Category: Packrafting
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Mr. Bakwin owes me five dollars
You heard me; Peter Bakwin owes me five dollars. Mr. Bakwin invented, or at the very least introduced into common usage, the term fastest known time many years ago. His website, which began as a list consisting almost entirely of his own running times, languished in relative obscurity until not too many years ago, when…
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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…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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