Category: Backpacking
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2015 Alpacka Yukon Yak review
A year ago exactly I had a very good week; at the beginning of it I won a new raft at the Packraft Roundup, at the end of it Little Bear was born. After a year of intermittent use I’ve finally gotten a good enough grasp of the new boat to say something meaningful about…
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24 hours on the Middle Fork of the Flathead
530pm: It takes right around 90 minutes to drive from Whitefish to the Morrison Creek trailhead. Delays and shenanigans associated with buying a car had me rushing to leave and forgetting a bunch of food I hadn’t packed, but I won’t find that out for hours, and our new-to-us Xterra hums along paved curves and…
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The BD Hot Forge Hoody is awesome
I’m highlighting this medium-light down jacket both because it provides a great example of how to do such a thing well, and because persistent shoppers can still find it well under 200 dollars in certain sizes and colors, which is a bargain. Black Diamond declines to specific the amount of fill in the Hot Forge…
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Bear aware, maybe
Last week a Forest Service law enforcement officer, Flathead native, and longtime recreator in bear country was killed by a bear near West Glacier. According to rumor, and the local paper, the bear was probably a Grizzly, and the gentleman collided with the bear while going quite fast down a gentle, tightly forested descent on…
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Wam’d
Wam was spectacular, what a cabin on a ridge top should be. White and forest paint cracking off in strips, eastern shades shattered atop the flat rough pebbles, warped and spotted panes showing a subtly tainted view of long valleys in all directions. Charming, for moderns like us who spend workdays indoors, even when a…
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How to aquaseal your trail shoes
Adding aquaseal to one’s trail shoes should be standard practice to maximize useful life, otherwise known as trying to keep the upper hole-free until the tread is worn down to nothing. If you walk in rough terrain, and especially if you get your shoes wet frequently, this is not always easy to accomplish. Depending on…
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Closure options for large packs
A good, simple, light closure for a big (top circumference in excess of 40 inches) pack is somewhat difficult to do well. Volume in a big pack can fluctuate significantly, and pack height above the frame needs to be controlled so it does not go bobble-headed and flop around. Additionally, weatherproofing and easy access for…
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11 months
The skiing this Satuday was almost certain to be terrible. Temperatures barely below freezing make for wet, sticky, slow snow; and poor visibility removes the other element which might compensate with appeal. I had promised myself that if Little Bear woke early Saturday we’d go skiing, regardless of all but the most horrid conditions. I…
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At the lake
While backpacking with the baby has been an unqualified if strenuous success, we’ve been avoiding it at home. For 11 months now. M has bearanoia far greater than mine, but it took me a while to square the burden of fatherhood with the abiding worry that Grizzly bears engender. He is still tiny and helpless,…
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BD Alpine Carbon Cork 2013 v. 2016
The Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork trekking poles have been the rugged hiking pole of reference for quite some time. They are lightish (~8 oz per pole), stiff, very durable, and quite compact. They are what I recommend to those who prefer long-term investments, hike off trail, are hard on gear, or value having one…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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