Month: August 2010
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It’s alive!!
~130 liter, full VX-21 homemade four season multi-sport adventure pack.Arc’teryx Bora shoulder straps (women’s large, ebay’d).Partially free-floating custom hipbelt with anatomic cut outs.Full wrap gusseted back pocket, with drain holes and bungee closure, modular/removeable bottom compression strap.Double bottom with drain grommets.Drawstring closure, silnylon top skirt. Psyched. Full design report to come, after a few shakedown…
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127 Hours
Yep, it’s The Aron Ralston Story by Danny Boyle, coming to a theatre near you (!) November 5th. The trailer dropped a few days ago: And it doesn’t look good. The word “dropped”, mountain biking scenes, coy female arms, and blue water pool brings to mind another use of the word dropped, something to which…
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Run the Clear (yo!): Packrafting the Selway
Saturday morning M dropped (from left) Luc Mehl, myself, and Forrest McCarthy off at Hoodoo Lake high in the Selway wilderness. It was chilly at well over 6k. We enjoyed a nice hike on horse trails with stunning views of the Bitterroot crest and Moose Creek valley, which is really big for being cut by…
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Back out in it
Tomorrow morning I’ll be teaming up with packrafting all-stars Forrest McCarthy and Luc Mehl to descend Moose Creek and the Selway River in Idaho. We’ll be starting at Hoodoo Lake, at the end of the Elk Summit road, and plan to camp near the confluence of Moose and the Selway, and finish late Sunday afternoon. …
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Fishing ethics
I’ve been really getting into fly fishing this summer. I was reminded how fun it was a year ago when Mike visited and we had a great day on upper Rattlesnake Creek, but my passion has really taken off with the acquisition of my TenkaraUSA Amago. It’s not just newbies like me, experienced hands agree…
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Materials testing
I’m in the process of constructing a new pack, and vetting foams for use in the hipbelt. I tested water absorption of yoga mat, generic 3/8″ thick white closed cell foam, and standard ridgerest foam by immersing 6″ by 9″ pieces of each in water for 2 hours shaking dry, then weighing. Results follow. Yoga…
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Grossout warning
Depending on your location, constitution, when you had lunch, and sense of humor, the following may or may not be appropriate. http://player.vimeo.com/video/13831211?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff The fuzzy line between laughing with and laughing at comes into play rather often during outdoor sports. When someone’s getting bouted and laughing in the moment, joining in is an unambiguous necessity. In…
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A wedding, some fish, and a big lake
Eilis and Nathaniel got married this weekend, in a place more familiar to my readers than almost any other group: Montana’s Centennial Valley. At a ranch about 2 miles off the GDMBR, in fact. We chatted and drank beer in a barn. I was told the stars were excellent, but you had to wait until…
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Clafouti
It’s high summer in western Montana, which means that cheeries of all varieties sell for 2 bucks a pound, and I buy lots of them and them gorge myself before they get mushy. A good problem to have. M found this great traditional french dessert last summer, and I brought it back tonight. The following…
Bedrock & Paradox 