Fall 2012

In 1985, Montana formally created Block Management Areas (BMAs), which provide free access to private lands across the state for hunting big game, upland birds, and waterfowl. Some of these areas are adjacent to…

I’m not sure when I started wanting a drift boat. I do know why. On various trips around Montana, I’d drive past glimmering rivers and catch an occasional glimpse of a drift boat, anglers fore and aft, a hardy captain at…

Half a mile below Axtell Bridge, as I stalked the wily fall foliage with my Nikon, a fisherman burst out of the brush. Big-eyed and breathless, his creel flopping and waders swishing, he hustled over to me shouting, “Did…

Long live the beard. For most of us Montana men, it simply happens. It might be a Tuesday, around mid-October. We stand shirtless at the sink with a razor in one hand, and look at ourselves in the mirror. For some subtle…

Oh Dawn, bringer of light, With eternal vision deliver us from night. And color the world, not black nor white, But ambiguous grey, a beautiful sight! For in that moment a flicker of truth Reveals what mankind knew in his…

I love to touch wood that’s beaver-skinned and worn to glass by flowing water. There are willow saplings that startle. Bent low by winter snow load but still rooted to the bank they get pulled downstream by the current…

The need for wildlife crossings in Montana. A few years ago, I passed a slowpoke on the road in front of me, returning to my lane just in time to see eyes staring down my headlights. Before I could swerve, the impact…

How to protect your hearing while hunting. There are plenty of things to remember when prepping for a hunt, but hearing protection is often overlooked. Properly fitting, sufficient hearing protection can prevent permanent…

Anyone who read Into the Wild knows the importance of correctly identifying wild plants if you intend to eat them. In that true story, Christopher McCandless starved after eating the seeds of a plant that block nutrient…

In an era of leafy, cut-poly fabrics dyed in the latest digi-cam patterns and different outfits of the latest tech-wear designed to blend into the countryside like a moth’s wing or a duck’s butt, the only thing today’s…

Deer season has arrived at last, and you’ve put in your time waiting and stalking. You finally have one in your sights—but do you know if it’s a whitetail or a muley? You should be able to tell the species almost…

It’s finally here: day and night are in sync with similar hourly spans, frost has been spied on the pumpkins, and a rack or two has been spotted in the back of a passing pickup. It’s autumn, and in Montana that means only…

On July 12, 2012, Montana’s FWP Commission approved the state’s first wolf-trapping season, which will open December 15 and close February 28, 2013. The BackgroundIn order to address a wolf population in Montana of more…

You don’t need to be a professional photographer or cinematographer to try time-lapse photography; all you need is a few basic pieces of equipment, plenty of patience, a little ingenuity, and a car to sleep in while you…

The smell of gunpowder is in the air and Montanans have the chance to fill their freezers with some of the most nutritious and sustainable food around. A true gift, the meat from wild mammals is generally lower in calories…

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”   —Albert Camus After months of sunshine, labor, and cultivation, the harvest season has arrived with its bounty: farmers’ markets flourish and grocery stores brim…

Haven’t hit puberty yet? Got your beard-growing abilities from your mother’s side? Don’t worry: you have options. Here’s how to blend in with the real beards this season. Costume-Store Covering A wide selection and…

As the West’s answer to the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, known as the CDT, is 3,100 grueling miles cut through the backcountry from Mexico to Canada—and nearly 1,000 miles of it bisects the western half…

From hundreds of feet in the air, Bozeman is a latticework of tiny streets filled with miniature houses and toy cars. Minutes later, our tiny plane rises above a thick carpet of evergreens, streaked with ribbons of brown…

These two mountain playgrounds are home to some of our favorite places in the world. But when it comes down to it, which one really stands on top? Read on as we attempt to settle an argument even Lewis and Clark couldn’t…

“Wolves!” It’s the only word Doug can get out. Excited, out of breath, he takes a knee and we all gather round. Between gasps he fills us in. “I went… to take a leak… right over there… there’s wolves… right over there!” …

When fall returns, so do the hatches of Blue Winged Olives (BWO). As with most fly patterns, this BWO cripple is an adaptation of many proven patterns—and possibly something I unknowingly borrowed from another fly tyer.…

When picking out a pet to join your family, consider the smaller animal shelters around Montana. “Most of the small-town shelters in Montana have wonderful dogs—they’d be so happy to get a real home,” says Pam McCutcheon,…

Father deer lucidly daydreams. His hooves twitch back and forth between sticky strings of alfalfa. He whimpers then yelps: "Shoot him!" Mother deer sits straight by his side, she ponders the pinkish-red flowers that used to…

Whether you’re a classic Wild Turkey–drinkin’ hunter or a more sophisticated Cosmopolitan-quaffer, Bozeman has some great spots to relax—or celebrate—after a day in the field. Here’s where to get your drink on après-hunt…

Fall means wild game—and this season, try some fresh, exotic takes on preparing your bounty. Here’s a Mexican dry rub that works perfectly with elk steak, and a Hawaiian huli-huli marinade for your next duck. With these…

An astonishingly good wild-game feast. We’re gathered around the back bar in John Bozeman’s Bistro, beer and wine in hand, eyeing the cauldron of antelope stew Chef Ty Hill has placed on the countertop. Ty grabs a white…

Winter’s just around the corner, and it’s a given that dedicated skiers in southwest Montana will hunt down a few turns before the season gets started. For those of you who just can’t bear the thought of waiting until…

