Review 675: The Last Season

The Last Season by Eric Blehm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book details the account of what happened when an experienced backcountry ranger went missing in July 1996. Randy Morgenson was a seasonal ranger for the Sequioa and Kings National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains for 28 years. He grew up in Yosemite Valley and was one of the most capable people in wilderness. Yet he went missing on a routine patrol of his assigned around from the Bench Lake Ranger Station.

The book chapters alternate between the biography of Randy with the detail and action of the search and rescue effort for him.

A search and rescue operation started several days after later and they searched for two weeks and did not find one trace of Randy. There were several theories of what may have happened. Was it an accident, did he get attacked, or did he commit suicide? There was even the theory that Randy left the mountains entirely and disappeared. Those who were very close to Randy discounted this was a possibility, but all scenarios were considered.

Randy was in turmoil that season. He brought had divorce papers with him to his ranger station. In recent years had had an affair with another backcountry ranger. Randy and Gail had been married for over twenty years. But the months long absence had put a definite strain on their relationship. Randy was someone who could not live without the mountains and wilderness. Yet he started to question if his season employment was something that he should continue.

The detail in the book is extensive, his biography, the search and rescue, and the terrain of the mountains. It is clear in the beginning that Randy does not survive, so the main question remained if he committed suicide or had an accident of some sort. While I enjoyed the book, the one caveat is how the author put in this mysticism of the mountains, which was a bit heavy handed in the final portion of the book.

Review 567: Uncertain Path

Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks by William C. Tweed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A slightly academic book by someone who worked for the US National Park System for decades. After Tweed’s retirement he takes a month long hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains. This hike is used as the frame for the book in discussing how the national park’s underlying principles needs to change.

The key phrase used as the guiding principle since the agency was established in 1916 is that the parks will be preserved "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Tweed writes extensively about how there are several problems with this phrasing. The inability to change, the word even, unimpaired, is going to be nearly impossible with the effects of climate change. Already there are visible stressors to the forests from the warming climate and other pollution levels. The last chapter offers some solutions, even possible new wordings.

However, the bulk of the book is about Tweed’s hiking trip through the sierras. A friend joins him for several weeks. They encounter other park rangers and have discussions about how they are looking for a missing hiker or someone who was abusing the rules. It makes these vast parks seems smaller than they actually are. The hike also has a way of introducing some of the history of the park service. When he hikes up a peak the name naturally introduces the reason why that name adorns that mountain.

There are extensive sections about who uses the park. Stock users, those who use pack animals to get into the high country, have a long tradition but it can be damaging to the trails and the meadows. Contrast with the backpackers whose motto is leave no trace behind. Tweed also comments on the change in backpackers, fewer of the younger generations find their entertainment in the Sierras. Some who do look at it as solely a challenge, who can hike the trail the fastest, or bag the most peaks. Then there’s those people that have traditionally not looked at the forest as a recreational avenue for them.

Perhaps the book’s purpose could be summed up by these words: “The parks will have to undergo a metamorphosis that provides them with both new management goals in tune with our contemporary scientific knowledge and a redefined societal role that attracts new generations of users. Nothing less will succeed.”

Review 553: Possessed by Shadows

Possessed by Shadows: A Novel by Donigan Merritt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not entirely sure how I came across this book. Goodreads has only one other review and that’s from the author, so technical no reviews, although there are some ratings. In any case, I did read this slightly short book.

This novel is told in two narratives, two halves of a married couple – Tom and Molly. Molly was just diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She is still young, mid-thirties and doesn’t want to spend her last days with treatments and hospital visits when it won’t extend her life much anyway. She wants to spend her final days doing what she’s always done, which is climbing. Her narrative is what she wrote about her life, starting not really from the beginning, but sometime as a teenager.

The other side, Tom’s narrative begins with the diagnosis in 1989 and continues forward, so we do have a split with the timeline. They decide to return to Czechoslovakia, to the Tatra Mountains. There they meet up with Tom’s good friend Štefan Borák. Molly’s good friend Saŝa was from a village near Prague, although died a while back in a climbing accident.

Climbing was in the center of the book. In fact there was a glossary in the back to define the various climbing terms, although it seemed to me that the terms were self-explanatory. In Molly’s portion went into explaining how different rocks or routes were named.

This book cannot be called a light read with so much death in the book, with a youngish person facing their own eventual death, plus her good friend, along with her father she was very close to growing up. Yet, it was marginally interesting. Maybe if I was into climbing the book would have worked for me better.

