Category: Cultural critique
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Smith River alone
The Smith is, for the time being, the only river in Montana which requires a permit. This has been the case since 1989, and the 59 mile “scenic” and mostly roadless stretch is now a state park, with a lottery for the probable floating season of April through early July, and fairly long odds (less…
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The new old road
You will have read about the flooding in Yellowstone, an almost logical capstone to an odd spring in Montana. An average snowpack, which lingered anywhere high after a cool and wet April and May, slowly saturated that ground and allowed for rains in both the greater Yellowstone and Crown of the Continent areas last week…
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Things from 2021
Astute readers may have noticed that, back in mid spring, photo quality here took a turn. The previous fall my long standing iPhone 5se took a dive (literally, on main stream in Escalante) and after 4 months of tape holding chunks of the screen in, reliability mandated a new phone. I’d spent the winter putting…
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National Parks; the future is still now
The national parks are crowded, or rather, they have been. The pandemic reduced and altered visitation in potentially unexpected ways which are worth pondering. Anecdotally, visitation is back close to or has exceeded the previous records, which were generally set in the latter half of the last decade. This seems to be the COVID outdoor…
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Montana stream access law and use
The fact of increased outdoor recreation in Montana, prompted by the pandemic and ancillary effects, has yet to be fully established. Compelling evidence has begun to accumulate, in things like real estate prices, hunting tag applications, and forest service cabin reservations. What has already been firmly established is the appearance and assumption of increased recreation…
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The question
Last week I had the pleasure to be rained on, atop a broad mountain ridge. Having driven several hours through plains reaching 100 degrees, I found on reaching the top that summer weather had come along with the early summer heat. Stopped in the car by snow lingering in the trees, I assembled bike and…
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Trip meta-planning
There are a lot of backcountry trip planning resources out there, including plenty I’ve written myself. It is something of a fashionable thing among those of us who know too much, and a good way for those who monetize content to avoid yet another version of that same article which features how to, the best,…
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A trail quiz
First, a quiz: which of the following trails have seen human work and construction, and which never have? Second; animal trails are very important for backcountry walkers. They always form the most efficient route from one place to another, the trick is finding enough of the animal mind to know what and where those places…
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The Maah Daah Hey
The US, and I imagine the world, needs more trails like this. Strictly speaking the MDH has national park caliber scenery, as it passes through two units of a national park. Theodore Roosevelt is an obscure national park, getting as many visits in a busy year as Glacier does in an average June, and probably…
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Retirement
A few months ago I spent a day snowboarding. It did not go as I had hoped. The reversion to being a kid, and flailing on and off the lift and down the hill, was immediate. I slid into trees, off on slope angles to where I did not want to go, caught an edge…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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