Category: Cultural critique
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Big
The tallest mountain, at center frame, is Jackson, in Glacier Park. Also seen here, and from a different angle, here. This week has been a fantastic week to live here. The clear weather has persisted, cold at night, warm during the day. The skiing has been perfect each afternoon. You do not take this weather…
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The Heart of the Continent
Looking east and south from the summit of the Big Mountain ski hill. Glacier and the Bob are visible in the left half, the Mission Mountains at far distant center, and Whitefish Lake at far right. Today was an exceptional day to live here. Below freezing in the morning, bluebird and fairly warm all day,…
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Blame Major Powell
Four square miles may be considered as the minimum amount necessary for a pasturage farm, and a still greater amount is necesary for the larger part of the lands; that is, pasturage farms, to be of any practicable value, must be of at least 2560 acres, and in many districts they must be much larger.…
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Ex post facto
A different, unexpected racial argument has taken shape. Race, always the deepest and most volatile fault line in American history, has now become the primal grievance in our politics, the source of a narrative of persecution each side uses to make sense of the world. Liberals dwell in a world of paranoia of a white…
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Hunting nausea
Lately, hunting has been a great way to feel sick to my stomach. First, I’ve been reading a lot about sheep hunting, as I plan to hunt bighorns in one of Montana’s unlimited districts late this summer. They’re the only places in North America where anyone can buy a tag in the spring, and go…
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Bud Moore’s Land Ethic
“Given the knowledge we had, we did the best we could.” -Bud Moore A unique generation is in the process of dying. People born in the lower 48 around a century ago could have, in a few cases, grown up firmly in the 19th century; without electricity or running water, without a reasonable chance of…
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The River Paddling Protection Act
The River Paddling Protection Act has passed the house, and is currently under consideration by the senate. If you have opinions about wilderness paddling in Yellowstone National Park, now is a rare occasion when speaking up might have an effect. The bill is very simple. It nullifies several existing regulations prohibiting boating in Yellowstone and…
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The death of the outdoorsman
In short, I think everyone holds some version of the same conceptual category: “Fellow creatures about whom I care too much to eat.” –Tovar Cerulli On several occasions in the past I’ve speculated on when, in the history of American outdoor culture, the hook and bullet sides of being in the outdoors separated as thoroughly…
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Guidebooks and South Fork access issues
White River from Haystack, looking west towards the South Fork of the Flathead, Bob Marshall country. This morning I amended, with considerably reluctance, my Crown of the Continent packrafting guidebook. There are now three short paragraphs toward the beginning, right under the obligatory disclaimer, encouraging present and future boaters to be mindful of their visual…
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A good winter
This morning I deemed it too cold to ski. Temps at our house were right around negative 30F, and seemed like a bit much. So I swapped; hiking around the neighborhood with a 40 pound pack in the morning, skin and ski the mountain in the afternoon. The upside of the last 48 hours, when…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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