Spring 2025

A solo paddleboarding odyssey on the Yellowstone. Something big was in the works—big enough that I needed a first bite before mustering an appetite for the whole thing. That thing was the proverbial “Old ’96er,” for fans…

A stubborn old angler and an impatient young guide come to terms on the water. “Nate Harrison has booked us for a week again—five days, starting Monday,” Betsy, the fly-shop manager announced to me one unusually sunny May…

Bear-spray blunders from around southwest Montana. In summer of 2024, we asked you—our readers—to send in stories of when things got a little spicy. We received a surprising number of submissions, from a few sentences to a…

A roundup of local nonprofits keeping watch over our state’s invaluable waterways. Montana rivers see a lot of pressure. Every year, swarms of anglers, boaters, and campers descend on our streams from near and far in…

Developing an urban trail system on Montana’s richest hill. It wasn’t long ago that when Butte came up in conversation, common catchphrases included less-than-flattering words such as, “Berkely Pit,” “superfund,” and “…

For an unsuspecting newcomer, a seemingly modest undertaking becomes a Montana rite of passage. Since the dawn of time, coming-of-age ceremonies have been important cornerstones of cultures worldwide. A boy, most commonly…

What to do if your dog eats an edible. Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in Montana a few years back, we’ve noticed an upswing in both happier human clients and THC toxicity in canine patients at the…

Tips for chasing spring gobblers. The alarm blared at 3:30am, and I lay in bed staring at the ceiling thinking Why in the world am I up at this hour for a bird with a walnut-sized brain? Eventually, I stumbled across the…

Catching up with a river rat. The river and its whitewater can stop boaters in their tracks. It pushes limits and makes stomachs turn. It connects people with its wild and resilient nature. But usually, by the end of the…

Czar of the Big Hole. At dusk, the full moon bounds up and down the mountains as we journey west along I-90. While the guys sleep off the travel day, the Man on the Moon keeps me company. I turn off toward the Wise River…

A close-to-home multisport. Spring is the red-headed stepchild of the seasons. It’s an in-between period with crusty old snow, muddy bike trails, sloppy trail-running, and temperatures too cold to enjoy a swim. The rivers…

One man rethinks his relationship with Yellowstone. The wild lands around Bozeman in the early 1980s were lightly trodden. Vast wilderness abounded in every direction. The possibilities seemed limitless. My buddies and I…

Mixing up the spring paddling season. There’s something inherently special about moments and events that we know won’t last forever. Their fleeting nature makes us appreciate their very occurrence that much more. In a…