The Last Season

I just finished reading "The Last Season" by Eric Blehm. It's the story of a backcountry ranger in Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park who disappeared one summer.

Backcountry rangers are those who live in the backcountry during the summer and into the fall. They've got elaborate tents or even cabins to live in. It is their job to be the ranger presence far away from any road or other building. They direct hikers, clean up trash, destroy illegal campfire pits and lead search and rescue operations (called SARs).

The main character in the book, Randy Morgenson, had been a backcountry ranger for almost 30 years when he suddenly disappeared while on wilderness patrol.. Tis book gives his history and what eventually became of him.

I was a good boy with this book. I didn't turn to the last chapter to find out what happened to him...I really had no idea, even mostly through the book. It comes to a head in the last few pages as his disappearance is explained, but there was no hint of it before in the book. Just questions and no answers until near the end.

What the book also did for me was to give me a hunger for the wilderness again. Until the past 4 years or so, I regularly backpacked 2-3 times during the summer. Since 2004, I've been only once. Having 2 kids is of course a factor in this. But I had forgotten how much I miss it until I read this book. The writer talks about and describes places that I've heard about for years but never been to, such as LeConte Canyon, Dusy Basin and Rae Lakes.

This summer I will take Caleb backpacking for the first time. Just an overnight trip, maybe to Union Resevoir with about a 1-mile hike. Bt it is time to indoctrinate him. And it is time for me to get my wilderness mojo back