This has been a difficult year. To use one easy example, the progression of my wilderness skills was orderly and logical in years past. In 2008 Chris Plesko and I went to Yellowstone. In 2009 Kevin Sawchuk and I traversed the Bob in October. In 2010 I traversed the Thorofare alone in May, and learned […]
Month: December 2012
New snow
We’re well on the way towards having a proper winter, but I can’t get excited about skiing yet. Until the snow in the valley fingers and forests is too deep for riding, I’ll be on my bike. Snow makes familiar trails new again. I snuck out of work this afternoon, hoping to fit a ride […]
Newtown for a new century
What’s in your closet? Gun control is not the answer. Yes guns make it easier, and perhaps therefore more probable, for the Lanza’s of the world to kill many people. But let us remember something which most have forgotten in the past four days: the second amendment has nothing to do with hunting, or with […]
Beyond bear spray
When writing with broad strokes, problematic human-bear encounters can be divided into three types. Daylight visual encounters, where human and bear see each other before impact. Daylight surprise encounters, which lack more than instantaneous forewarning; and night encounters which for these purposes will mean a bear swatting at or invading a tent with either curious […]
Buck PakLite sheath mod, and Megalight update
The Buck PakLite series are good knives at a great price. I bought my regular sized Skinner for 19 dollars, and it holds a pretty good edge for a pretty long time. It’s thick enough (4mm) that you can beat on it while splitting wood with no regrets, but still filets a fish or guts […]
The season of inverted water bottles
When it’s consistently below 25 F, hang your exterior water bottle (the one not wrapped in insulation in your pack) upside down; be it in a belt holster, your side pocket, or on a shoulder strap. This keeps the thermal mass down on the threads and helps them not freeze up. Even with this technique, […]
Cold December Lakes
McDonald, Tuesday. Bowman, Friday. Upper Quartz, Friday. Upper Quartz, this morning. Lower Quartz, this morning. Bowman, noon today.
