Very gripping, tragic true story of Randy Morgenson, a ranger who went missing in his beloved mountains while on duty in the 90s. His story was featured on a recent episode of "Disappeared" and it was so compelling that I actually ordered this book. the book is not only about his disappearance and the grueling search and rescue that followed, but it does a fine job of giving this amazing man a fine biography, including lots of his beautiful writings about the wonder of nature.

The Last Season is a true-life mystery, outdoor adventure, and love letter to the High Sierras all in one interesting and well-researched story. It explores the life of backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson and his mysterious disappearance, as well as the painstaking efforts from his fellow rangers to find him. While meandering at times, it’s a satisfying read that held my interest.

This was a hard book for me to get through. It was slow in spots, but I guess I expect that from biographies. However, once I started reading, I felt like I owed this book my full attention and I wasn't about to quit reading it without finishing it. It is definately NOT light reading. A person needs time to get through this book to really appreciate it and what it's about.

Being a Montana girl (from the mountains), I felt like....had my life taken a different turn way back when (I live on the flat prairie now), it could have been a very real possibility that I would have worked in the same, or, at least, similar field as these Rangers. Because of that, I felt a bit of honor in reading this book about one of them, that.....had I ever had the priviledge of meeting him, I would have been inspired. He was an artist, a naturalist, a conservationist, and much more. Most of all, he was human, making human errors that can sometimes be dark and disgusting, just like the rest of us!!

Upon reading this book, I have begun to recycle plastics and cardboards, along with my regulars of aluminum and newspapers, so maybe I found out a bit more about myself, too!! And, even though I still kill weeds in my yard and I still mow my lawn, from now on, I will always be more aware of what I'm doing and of my surroundings. Baby steps!!!

Read this book while camping in the Coconino National Forest, which was a great way to make it even more real. I do not think I am strong enough to be a back country ranger, not just physically, but emotionally either. At times it sounded very romantic, especially when the newlyweds spent a winter season together in the woods, but it also sounded very lonely. On the other hand, the older I get the more value I can see in living simply, quietly, and harmoniously with nature. This book was thought provoking and inspiring. You should read it.

If you liked "Into the Wild", you'll love this book. Randy Morgenson is a backcountry ranger in the Sierra Nevada and Kings Canyon national parks.

Randy never really got people, but he really understood nature and being isolated in it. Growing up with family friends like Ansel Adams set the tone for his view on the world.

In much the same vein as "Into the Wild", Randy goes missing early in the book and the author takes you on a recount of his life and what might have happened to him via interviews with co-workers, his ex-wife, supervisors, and the countless hikers whom were aided by the backcountry ranger.

I highly recommend! Probably the fact that I love exploring the Sierra Nevadas has something to do with this. I could experience these wonderful places without having a 40 lb backpack on my back. It is a love story, adventure and thriller. This is one I will read again.

This book was just not for me.

Morgenson, although highly praised for his work as a Park Ranger, just wasn't that appealing to me. He came off very unlikeable and self-absorbed.. really difficult for me to sympathize for him. I felt at times I was just mindlessly listening just to get to the end.

I'm honestly not sure if this story deserved a book.. maybe an essay or a short story but not a 300 page book. At times, it felt very repetitive.

There were dedicated sections describing the origins of the back country rangers and very detailed descriptions of the Sierras. If you’re into that sort of stuff, you may enjoy this!

3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this. There was a nice 60s-nature-freak-artistic-activist vibe, the kind where there are liberal quotes from Thoreau, Abbey, and Muir. The biography centers on a complex person, backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, and his disappearance from his post after almost 30 years as a backcountry ranger.

It did spend the first half of the novel moving between Morgenson's early life and the disappearance and SAR (search and rescue). As can happen when that device is used, you prefer one story over the other. In general, I enjoyed the numerous POVs and opposing opinions Blehm gets from the people around Morgenson. I enjoyed the inner workings of the National Parks. But sometimes the multiple layers felt drawn out too much and padded.

