Category: Packrafting
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Summer is sneaky
It’s summer here, which is to say the rivers have crested and are slowly on their way down, temps above 70 can be taken for granted, and snow is making a rapid retreat in even the highest places. There are a couple reasons why this transformation always seems to take me by surprise. First, the…
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The 2014 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open: It will never be the same
Sometimes you get a bad feeling, and it needs to be obeyed. Walking along the upper North Fork of the Sun River Sunday afternoon, my feet were swollen and tired. The river, quite small above Lick Creek, was not small that day. It was dark, swollen up into the willows, and churning with a swift…
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The Future of Yellowstone
This originally ran as an Op-Ed in the Missoulian. I see the current debate about paddling in YNP as having to do with a lot more than just boating. It’s about Yellowstone’s repeated indifference to non-traditional forms of human-powered recreation, and more broadly about the future of national parks generally. A lifetime ago Yellowstone National Park…
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Paradox Unaweep by the numbers
Disclaimer: as an ambassador for Seek Outside I got this pack for free. A few months ago I was chatting with Seek Outside/Paradox Pack’s Kevin Timm about, among other things, becoming an ambassador and working with them on product development. Kevin mentioned that they were thinking about making a pack which would integrate the Paradox…
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Kokopelli Packrafts
Alpacka raft is about to have some competition, and it’s about damn time. Almost a year and a half ago I lamented the lack of direct competition in what was obviously the sweet spot in the packraft market. Over a year after they first popped up on the ‘net, it seems that Kokopelli Raft Company…
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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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The penultimate pack
Just like with beer or coffee, every one is the penultimate. I wanted to do a couple things with this one. First, experiment with 5.3 oz/yard hybrid cuben fiber. Second, fix the mistakes/things I didn’t like about this pack. To whit; a too-short torso length (you’d think I would know better), less than ideal shoulder…
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The bearable weight of backpack features
A backpack should be a sturdy bag to hold your stuff, with a suitable suspension system, and just enough straps and/or exterior accoutrements to not impede efficiency. Efficiency in the backcountry has more to do with knowledge and experience than equipment, which makes the question simple: how little exterior stuff on your pack can you…
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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 Grand Eight: Day 7 and Epilogue
The first part of the last day was simple: climb up Scotty’s Hollow until the drainage gives way, then turn right and climb up a steep slope to the rim. The second part was less so: walking two miles of road to my car, driving as close to Brendan’s truck as possible in said car,…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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