Review 485: The Flâneur

The Flâneur: A Stroll through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White
My rating: 2.75 of 5 stars


The Flâneur is one who strolls aimlessly about without a destination in mind, wanders wherever curiosity strikes at the moment. This book replicates this approach, at least for the author. It wanders aimlessly through some curiosities in Paris, with a bit of French history, settling mostly on the culture of Paris, discussing artists: writers, painters, musicians, and others.

The first chapter is a general sort of overview of Paris, all the weird things that could be found or done there (such as a wife swap club), and of course the fashion. There are also some spots pointed out, cafés and through this meandering land on Collette, a leading woman writer in the 1920s, who was full of contradictions.

The next chapter begins wandering about touching on varied subjects, then lands on African Americans in Paris, how their experience of racism was completely different, and much more accepted. This morphs into jazz musicians with some details about Bricktop, Bechet and Josephine Baker.

And so we meander through the book on varied topics, history of Jewish people in France and Paris, with particulars on some people, multitude of museums, Hôtel de Lauzun in particular and Baudelaire, and gay culture and writers in another chapter. The last one discusses royalty, the descendants of the old Kings and Queens who where banned from living in France, and what they have been up to since the beheading of King Loius XVI and Marie Antoinette.

My personal interest in these varied subjects ran the gamut. If I read this book back when it was given to me over twenty years ago, when I was studying French, I suspect the book would have interested me more than today. It was quite a wandering about of subjects.

Writer and the City Series - book 1 of 7 

Review 460: Soul of Nowhere

Soul of Nowhere by Craig Childs
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The book is mostly a group of essays, no plot or forward movement. Each chapter is a new location, where Childs walks and climbs around these desolate areas, primarily in the desert, where people used to live. Sometimes one other person is with him, or several, occasionally he goes alone.

They find remnants of past lives, typically broken bits of pottery, and on a rare occasion a pot that is unbroken. There are other signs. It starts with the cliff dwellers, so they explore a few of these homes high up on the cliffs. They do not take these objects, they put back exactly as found when picked up. Only sketches are taken, some are replicated in the book.

Childs writing style is dense with imagery but sparse on story. We don’t know what he does for a living other than wandering around these desert locales. He goes out for not days, but weeks at a time, and occasionally alone. Sometimes he provides the smallest bit of information about who his companions are - his wife, a friend, but not himself; he purposefully wants the focus to be on the land and the past. The land is harsh, difficult terrain and finding a way through, or a path, that appears to be their purpose. They also battle extreme weather, cold or very hot, and often with little food or water.

The last essay Childs comes to the essence of himself, or the land, and he is changed. It’s one of those times he is alone, later his wife meets him with food, which he has been low on for days, and very little water which he’s been rationing so little that he has been having slight hallucinations.

There was something here that was missing, perhaps the autobiographical material, or what exactly was he doing out there? This lack, this elusive substance, made the writing hard to get into, or find a way in. The essays seem to be repeating the same scenario, except for the last one, although that one too has similarities to the others. I had attempted to read this book before, many years ago, but didn’t get past page 27. At least this time I completed it.

Brief Review 426: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Great airplane travel read.

Read entirely on a plane ride and it was the perfect book for that.

Review 408: Waypoints

Waypoints: My Scottish Journey by Sam Heughan
My rating: 2.5-->3 of 5 stars

This is an autobiography from an actor, which is not a typical read for me, but it looked like here it was about walking the West Highland Way in Scotland. That sounded interesting! Nature, hiking and Scotland which I plan on visiting later this year, all is interesting.

While that is the frame of the book, the bulk turns out to be about his acting life, which I didn't have much interest (despite being a fan of the tv series Outlander. I just don't fan over actors/actresses/sports figures/etc. maybe a few authors...) Anyway, there were many generic statements, particularly about the long hike, that made me disappointed in this book.

I ended up rounding up to the three stars, due to the humor, which added immensely to my enjoyment and had me getting through the book instead of setting aside. Also there was bonus material in the audio (I checked with an eBook). This was mainly Heughan speaking at the end of the each day during his hike into his phone, with that minute or two added to the chapter. We hear the rain, his hard breathing if still hiking the last bit before the finishing up for the day, the wind, etc. These were the most real part of the entire book.

