Category: Backpacking
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A more complete treatise on ‘mid selection
This post from three years ago has proven to be one of my most popular, all time, and due to the volume of correspondence I receive on it and what I’ve learned since it is due for the an update. What follows is the text of that post, amended and altered as needed. There are…
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Seek Outside BT2 v. Silvertip
I do not think I could overstate how enjoyable, educational, and flattering the past month at my new job has been. Enjoyable because the crew at Seek Outside operates with both integrity and joy in equal measure. Educational because, whatever I may or may not know about using gear outside, there are many things about…
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Three strikes for sheep
This past week I received my annual call from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to check in on how hunters did hunting certain species. How many days in the field, how many animals seen, how many animals killed, and where are all relevant questions for future planning. I’ve become accustomed to these calls, I look…
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The DST
A flat tarp isn’t always the shelter I pick, but it is my favorite. Most of the time I like the un-futzing of a mid for severe weather and pitching on snow, but like most people I’ll take a calm night with a colorful, visible sunrise 4 times out of 5. For that a tarp…
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How to get free gear
I’m finally on the other side of the coin. As one of the main folks at Seek Outside who sifts through and arbitrates requests for free stuff from the media and general public, I have in the last few weeks gotten to sit in the seat I used to be looking at from a distance,…
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Re-entry
When coming back into a new pursuit it is a good idea to give yourself plenty of leeway, so that the inevitable mistakes don’t seem too big a deal, and so the inevitable stress doesn’t lead to further screwups. I did moderately well at the first, and rather better at the second, during 24 hours…
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Why I like the desert
Like most Americans, or indeed most contemporary humans, I spent a lot of time reading about the desert before I experienced it firsthand. I have some hazy memories of a family swing through the Colorado Plateau of Utah when I was eight, spotty visions I can now place as the chopped steps on the traverse…
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Training for the 2017 Bob Open
The Bob Open is less than six months away. If you’re thinking about making the trip this is less time than you think, and I’d recommend starting a training plan now if you have not already. (I started this post in the wee hours, after waking up to the sudden realization that I hadn’t reserved…
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Backcountry footwear for the other 3 seasons; revised
This post, written back when B&P was new to wordpress and to me being more serious about content, has endured as one of my most read. Save a few updates about specific gear, and some more evolved thoughts about foot conditioning, the text is as relevant today as it was in 2010. For those who…
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New stuff
One of the supreme pleasures in life is seeing a new landscape for the first time, when every foot and view is totally novel, and the area lacks any trace of mental map for orientation. That was what I got to do today, and it was glorious. Gunnison Gorge is a half a Grand Canyon,…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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