Here's a short story from "Smoke Jumper Magazine". It tells the story...

...
In the southwest corner of the map, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River snakes roughly from southwest to northeast. Situated on a bluff north of and overlooking the river is Indian Creek Landing Field. The runway runs east to west, is about 5,000 feet long and lies at about 4,700 feet elevation. At the western end of the runway, several buildings make up the Indian Creek Guard Station.

About 200 yards north of the center of the runway, there is a grave marked on the map. I helped dig that grave.
...

http://smokejumpers.com/main/smokejumpe ... ions_id=49

Thanks, that's quite a story.

Had heard some of this story from Jim Tracy.

This old Ludite is going to try and get the link for this story off to Jim.
Some of you may, (slim chance) recall that I have mentioned that I bought the UGLIEST airplane I had ever seen, (google N4650C - do not know how it got there)at least from the outside. The inside was another story as it had been a complete restoration with all new parts from the rear door posts forward. Well, just so happens that Jim Tracy is the person I bought it from.

I found it hard to believe that he had been a smoke jumper until the son of the person for whom the McCall base is named after came over to us during breakfast at an old yellow collard working mans cafe
next to the Woodsman Motel and asked if he could sit with us. Jim said hello and introduced him but I do not remember the name. Big guy though. Ended up he could take us for a tour of the training center / jump base. Sure enough I found the name Jim Tracy on the one hundred and the two hundred jump plaques.

Got a complete 1:! tour. Talked a lot with man who did most of the sewing as I had done some camp gear prototypes for the early North Face when it first opened in the old Stanford Barn.

It took a broken shoulder to get Jim off his Harley in his mid 60s a couple years ago.

He is currently doing some self taught lectric drafting type stuff for some airline in Savannah Ga.

Jim has turned out to be one of the better friends in my life. Even if he did charge me too much for the plane.

Chris C

Very cool story and one that hits home a little. One of the best summers of my life was flying jumpers out of McCall. I've never had another job that had the same sense of commraderie or common mission. I look forward to my next trip to Indian Creek to find the site and pay my respects.

Good find, and a good read for a Sunday morning. Good to be reminded of our own mortality and what's really important.

Cheers

WONDERFUL piece of history, thank you for telling it.