Review 347: The High Sierra

The High Sierra: A Love Story by Kim Stanley Robinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I keep talking about this book with people I know who like to hike or enjoy the mountains. There's a lot of surprises in the book, such as the way it's organized, but way more than that. Anyway, I should gather more thoughts and words and put them here....be back momentarily.

--------------------------further thoughts:

What a book! It’s long, probably too long (sorry, so are my thoughts here), but it does cover a wide variety of topics. It is partly autobiographical, with a strong focus on Robinson’s life hiking and spending time in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range with leaving out most of his childhood, except brief mentions of how athletic he was, and continued to be during college. It was in college when one of his good friends took him and several other friends on an experience that would transform their lives. They went on a backpacking trip into the Desolation Wilderness area of the Sierras. He fell in love.

Other parts of this book include a history of people, such as the beginning of the Sierra Club, John Muir (of course) and a few other historic events and people. He talks about geography a bit, and something he calls psychogeology.

There’s quite about the names of things in these mountains, how there are some bad names and some good ones, as well as many suggestions for new names. I have to agree with his statement, why does one generation (mostly white men) get to name everything, and have it never change?

Robinson talks about routes and areas, of course, and this does take up a good portion of the book. The backpacking and camping experiences they had, with some of the mishaps that happened, the exciting times.

There does seem to be some pieces missing, such as not much talked about the Pacific Crest Trail, and not much about Yosemite, and that’s likely because he avoids these places, also Mammoth. The places that people already know about and go to he avoids, so it becomes understandable that he doesn’t discuss that.

Robinson includes a significant amount about the Swiss Alps, as he and his wife lived in Switzerland for a couple of years. It feels out of place, but if you look at the book as an autobiography it becomes understandable, and it does serve as a comparison to the Sierras.

I found that Robinson is quite opinioned about the way to do backpacking. It works for him, but definitely won’t work for everyone. Not taking established trails, well is that good advice? Wouldn’t that end up creating some major issues if that’s what everyone did, go off-trail?

When I first started reading the book it created such a strong longing in me to go to the Sierras, to go hiking. While I could possibly do that, it won’t be anytime in the near future. It was tempting to stop reading until I could relieve that desire, but I continued on with the book, pushing past that desire. Is this one of Robinson’s goals? Not sure but it did feel often he was writing to the younger people, collage age like those he teaches.

I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Robinson as well, and he does a wonderful job with that. In fact he was the best choice as his enthusiasm comes through even more so. But I missed out in seeing all the photos that are included in the print book. I did manage to get hold of a copy, but late in my reading, and really it’s better to view the photos while reading.

Post note:   despite this long review I didn't mention how this book was written by an author of many science fiction books, several of which I have read.  There is a series of three books that I really enjoyed, read a couple of them twice.  Hopefully I can get back here and link to those books I've read of his.

Review 328: Outlandish

Outlandish: Walking Europe’s Unlikely Landscapes by Nick Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A non-fiction travel book that takes place in the wilderness. Nick Hunt goes to four locations that are not what you may typically find in Europe. There is the Scottish artic, Poland’s jungle, Hungary’s steppe, and Spain’s desert. Hunt describes why these places are here, the environment but not in a highly scientific manner. We meet people along the way that help Nick or join him with his walks; as that is how he engages with these areas, he walks for hours and hours, days on end. Occasionally, he even ventures to where he shouldn’t or seems not very wise.

I enjoyed the book, the writing style, but was glad there were only four locations. The format for each location was similar, starting out jumping in the middle of this adventure, then backtracking to how he got there and the entire experience while in this unusual place. Happy to have gone along the ride with Nick Hunt.

Read:  June 16 to June 27, 2022

Review 291: Windswept

Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabel Abbs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a lovely read. Partly autobiography and partly biography of six women, some who are not known very well and a couple who are, all are artists. All went on journeys, mostly long hikes or walks, usually alone. Abbs goes to these places, tries to connect to these women of the past. She finds points where they match, such as fear of walking in the forest alone and overcoming that fear. The book is somewhat literary and could sustain another reading. Gorgeous writing in places.

The women discussed:

• Frieda Von Richthofen
• Gwen John (painter)
• Clara Vyvyan (with Daphne du Maurier)
• Nan Shepherd
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Georgia O’Keeffe

Thanks to Tin House Books/W.W. Norton and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 270: The Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail: A Biography by Philip D'Anieri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author was not attempting to be comprehensive about the Appalachian Trail, instead the focus is on some of the people that made the trail what it is; from the early conception to development, then the first hikers, particularly thru-hikers. One of the last chapters focused on Bill Bryson since his book (A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail) made a huge impact for the trail. It was a bestseller and many more people came out to hike the trail for themselves. The very last chapter dealt with the author's own experience hiking along the trail, although not a completion thru-hike.

