Category: Backpacking
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The feather-hammer of civilization
A winter garden in an alder swamp, Where conies now come out to sun and romp, As near a paradise as it can be And not melt snow or start a dormant tree. Last fisher trip of the year; with the best last: the Belly River. In fifteen southwesterly arching miles the aspen foothills rise…
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Wisdom from Norton Pearl
The Belly River ranger station, with Chief Mountain in the upper left. It is the only park facility which is both staffed full time (in summer) and not accessible by motor vehicle. Norton Pearl was one of the original backcountry rangers in Glacier National Park, though back then (the park was established in 1910) there…
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A small pack manifesto
Small packs (20 to 35 liters) are the most used, for those of us who choose to pursue a career in civilization. Tiny (sub 20 liter) packs are handy and can even last for multiple days in the summer, but a small pack works for technical day trips in all seasons, multidays in milder conditions,…
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Red Rab-off
We outdorks all have our pet gear obsessions. I like to think that mine (packs, shoes, windshirts) are especially practical. Windshirts are important because it’s windy a lot around here, and because I put out a lot of heat and thus try to avoid wearing a waterproof-breathable jacket at almost all costs. Weatherproofing and breathability…
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The 6 10 project
My A-list project for the summer: hiking all six of the 10k+ foot peaks in Glacier in one elegant, self-supported traverse. I opened the can on this a few weeks ago, so I might as well put it on the net. Public exposure will keep me from being lazy in the next 6 months. The…
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Julbo Sniper: a goggle for us
The fat bike summit last month provided a mass case study in how neither goggles nor sunglasses work well for aerobic activities in especially snowy conditions. It was close to freezing, snowing hard, and there was only modest wind. Goggles fogged due to exertion, as did sunglasses, but squinting into the face of the blizzard…
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Musings on tech nordic
First; define your terms. Here, and just about everywhere else I’ve written about ski gear, I’m talking about multi-day rugged nordic touring. Distance oriented travel in unbroken, mixed terrain. Like what is featured here, in my still all-time favorite ski video. Conditions and preferences will dictate skis; anywhere with overflow and/or significant wind exposure you’ll…
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Satisfaction
We may not have any direct evidence of Fishers in the park yet, but a camera Nate and I set up last month did net a cool find. Here’s me testing that site. One of the more enjoyable aspects of this years Fisher project, even more than the wolverine work last winter, has been going…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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