The Ridgerunner

Elusive Loner of the Wilderness

By: Richard Ripley

Narrated by: Gene Engene

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

During the early 1940’s in Idaho’s expansive Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, a few items disappeared from a tent camp, then from a lookout tower, and a ranger station. Eventually, the continuing loss of food and supplies at such isolated sites confirmed the presence of a mysterious stranger. For years no one saw him, even though he entered forest service quarters while employees slept. In the winter, when he did leave tracks, they were found on the most inhospitable ridges and earned him the regard of locals who could appreciate the severe conditions and hardships of survival under such circumstances. The forest service, determined to catch him, sent out their best...

©1996 Richard Ripley (P)2011 Books in Motion

Great piece of Idaho history

If you enjoy Idaho backcountry and what it takes to survive in it you will be amazed by this book. It’s also neat to hear how the upper Clearwater was before it was tamed by modern day men.

The Historical Ridgerunner

I heard about the Ridgerunner as a young man living in Southern Idaho. I'm 70 now and was delighted to find this Audible book.
I am somewhat familiar with the Ridgerunner's haunts which made the book come alive for me.
I found Moreland's (Ridgerunner) genius/insane personality as well as his twisted sense of humor fascinating, He was an amazing person in some ways and pitiable in others.
I enjoyed this book and consider it a part of the history of Idaho.

waste of time

could of been a 1 page article. pretty boring story line. not very eventful. The ridgerunner was just living a pretty simple life in the wilderness surviving.

Good story , narration was fair

The story was interesting informative with a nice background of facts to give it a setting. Not just real impressed with the narration. It seems to me that some of the narrators read in an expression that pleases themselves rather than trying to use expression that will give the listener a real feeling and picture of what is happening in the story . The narrator kind of builds to the middle of the sentence and then trails off . Also maybe trying to drum up too many different voices to cover the different characters. I appreciate the effort, but when some of the are basically snarls and it hardly goes with the character of the person, it takes away from the realism of the story .

A Must For All Idahonians

I grew up camping in Idaho and hearing stories about the ridge runner. This book recaptured all of those stories (surprisingly true) and told them marvelously. It was a nostalgic and very entertaining read/listen. I highly recommend it to those who camp in North Idaho.

A great contemporary historical novel

What did you love best about The Ridgerunner?

This was read by DIck Estell on the Radio Reader on PBS 25 years ago and was fascinating then, still just as good on my second time listening to it. My Idaho friends tell me the Ridge Runner is still talked about today. He eluded forest rangers off and on for two decades and he still remains a mysterious figure. Gene Engene's narration is excellent. The local color and descriptions of the mountains and the characters are memorable. The fact that Mr. Engene

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Ridgerunner?

The Ridge Runner alone is a memorable character. The author really brings the other characters such as the forest rangers to life and it's easy to get a glimpse of how different life was in those days. Those mountains were very rugged and dangerous.

Have you listened to any of Gene Engene’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he is a great narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The mystery surrounding this man kept me wondering the entire book about who he really was. Many questions were answered but many remain unknown.

Any additional comments?

Love this book, thanks so much for making it available.