Re: Backcountry Rangers
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:03 pm
I had just set up camp above a meadow at the Bench Lake - JMT trail junction when a ranger came striding across the meadow. I figured that he was going to check my wilderness permit or maybe complain about where I was camping, but he wasn’t on official business. He just wanted to talk. The ranger was Randy Morgenson and this was July 16, 1996.
My backpacking partner and I had come that day over a rough route from Marion Lake through Lake Basin, over Cartridge Pass and across the South Fork of the Kings. Morgenson seemed interested in that country and talked as if he might head over there soon. Conversation drifted over various topics of wilderness, the people who go there and their widely varying motivations. Morgenson mentioned that he had been having problems with the radio hanging from his belt and with spotty reception from the relay transmitter on Mt. Gould. He struck me as a thoughtful and serious guy, and the long conversation had been an interesting one, but it was late in the day and I needed to cook up some dinner, so I pulled the wilderness permit out of my pack to finish things off.
Morgenson disappeared on July 21. The Park Service called me up when I got home to ask if I had seen him. They seemed particularly interested in his state of mind, which had seemed unremarkable to me. I offered up the hunch that he might have gone over into Lake Basin, a suggestion that turned out to be a red herring. I also mentioned that crossing the South Fork of the Kings might have been a particular hazard because it had been a little tricky for me and my buddy, and we are both considerably bigger than Morgenson.
In the following months I saw the “missing ranger” trail signs and heard wild rumors and irresponsible speculation about what might have happened to him. Finally, in 2001, I learned in an email from R. J. Secor that his remains had been found.
I got around to reading The Last Season only recently. Despite his overly sentimental treatment, Blehm tells a compelling story of the search effort, which involved some people I’ve met in the mountains over many years. Randy Morgenson was a remarkable man. I’m glad I had a chance to talk with him.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlcarney/4121190105/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My backpacking partner and I had come that day over a rough route from Marion Lake through Lake Basin, over Cartridge Pass and across the South Fork of the Kings. Morgenson seemed interested in that country and talked as if he might head over there soon. Conversation drifted over various topics of wilderness, the people who go there and their widely varying motivations. Morgenson mentioned that he had been having problems with the radio hanging from his belt and with spotty reception from the relay transmitter on Mt. Gould. He struck me as a thoughtful and serious guy, and the long conversation had been an interesting one, but it was late in the day and I needed to cook up some dinner, so I pulled the wilderness permit out of my pack to finish things off.
Morgenson disappeared on July 21. The Park Service called me up when I got home to ask if I had seen him. They seemed particularly interested in his state of mind, which had seemed unremarkable to me. I offered up the hunch that he might have gone over into Lake Basin, a suggestion that turned out to be a red herring. I also mentioned that crossing the South Fork of the Kings might have been a particular hazard because it had been a little tricky for me and my buddy, and we are both considerably bigger than Morgenson.
In the following months I saw the “missing ranger” trail signs and heard wild rumors and irresponsible speculation about what might have happened to him. Finally, in 2001, I learned in an email from R. J. Secor that his remains had been found.
I got around to reading The Last Season only recently. Despite his overly sentimental treatment, Blehm tells a compelling story of the search effort, which involved some people I’ve met in the mountains over many years. Randy Morgenson was a remarkable man. I’m glad I had a chance to talk with him.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlcarney/4121190105/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