The full moon arched above us in the cold night sky, brightening the surrounding hillsides. As we peered into the shelter, shadows danced through the windows and lively chatter leaked out into the frozen landscape beyond…

There’s a reason the founding fathers made the right to bear arms number two on the list: guns are incredible. Squeezing off rounds, hot shell casings arcing onto the gravel while the crack of the rifle echoes through the…

Refining the focus of the spotting scope, my jaw drops. The largest mountain goat I’ve ever seen is standing on the same damn cliff as the previous morning. After half an hour of making mental notes of his position in the…

The trout of Fall. Come fall, local rivers empty and everyone heads for the hills. You’ll surely see your share of hunter’s orange and camo—but what you won’t see are crowded boat ramps and lines of anglers along the banks…

The Porcupine Creek Trail begins near the Gallatin River and climbs nine miles up to its headwaters in Onion Basin at the Gallatin-Yellowstone Divide. En route, the trail gains more than 3,000 feet to the basin and Gallatin…

Come fall, the hordes of tourists have migrated home, leaving natives with the ice-blue rivers, deep-green junipers, and golden patches of cottonwoods surrounding Paradise Valley all to themselves. The trout are fat, the…

Paradise Valley climbs.Paradise Valley has no shortage—or variety—of good stone along its length: backyard alpine at Mount Cowen, exciting trad in Mill Creek, quality bouldering on both sides of Yankee Jim Canyon. But if…

Finally! The tourist hatch has subsided and locals can breathe again. Fall’s the perfect time to head to Ennis for the weekend—there’s a plethora of possibilities in this corner of southwest Montana, and choosing a starting…

The shadows stretched long as my wife, daughter, and I drove to our friends’ ranch to catch a few fish on the Madison. Getting out of the car we noticed a commotion above us. Three ospreys flew around erratically; then we…

Well it was about time—we hadn’t made a mistake in several issues, so we went for broke and committed a whopping four editorial errors in the summer issue. Yep, we’re human after all.First off, the website we listed for the…

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves. –Jack KornfieldThe bull came at dusk. I heard nothing, saw nothing. Suddenly he was there, a pale swath amid the…

“Oh! but Grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!”“The better to eat you with!”And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Little Red Riding Hood.—The Brothers Grimm…

With winter just around the corner, it’s important to understand the different options for heating your home. Here’s a look at three different ways to stay comfortable when the mercury drops.The Sun’s Radianceby Todd…

Like a lot of Montanans, I’ve done my share of hunting—it’s a seasonal tradition, and I enjoy the healthy, high-quality protein I harvest for my family and friends.  So when I saw a 2007 news article involving a North…

He was a three-month-old puppy from the animal shelter, and I named him Reginald. Reggie—a tiny, furry orange mutt—became my best friend. We snuggled, we played, we had adventures together. But one chilly October Sunday,…

You know the type. Snobs. The people who immediately bring up the fact that their Frisbee-loving buddy “Prince” is a purebred golden retriever, complete with show-winning parents. “I don’t care how many blue ribbons Prince…

The Osprey Aura has more bells and whistles than a one-man band at the Whoville Christmas parade. It’s built for extended trips and doesn’t miss a beat—if you can think of it, this pack’s got it. The ventilated mesh…

Come fall, a hunter’s relationship with the natural world changes. Gone are the carefree days of summer—unpredictable weather, off-trail exploration, and hungry hibernators introduce a whole new set of hazards. Which is…

It appears that the folks at NiteIze have been burning the midnight oil, releasing new products with blinding frequency. Their latest illuminator is the BrimLit, a clip-on headlamp that sits under the brim of your ball cap…

Few things can drive a man mad faster than crappy matches that keep burning or blowing out. Wind, dampness, awkward positioning, poor match design—whatever the culprit, the results are the same: a desperate rage, the…

I found the idea of an A-frame tent moderately intimidating when recalling father-son campouts in the ‘90s with my dad’s puke-green, 20-pound “portable” behemoth. Nevertheless, I rose to the challenge and tested out the…

There’s nothing like a new pair of huntin’ boots, and the Hardscrabble Hiker from Kennetrek allowed me to hit the woods with confidence. Whether taking on my favorite hiking trail or hunting deep in the hills, this rugged…

When trimming weight for backcountry hunting, stove and fuel are among the first items to go. Problem is, your minimalist alternative—that rickety, soot-covered cooking grate—leaves much to be desired come dinnertime. Enter…

A rod and reel are only as good as they cast—and without quality line and leader, you might as well use a willow branch. Do that fancy stick justice and spool your reel with RIO Grand line and Powerflex trout leader, two of…

John Steinbeck famously called Montana “a great splash of grandeur,” and in A Montana Journal (Riverbend Publishing, $25), photographer Christopher Cauble captures that majesty with 36 eclectic images from around the state…

The next best thing to hunting is reading about it, and in 40 Days Under the Big Sky: A Birdhunter’s Journal (self-published, $25), author Jay Hanson relates an entire season on the wing, chasing birds across every type of…

Building on the success of his first two nonfiction books, Matthew Mayo has delivered again with Sourdoughs, Claim Jumpers & Dry Gulchers: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of Frontier Prospecting (TwoDot…

When I say that Atlas of Yellowstone (University of California Press, $65) has everything there is to know about our first national park, it isn’t an exaggeration—this coffee-table tome has over 500 maps and contributions…

Poll a few Bozeman locals on the place they’d most like to explore, and odds are they’ll say the Beartooths. There’s something awe-inspiring about this massive mountain range to the east, something mysterious and grand and…