I was expecting a true story search and rescue thriller, which it was... but I also learned a ton about the park service, search and rescue operations, the lifestyle, temperament, challenges and priorities of backcountry rangers, as well as the fact that backcountry rangers even exist! It made me want to go backpacking, immediately, but this time with plans A-D for safety. I really enjoyed this book. It opened my mind to a lot.

Ranger Randy was a flawed man, torn between a profound dedication to the life in and conservation of the high Sierras, a floundering marriage, and an ending affair. He had a desperate need to protect the earth, and was an embittered employee in a park system that did not listen, nor thank in any meaningful way the seasonal backcountry rangers that are basically the elite guard and special forces rescue team of our national parks. His love for art had been slipping from him as his personal life became uncontrollable, he was depressed, and he was in the throes of a middle life crisis, having to realize that being a backcountry ranger is a young man’s game, and while he had TWENTY-EIGHT years in the backcountry, eventually he would have to do something else.

In the midst of all this, he disappeared one day. Every one wondered, had he committed suicide, skipped town to start a new life, or had a terrible accident? Where was he.

This was a pretty brilliant biography if you ask me. Luckily for Blehm, Randy was a prolific writer (the man was friends with Ansel Adams and Wallace Stegner) and most of his friends and family are still alive, so Blehm had an absolute abundance of resources to paint a very full portrait of Randy. Can we ever really know someone through a biography? Probably not, but they can still speak to us. Randy spoke to me through this biography, at one point he questions of one of his friends why we are all so obsessed with ‘est’s: richest, fastest, strongest. When we travel at that pace, when ‘est is our focus, we lose sight of the small things that truly make life. We miss sight of the wildflowers in the meadow that were Randy’s forte, we miss sight of small exchanges between friends and family, the dappling of sunlight, the call of a bird. Randy’s story is a call to slow down, and enjoy it. Listen to nature around you. I can get behind that message. I love the echos in mountains, the scratching and trickle of sand in the desert, the whispering of prairie grasses, the conversations of forests. Blehm really brought Randy forth despite his personal flaws. I know that the next time I am in a park, that I will be even more wary of leave no trace. Randy wouldn’t even light fires because it took away wood from the forest- and decaying wood in a forest is a limited natural resource. It will make me reconsider my interactions with the wild.

More than that, while Blehm told Randy’s story wonderfully, he also took the time to highlight causes that were important to Randy- most notably the abysmal services from the NPS and government that seasonal backcountry rangers receive for their labor. Unrecognized formally for their years in service because they are “seasonal”, unpaid in overtime for their many hours spent on Search and Rescue and sheltering and aiding hikers, and cleaning CONSTANTLY the trash left even in the backcountry by visitors, and denied even the most obvious of comforts like retirement and insurance, our backcountry rangers have given their lives for ours, and get so very little in return.

We have so few mountain men left. Then again, we never really had them, the mountains have them, and the mountains keep their own.

Somehow, true stories always have such a pull for me. Although many of us will know how the book ends (the primary events described are from 1996) prior to reading the first page, the author keeps us interested. Suspense builds, and at times I found myself wanting to shout through the walls of time, to tell the rescuers the clues. I docked a star because I feel towards the last third of the book it becomes unnecessarily detailed. Every action of every search team is logged. I was so excited to get on with things, that it became a little hard to read the details. As an added bonus, the book has quotes from Wallace Stegner (whom the subject of the book was personal friends with), as well as Ansel Adams. Engaging read.

This book hit me hard! The beautiful imagery of the high sierras had me daydreaming of long summer backpacking trips, itching to explore new peaks and enjoy some wilderness solitude. However, this book was equal parts beautiful and tragic. I can’t even imagine being a part of a SAR for a co-worker. This book really hits home how vastly different the wild is from civilization, for better and for worse.

Wonderfully written, loved all the quotes and imagery. My only wish is that I had a better grasp of the high sierras to better understand the wonderful world that Randy so loved