My only experience with this trail is through Bill Bryson, as I live closer to the Pacific Crest Trail, actually have hiked a very small part of that one. And part of this book is missing some of the physical details of the trail. There are a few, but not many and it didn’t make me actually see the trail. Perhaps there are other books that provide more detail.

At times I felt like there was too much backstory to the person’s biography for the chapter, but this is what the author was attempting, biographies for a few of the important people associated with this trail.

Just as I finished this book I noticed in the news an announcement for the oldest person to hike the trail, M.J. Eberhart, an 83-year-old man. A nice coincidence with the timing.

P.S. another aspect I thought was missing was some info or biographies on the trail angels, those people who help out the thru-hikers. No, this was not a complete book.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 129: The Adventurer's Son

The Adventurer's Son by Roman Dial
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a book that you want to keep reading to find out what happens. The first half of the book describes the author's life, what he was like as a teenager, then meeting his wife. Roman Dial is an extreme adventure seeker and a biologist. Their first child is a boy, Cody Roman Dial, who is taken along crazy wild adventure trips with his Dad at a very young age. He grows up with the adventure and biology, so when he becomes a young adult he is well versed in wilderness adventures.

On an extended solo trip through South America Cody, who started going by Roman to take after his Dad as a young child, he ends up in Costa Rico. At this point Cody Roman didn't have a cell phone, never took to social media like facebook and didn't have a GPS unit. However he did keep in touch with his family with frequent emails. So when two weeks go by without hearing from Cody they know something is wrong.

The second half of the book is about trying to find Cody and what happened.
A good read.

March 12, 2020 – Started Reading

March 13, 2020 –

page 38

 10.33% "starting out well, the author is a thrill seeker climbing mountains, glaciers, and other wild outdoor adventures."

March 16, 2020 –

page 125

 33.97%

March 18, 2020 –

page 226

 61.41%

March 19, 2020 –

page 261

 70.92% "surprisingly working from home means less listening time. going slower on this book than I'd like, which is a captivating read."

March 20, 2020 –

page 271

 73.64%

March 21, 2020 –

page 319

 86.68%

March 23, 2020 – Finished Reading

Review 71: Walking

Walking by Henry David Thoreau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Dover Publications for the reprint of this lecture, by Thoreau that was published posthumously. The image they added to the text perfectly represents the mood of the book. Thoreau writes in a time when land was still being dominated and tamed, and here is the one voice speaking out that the wild nature has value as well. Not only has value, but we need it, as Thoreau writes: “in Wildness is the preservation of the World.”

There are many good quotes to pull out of this small book. I will refrain from quoting too many, but I must include another, “Life consists with wildness. The most alive is the wildest.”

Thoreau also states how his walking is like the wildness, to go without a purpose, to go without your head thinking of things you need to do. It is a walk to just be out in nature and walk.

The book is short enough to read in one sitting and perhaps it best when read in that manner. I did not have the fortune to do so, but did have some extended periods of time while reading, and broke away a little refreshed, with a new view, after each reading. Thoreau’s writing may not be fully accessible and easy, but once you dive in, you can see why his words are still relevant today, and will be for a long time to come.

Book Brief: Happiness for Beginners

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

cute story, somewhat. Not my usual fare, but it was okay. Completely predicable, but that didn't matter so much in the end.

Review 27: The Sun Is a Compass

The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a well written book. The imagery is vital in an adventure book like this. Caroline and her husband Pat decide to traverse across mountains, rivers, oceans and glaciers using their own muscles. They hike, row or paddle into the arctic and back.

For me this is what arm chair travel is about. While I would love to be out in the wild, not that far north. It's way too cold and or rainy, very wet. Their time on the river with mosquitoes so thick you can't even eat, ummm, no thank you.

Caroline Van Hemert grew up in Alaska so it's not odd for her to take this long wilderness adventure in her own backyard. She is a biologist, or more accurately an ornithologist. One aspect I loved in this book is her descriptions of the birds they see and hear. It even made me more aware of the birds that are around me in my daily life.

It's crazy what humans will put themselves through. For these two it was worth the physical sacrifice and danger, and certainly won't be their last trip into the wild. This was an amazing adventure, and I enjoyed reading about it.


Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.