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The Grand Eight: Days 1 and 2
It is cold. The vague two-track to 150 Mile canyon ends at a weathered pinon log and barbed wire corral with a spectacular view down into the namesake drainage. We arrived at dusk last night, and the wind was howling. A bit on edge due to anticipation and the long process of spotting my car…
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The Grand Eight: Prologue
A big, technical trip in the Grand Canyon has been in the back of my mind for quite a few years, and back in early January I decided to make it happen now. Simply put: when I ran the numbers I couldn’t think of a reason not too. The time could be made free, the…
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5 photos from the Grand Canyon
A simple, challenging idea: take five and only five photos, out of over 500, which best represent a week long trip in a very big place. This trip was a spectacular success. That I’m home again, after so many tough miles with no issues, and a 1000 mile drive yesterday, hardly seems real. More to…
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The planning pile
After you’ve picked a good route, picked a good partner, done all the relevant research, and built the best list you can, the only thing left is to make sure you don’t forget anything. On longer trips this is rather important, and can be surprisingly difficult. If all you leave behind is your spoon, little…
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Ray Way pack kit review
The other week I purchased, and with a few modifications built, a Ray Way pack from the kit sold by Mr. Jardine on his website. The pack shown below is a 2400 cubic inch model, size XL (RayWay packs are sizes by shoulder/chest circumference). Compared to the Gossamer Gear Gorilla. Back view, showing the very…
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RIT die for synthetic garments
I have issues with hats. This is mostly a performance thing. While the scientific robustness of the old claim that you loose an outsize amount of heat through your head is coming into question, the fact that temperature regulation via hats is fast and easy remains unassailable. As readers will know, I have a brain…
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The River Paddling Protection Act
The River Paddling Protection Act has passed the house, and is currently under consideration by the senate. If you have opinions about wilderness paddling in Yellowstone National Park, now is a rare occasion when speaking up might have an effect. The bill is very simple. It nullifies several existing regulations prohibiting boating in Yellowstone and…
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’13-’14 ski stuff review
Big Mountain summit @ 3pm on a Saturday, with -40 windchill. It’s been a great winter for snow sports. In addition to my fatbike, I’ve been using two separate ski rigs since things got going in earnest after Christmas. All the modes of transit have been used a lot, often competing for attention, and almost…
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The horror of Tomorrow
Thus far I’ve spent the weekend chasing deer. Snowbiking Friday afternoon the packed trough winding through the thick forest was covered in deer tracks, and as I did laps on the short loop kept spooking and respooking the same critters. They’ve been using the skier and biker packed trail to commute from aspen patch to…
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The death of the outdoorsman
In short, I think everyone holds some version of the same conceptual category: “Fellow creatures about whom I care too much to eat.” –Tovar Cerulli On several occasions in the past I’ve speculated on when, in the history of American outdoor culture, the hook and bullet sides of being in the outdoors separated as thoroughly…
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Bedrock & Paradox 
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