Category: Backpacking
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A Spotted Bear elk hunt
I’ve gotten bored with backpacking. Not with the act of backpacking, but with the learning. The point of diminishing returns with reference to reading and the practice of trial and error has been passed. Time to find something else. Which is why elk and deer hunting this fall has been the number one priority all…
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Packing for an elk hunt
I’m headed out in the Bob tomorrow with my stepdad for six days chasing elk. Weather is supposed to be pretty good; lows in the high 30s, highs in the low 80s, maybe a bit of rain. Here’s what I’m bringing. Remington 700 in .30-06, 3-9×40 Leupold, all the trimmings. Detachable sling and Kifaru Gunbearer…
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The same pack all over again
It occurs to me that since I started doing this four years ago, most of my packs have been the same. After all, most everyone needs a solid big pack. Each iteration represents more learning on how to best meet the same demands. The pack bag weighs 25 ounces as shown above, the modified Gossamer…
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The rainy season
After a summer (the whole year thus far, really) of very nice weather it’s finally raining regularly. The heat has been killed off, and the mountains are shrouded in clouds like they’re supposed to be. Life is good. Photos by M. A quest to packraft around upper Grinnell Lake was mostly foiled by rain, as…
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Wreakage
Out in the Bob this weekend, looking for elk, I found something I did not expect. The remains of what must have been an old fire lookout. Wood stove, outhouse nearby, illegible trail sign, anchor cables cemented into the rock, nails and shards of immolated glass everywhere. What else could it be? All at the…
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2014 is Open
I made a decision: the Bob Open next year will go from the Marias Pass rest area to the Monture Creek TH. The course area is restricted to public land in the contiguous Bob complex. As ever, no linear travel on paved roads is permitted. Everything else human-powered is fair game. Mass start date is…
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The perfect pole, part 2
A follow up to this post: I always intended to make a pair, and to use the Gossamer Gear grips, which are the best. At first I thought I’d source tubing for the uppers myself, but couldn’t find an affordable small quantity of good aluminum in a thin enough wall, and the relatively small ID…
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Mr. Bakwin owes me five dollars
You heard me; Peter Bakwin owes me five dollars. Mr. Bakwin invented, or at the very least introduced into common usage, the term fastest known time many years ago. His website, which began as a list consisting almost entirely of his own running times, languished in relative obscurity until not too many years ago, when…
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Ready to go
I got out this past weekend to do something not especially fun, but necessary: making sure (on and with paper) that my Remington is still zeroed perfectly. Thankfully it was, so I got to spend most of my time blowing up rocks at 100 meters. The rifle is now rigged out in full fighting trim. …
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Alpacka Scout: the verdict
Late last year I took advantage of Alpacka’s annual holiday sale and bought a Scout. You can read about the initial weigh-in here and my thoughts after a few months of use here. Since that May post I’ve put the Scout to its primary use: longer trips combining lots of tough backpacking with moderate floating…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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