Author: DaveC
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The democratic wild
If you live near one, come August it’s impossible to not think that the American National Park system is fatally flawed. Glacier National Park, our backyard, gets around 2.5 million visitors a year. I’ve not seen a month-to-month parsing, but my guess would by that well over 80% of those folks come in the 2.5…
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Excuse me, there’s meat in my cheeseburger
Just hiking. Into the hidden world. The story? Post-hike at the Two Med Grill M meant to order a grilled cheese, but actually ordered a cheeseburger on sourdough with swiss and cheddar, no veggies. A good idea, but not what she had in her head. When plates arrived confusion reigned for 15 seconds, and the…
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Fear, hello again
Spencer and I had a fantastic run on the North Fork of the Blackfoot yesterday, one of the best whitewater runs in the Bob. So great was the fun, and so continuous and fast was the action, that this is the only photo I took all day. I first ran this stretch a long time…
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Paradox Unaweep: the category killer
Regular readers will know that I have a deep and abiding fascination with backpacks, though terms such as obsession or problem would not be entirely amiss. This being the case, the Paradox Unaweep I’ve been using for not quite three months now presents a serious problem. Our lookout rental this past weekend was a steep…
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30
It’s a secret. Six months; that’s the lead time for reserving a forest service lookout around here. For July that means you need to be thinking about sandal hiking right as ski season is fully firing, and with most lookouts only open during the non-snow season (July-September), there is not time to mess around. Fortunately…
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Where Bears are Spotted
There have been many occasions over the last three years when I’ve thought about counting all the trees in the Bob. Chatting with the guys at RMO the other day I repeated for the upteenth time, to myself and others, that one of the greatest virtues of packrafting in these parts is getting you out…
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The full sun rig
It’s not too often I have cause to dress only for sun and heat, but there always at least a few weeks mid-summer, and this year they are here right now. Thankfully, I’ve finally discovered the missing link in my system for multiday backcountry trips when it’s darn hot. M photo. As per above; I…
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The First Packraft Roundup
M and I got home a few hours ago from the APA Packraft Roundup, and even though it was early afternoon, we were both done in. It has been hot the last few days; record breaking for northwest Montana, which means mid 90s. Good river weather, but being out in it all day for three…
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The annual visit
Let us suppose you win the lottery with the ticket you’ve never bought, or some other comparable hypothetical, and have practically infinite leisure options for the rest of your life. Let use further suppose, given that you’re reading this, that outdoor pursuits would feature prominently in the eternally recurring debate which would no doubt ensue.…
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A Montana Wolf hunt
Randy Newberg has either the second or third best hunting show on television; Meat Eater is consistently better, and at it’s best (which isn’t all that often) Solo Hunter is too. It is worth mentioning that the competition is not very fierce, most hunting television is trite, formulaic, and fulfills negative stereotypes in an appalling…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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