Category: Racing
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2013 Bob Marshall Wilderness Open report
Almost eight years ago I made my first visit to Glacier as an adult. M and I were a few weeks into a period of living out of our truck, and made the all day drive from Theodore Roosevelt National Park anticipating the mountains. It was early November, cold and rainy, so we did what…
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As the elk go
There is no question that I’ve grown more cautious as I’ve grown older, both in the woods and generally. Speaking to the former, I like to think that increased wisdom accounts for most. I’m better able to realize the full consequences of the more reckless things I’ve done, as well as visualize the long term…
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Solo is safer
First, let us define our terms: solo mean alone, and safer means less likely to die. Most discussions of safety in backcountry activities are based on a naively passive and fundamentally flawed understanding of how accidents happen. Show me 10, or 20, backcountry accidents and 9, or 19, times I’ll show you situations where bad…
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The applicability of the wilderness serape
I’ve become a convert to what I’m calling (and with all due homage to HPG) a wilderness serape. A synthetic blanket/overbag/poncho with a light, but not too light, DWR coated nylon shell. You can find the specs on the ugly one I made this past autumn here. It’s been indispensable ever since. The serape is…
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The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act
An interesting example of what I wrote about a few days ago is currently afoot here in Montana, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act sponsored by our senior senator Max Baucus. The Front is a spectacular location, where the Bob Complex meets the prairie without mediation in a tangle of limestone reefs, broad valleys, and…
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The capture and flight of Joe Cosley
Joe Cosley was one of Glacier Parks original rangers. He had been a trapper in the area prior to the founding in 1910, and thus a natural choice. Cosley must have remained a rough character; while on his first trip around the park in the winter of 1913 Norton Pearl noted that Cosley’s cabin was…
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A small pack manifesto
Small packs (20 to 35 liters) are the most used, for those of us who choose to pursue a career in civilization. Tiny (sub 20 liter) packs are handy and can even last for multiple days in the summer, but a small pack works for technical day trips in all seasons, multidays in milder conditions,…
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Red Rab-off
We outdorks all have our pet gear obsessions. I like to think that mine (packs, shoes, windshirts) are especially practical. Windshirts are important because it’s windy a lot around here, and because I put out a lot of heat and thus try to avoid wearing a waterproof-breathable jacket at almost all costs. Weatherproofing and breathability…
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Julbo Sniper: a goggle for us
The fat bike summit last month provided a mass case study in how neither goggles nor sunglasses work well for aerobic activities in especially snowy conditions. It was close to freezing, snowing hard, and there was only modest wind. Goggles fogged due to exertion, as did sunglasses, but squinting into the face of the blizzard…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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