Fall 2013

Alive, the grizzly is a symbol of freedom and understanding—a sign that man can learn to conserve what is left of the earth. Extinct, it will be another fading testimony to things man should have learned more about but was…

Know before you go. Before a hunting excursion, mountaineering expedition, or even a simple road trip, there’s a certain romance in spreading out a map and plotting your journey. There’s boundless information piled onto a…

Over my morning coffee, I sat staring out the window at the Madison River and thinking about things that needed to be done: my job, packing, cleaning, storing things for the winter—and then it occurred to me that this would…

Are you an asshole hunter? Etiquette is important in all aspects of life, and for sportsmen, it’s essential for safety, ethics, and the protection of hunting rights and privileges. The list below represents what NOT to do…

Approaching private land owners about hunting permission. Asking permission to hunt private property is kind of like asking someone for a first date: you don’t know what to expect, whether it’ll be worth the effort, or if…

For many of us Bozemanites, the first snow of the year is a tease, an alluring look ahead to the oncoming season. We daydream about the incredible powder days, and gnarly runs that we weren't quite ready to tackle last year…

It starts up in the trees: a frail rustling through the leaves brought on by a cold, bracing breeze. Sweeping down through the ground there is a change of hue—an array of a colorful display.Signs of snow land on outlying…

Here’s a great recipe to utilize one of the most under-utilized pieces of meat on an elk: the shank. Too often, this cut is added along with the shoulders and rump roast to make burger. The shank is a very well-worked…

“If you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned.”–Some Lame-Ass Sometimes, you just have to howl at the moon, take a shot of Jaeger, and burn a metric ton of wood. Am I right? As the days grow shorter and the nights…

Where to camp this fall Aspens are turning gold and umber, nights are longer, and days feel crisper. Summer is over—but don’t put away your tent and sleeping bag just yet. The warm days and cool nights of autumn are just…

Over the last two years, I’ve racked up around 600 miles on the trails, hundreds of dollars in debt, and bruises on every part of my body trying to become a competent mountain biker. I’m still not there, but these are all…

Fly fishing and roaming around good country is what autumn was designed for, with the array of color in leaves and grasses, cool blue skies, pure waters, and trout feeding with a fervidness driven by approaching winter. I…

Hiking to Pine Creek Lake. Pine Creek Lake is a pristine alpine lake in a huge, 9,032-foot basin high above Paradise Valley. The 31-acre lake sits in the glacial cirque on the north slope of Black Mountain, which towers 900…

Fall time family activities around Bozeman. Fall time is family time, and with a bunch of autumn-centered activities in the Bozeman area, you’ll get more family time than you can handle. Whether you’re looking for safe…

The crystal-clear water hiccups on the bottom of our canoes as we push off. At the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, we find ourselves bumping and scraping our way down the Sun River—painting rocks with our canoes as we…

I was young once, and not briefly, When those lyric Muses tweaked me. A golden aspen day now long ago, When time drifted on, if oh so slow. We’d pack-tripped into the wild, Camping under our Great Chinese Wall When Pegasus…

In the fall, WATCH FOR ICE ON BRIDGE. Along the highway that slamdunks, dropkicks, butts and bucks your Bronco into town, pre-war posted, shotgunned signwords warn ROUGH ROAD NEXT 40 MILES. Hayhills bundled into rolls And…

Mimi Matsuda first visited Yellowstone when she was eight years old, wide-eyed at the beauty the Park had to offer. From the seemingly magic geysers to the unmatched wildlife, young Mimi drank it in. Amidst the crowds, she…

“Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help…

Mostly what I hunt for is connections. I wander around the mountains, prairies, and marshes looking for something I must have lost. There are connections to the natural cycles of the seasons. There are connections to my…

Nothing deters backpackers from the Bechler more than the bugs. A handful of Deet and a quick pace might shield you along the trail from the ranger station to the edge of Bechler Meadows, but no further. Upon emergence into…

Many years ago on a winter drive through Yellowstone Park to Cooke City, I viewed a herd of buffalo working their way through the deep snow of the Lamar Valley. I remember thinking what a magnificent animal the buffalo was…

Aarrrooooo… Aarrrooooo…It’s 3am, late August, and I’m housesitting for friends when suddenly the dog is howling like he’s the one who spent the night shooting pool at the local saloon. “Oh please, please dog, give me a…

 How to cook your game. A friend of mine gives me a hard time for hunting deer and elk, because—unlike bears or wolves—they cannot hunt back. He says it isn’t manly if there isn’t an equal chance the prey can kill you. I…

The open prairies and hills of southwest Montana are good areas to spot pronghorn antelope, the fastest distance runners in the world. