When gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1897, the government and its law officers, the NWMP, needed a faster way to communicate with the remote northern territory. Isolated residents also wanted a more reliable connection with the outside world. Thus was born the Yukon Telegraph. Between 1899 and 1901, work crews strung nearly 2,000 miles of wire between Dawson City, Yukon, and Ashcroft, B.C. They faced some of the roughest, most isolated terrain imaginable, with barely a three-month working season between the snows of May and June and freeze-up in September. Bill Miller tells the story of the Yukon Telegraph from its conception to its abandonment in 1952, from the political wrangling and scandal that surrounded the building of the line to the daunting task of stringing the line itself. But at the heart of the book are the stories of the linemen who survived the isolation, low pay, scant or mouldy provisions, weather extremes, nearly impassable terrain, and encounters with grizzlies and moose.

Some of the other characters brought to life are: Simon Peter Gun-an-oot, the Native man who was accused of murder and spent the next 13 years as a refugee until he turned himself in at Hazelton and was acquitted at trial. Slim Williams, who ran a dog team nearly 3,000 miles from Alaska to the Chicago World's Fair. Lillian Alling, who walked from New York to Dawson, then possibly attempted to cross the Bering Strait back to her native Russia. In the 1980s, a growing interest in wilderness hiking saw the old trail attracting a new breed: the adventure hiker. Today, serious backpackers hike certain sections, and there is interest in restoring and preserving other segments to create a world-class wilderness trail. Wires in the Wilderness is a fascinating look at the rich history of the Yukon Telegraph Trail and its potential for future generations.