Other editions of book Forest Patrol

Some day, John Belden told himself, he would be a forest ranger. His chance came unexpectedly as a one-year substitute in the Rasca district of the Alleghany back country. This is the story of that year - plowing roads, fighting fires, hunting killer bears and wolves, planting trees, attending to all the duties that make up a ranger's life. But more than anything else it is the story of a nineteen-year-old boy's finding himself and learning that success is not just heroics, but constantly doing your best.

James Arthur Kjelgaard (December 6, 1910-July 12, 1959) was an American author of young adult literature.This story about a young man (of course) who yearns to become a forest ranger and who is working as a trapper to save money to go to school. However, opportunity comes before then—the chance to work as an interim ranger for a year, as the regular ranger has been given a different assignment for that time.