trail. His recall visualized the transition zone where the soft, deep drifts became firm windblown surfaces that would support his weight and he could kick steps onward and upward on the hardened wind-blown snow amidst a myriad of curving lines and patterns of hard-packed, drifted white.

While Jack daydreamed these images, a magnificent white mountain goat looked down at him from the wall next to his desk. Just this morning Jack had unpacked and hung this special painting. It had been painted by one of his former students, the creature frozen in time where it stood against an azure sky atop a snowy summit, casting a shadow onto the striated, wind packed snowdrift. Jack always imagined that the goat was amusedly gazing down at a curious human making his way skyward. This curious man was a mountaineer approaching the summit, startled by the goat who was looking down on him. Jack visualized the mountaineer exhaling in surprise and speaking to the goat, "What are you doing on top of this summit?"

An email alert chimed from Jack’s laptop, urging him back to the present. Rutendo, one of his older students was going to be an hour late this morning. One last glance at the gloriously white top of Rainier, and Jack breathed himself deeply back into work. But in so many ways, the place Jack was at right now, a modified one-room school in a large loft space above an urban garage, was not really work. In another hour, his eleven students would start arriving, and then the labor of love that was Jack’s life as a teacher would begin.

Chapter 2 Interviews and Offers

Streaming diaphanous mists were just beginning to lift from the meadows and low grasses along the winding river. The chill of morning transitioned quickly into the rich heat of a long Northern summer day. Jack gently reined in his horse, Clyde, at the edge of the vast Bechler Meadows and surveyed the view. Clyde gave a brief snort as both he and Jack noticed a pair of magnificent bull moose grazing far out in the meadows in the willow thickets along the river. The pack horse Luther who was trailing behind, fully loaded, seemed not to notice and began sniffing the ground alongside the trail for new grass to nibble on. Soon a sandhill crane lifted from the marshy grasses and flew deeper into the meadow country, its prehistoric voice ringing distinctly across the calm morning air. This June day in Yellowstone had begun in a 27 degree chill, but would soon meld into a scorching 85 degree hot day. Jack tied Luther’s lead rope to his saddle, unzipped his park service windbreaker, turned and stuffed it into one of his saddle bags while Clyde waited patiently.

Looking back at the trail behind Luther, Jack smiled as he recalled the recent windstorm and a day of hiking with a chainsaw balanced on top of an old frame Kelty pack. At least fifty old snags from a ten year old burn scar had fallen across the trail during the storm, and Jack’s job as a summer Park Service Volunteer and Trail Crew Worker was to keep trails clear of deadfall. Just one week earlier, he had hiked that three mile stretch, lifting the chainsaw from his pack top while still walking toward fallen logs, starting the saw mid stride, then slicing a six to eight foot section out of the tree. As he cut the throttle on the saw, he was already mid-stride heading up the trail to the next fallen log. Behind him, a young college kid volunteer upended the log pieces out of the trail and trotted to catch up to Jack for the next tree. Some days Jack covered as much as fifteen miles of trail in this manner. Today’s ride with horses packed to resupply Ranger Carol twenty-five miles in up on the edge of the Caldera was smooth and unobstructed thus far due to his earlier work. After a long hiatus from Park Service work, his wife Carol returned to her job as backcountry ranger for a few seasons working in Yellowstone; Jack signed on as summer volunteer figuring some good hard physical work nicely counterbalanced months spent in school and classroom.

Jack took a deep breath, and could still smell a few of the little fragrant sawdust piles where the last big log before the meadow had been cleared. It was turning out to be one of the best hard-working summers he’d had yet. Getting out of the teaching mode and doing physical work suited Jack perfectly. Working as a Park Service Volunteer was even better—the job carried virtually no stress, and it enabled him to work with horses and travel some of Yellowstone’s premier trails. And of course, with his wife Carol working as backcountry ranger, he had great companionship.

Hup hup, called Jack, leaning forward and squeezing his legs together to urge Clyde on. C’mon Luther, you slowpoke. We’ve gotta get this resupply to the cabin today! As the rider and horses moved into the meadows, a large black bear grazing on grubs next to a fallen log looked up briefly, then continued his foraging. Clyde huffed again and craned his neck back in the direction of the bear, alerting Jack to the bear’s presence. Jack patted Clyde’s neck and said, Looks like he’s preoccupied my friend. Let’s move on!

While crossing the five miles of meadows, Jack’s thoughts turned toward summer’s end and his inevitable return to Elkhorn High. The previous year had been a bit rough, and now Carol was looking to advance her wildlife and climate research career. She had suggested a move, and now, riding horseback through the Yellowstone backcountry, was a good time for Jack to really think it through.

By fall, Jack and Carol moved to the Seattle area from rural Montana, and Jack started looking for teaching jobs. Jack departed, somewhat reluctantly, from that recent position at Elkhorn High School in Montana for a number of reasons. One was so that Carol could pursue a work opportunity, and another was that they both craved more time pursuing one of their passions, ocean kayaking. Jack planned on continuing his tenure as a public-school teacher, although he hoped to teach at a local International Baccalaureate high school because he enjoyed