Category: Packrafting
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Glacier backcountry permits for 2016
Over the past few years summer backcountry permits in Glacier National Park have been increasingly problematic. An antiquated mail-in reservation system has combined with a sharp increase in applications to create a situation which was no good for anyone. Prospective backpackers were stuck waiting until well into May or even early June to receive confirmation…
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610 pack, the evolution
My best, conservative, estimate is that since 2009 I’ve built roughly 30 backpacks, and owned a further ~20, which were either purchased retail or given to me for review or prototyping. This is a large number, especially considering that at the moment we only (!) have eleven packs in house, a mere two of which…
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Forest Service cabins of Montana
You should know about the forest service cabins in Montana. Retired patrol cabins, ranger stations, fire lookouts, and private residences which have gone into public hands, they’re one of the great secrets of public lands recreation in North America. Why am I writing about these cabins now? Because the Forest Services takes reservations a half…
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2015 in 12 photos
January: hunting Chamois and Tahr in New Zealand February: backpacking the Heaphy Track March: early, early season packrafting on the South Fork of the Sun April: animals everywhere in the North Fork of the Sun May: my favorite route across the Bob, yet June: M is really, really pregnant; and it’s hot July: Little Bear…
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Why we chose a Double Duck
There are more expensive, more practical, as well as more blingy or more frequently used gifts, but from the day over 5 years ago, when I unwrapped my first, to today I’ve not found a more exciting thing to unbox than a new Alpacka raft. Our newly expanded family got a Double Duck for a…
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Tips for winter
The essential guidelines I put down four years ago are still a good foundation, but with the snow beginning to pile up it’s a good time to mention some specifics which have proven constant from then to now. The most useful tip for being outside in the cold is to HTFU (harden the fuck up). …
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Packrafting in December
As best as I can recall, I’ve never gone packrafting in December (or January, or February). It’s not the cold, it’s that the cold locks away all the water, and what few rivers are ice free (usually only the Middle and Main Forks of the Flathead) are at levels which don’t tug very hard. We’ve…
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Grand Canyon backcountry management plan: Comment Now
Last week Grand Canyon National Park released a draft of their next backcountry management plan. These plans are enormously important; they’re detailed and comprehensive, and set in place policies which are not easily changed and for a variety of reasons are generally not altered for decades. Which options the park service decides to adopt will…
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The 2015 pack fleet
I’ve been doing the pack thing for a while now. After owning and especially building so many none of them can retain nostalgia for long, with any and every little detail subject to scrutiny, revision, and destruction. That said, the novelty of cutting and sewing has also waned significantly in the last year, and it’s…
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The 610 pack, diaper version
I’ve made this pack, or one to fulfill the same role, 6 or 8 times now. Most for my own use, a few for friends. It continually evolves. The most recent version got axed because the back panel taper got too funky and resulted in a subtle narrowing pinch point in the middle of the…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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