Category: Packrafting
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Alpacka Scout: the verdict
Late last year I took advantage of Alpacka’s annual holiday sale and bought a Scout. You can read about the initial weigh-in here and my thoughts after a few months of use here. Since that May post I’ve put the Scout to its primary use: longer trips combining lots of tough backpacking with moderate floating…
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Packrafting, not boating
Casey and Erin came up this weekend to packraft the Middle Fork. Classic wilderness float, non-pushy flows, bluebird summer weather; what could go wrong? Nothing, but things would have been simpler had I remembered my Aristotle and made a distinction: Packrafting is not boating. It is similar to kayaking, rafting, and canoeing in that it…
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Training for fun
Back in late April I sat down with a legal pad and wrote down every weekend from then until the end of August. Then I filled all but one of them with a trip of one kind or another. The year’s goals was to get out as much as possible, in as many local and…
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The Two Essentials
This weekend I’m headed out on the biggest trip of the summer, a seven day traverse through the eastern and southern sections of Yellowstone National Park. Conditions look good; highs in the low 70s, lows in the high 30s, and the one problem ford down to an acceptable level (i.e. my shorter and lighter companions…
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Tolerance
At 0550 this morning I woke up to a squirrel chattering at me. It was light, but the sun wasn’t close to penetrating the old growth larch I was tucked in to, so I threw my quilt over my head and went back to sleep. Next it was 0730, and still seductively cool for what…
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LaSportiva: Anakonda v. X Country
Light, quick drying, and tough enough to last off-trail. I’m still looking for a shoe which will do all three. Yes, I know I beat the hell out of my shoes. Yes, I know trail runners are not made for what I do. I’m still going to keep asking for more, even if it is…
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Wild Things Tactical wind gear
I’m not convinced that actual camo is necessary for hunting ungulates. I shot my first deer ~10 years ago wearing a red and black plaid shirt, after all. I was convinced that for an autumn wear I intended to take hunting seriously, I needed performance shells in colors other than the nuclear red and orange…
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An incomplete treatise on ‘mid selection
BD Megalight with aftermarket guy points resisting the wind. A pyramid shelter is the most versatile shelter for outdoor adventure. There are many reasons to not have a quiver of tarps and tents, and the best one is that having one shelter suitable for all conditions allows you to grab and go. A ‘mid fits…
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Too much fun
The tops of my third toes are blistered and leaking pus. My achilles are tight and creaky when I stand up. My abs are tight along my ribs and spine, when I arch my back to stand tall they scrunch brittle like a sun-faded bungee cord. The skin on my hands shrunk a size and…
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Packing for the South Fork
Worth an annual visit: the highest praise a route can deserve. The South Fork of the Flathead merits exactly that.
Bedrock & Paradox 
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