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Black Diamond Distance poles review
Last flight of the Zpole. Trekking poles are a matter of, if not controversy, at least healthy debate amongst hikers. In the past 15 years they’ve gone from rare to ubiquitous, with a saturated market (not just Leki). Purists scoff that crutches are for cripples, the enlightened enjoy the added stability in rough terrain and…
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The practical and natural simplicity of singlespeeding
This post is for Ryan, who seems to be going through a cycling phase and first wrote about the distinction between practical and natural simplicity. To summarize, though you ought to read the aforementioned post, practical simplicity is about results, while natural simplicity is about process. They’re both concerned with experience but go about affecting…
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Angry August
Aster. We were sitting, M and I, this past Friday outside our favorite pizza place when our favorite, and very harried looking, bringer of spinach and garlic calzones introduced us to angry August. The time, right now, when local businesses make their year, there are lines everywhere, Alberta plates turn slowly across traffic; in short…
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The rise of the (larger) vestpack
Outdoor retailer is upon us, and as usual a modest array of interesting things have come bubbling to the surface of the internet. One emerging trend I find more interesting than most is the rise of larger vestpacks. Years ago I had a first-gen Nathan HPL020, which was an impressively stable and accessible way to…
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The ineffable South Fork
A little less than two years ago I took my first trip down the South Fork of the Flathead. To this day I haven’t written about it, I made this short video shortly thereafter and left it at that. That summer was busy with fun, but my leaving a ~ninety mile traverse of a major…
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Daiwa Soyokaze 27: putting the tenkara back in tenkara
It is said that the normal progression of a fly fisherman is to go from wanting to catch any fish, to wanting to catch lots of fish, to wanting to catch big fish, to wanting to catch big, challenging, hard to catch fish. Tenkara is for people who have no need to catch big fish…
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The evolutionary bike company
While I’ve always liked riding bikes, since I began paying attention 7 or 8 years ago I’ve never been especially fond on the industry which produces them. Outdoor “sports” are generally more prone than your average cultural entity to zenophobic navel-gazing, but cycling has (along with skiing) always struck me as particularly outstanding in the…
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Communities of the mind
Aka, another northern traverse. Bowman-Browns-Goat-Stoney-Belly-Chief Mountain. Similar to and as good as the route from last year. If you want more beta on the park, my BPL trip guide was just published. ($$ required.) Bowman Lake; yawn. Danni had invited Meghan to come backpacking, and Amber was going on the eight day trip across Glacier,…
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Congrats to Matt
Matt Vogt, whose detailed and photo-rich account of a challenging and rarely done trip ran away with the June TR contest. Well done Matt. Contact me with your address so a pack can get on its way to Arizona. There is a high probability I’ll have another such contest this fall, so plan accordingly. Amber…
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The Journey Continues: 2012 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic
My Classic in five words: I got scared and bailed. Explanation below. Roman Dial turns back from an attempt at fording an unnamed glacial creek in the upper Tasnuna drainage. The Tasnuna itself cuts left to right against the cliffs in the center middle-ground. Dick Griffith’s gorgeous house in the hills east of Anchorage, Friday…
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Bedrock & Paradox 
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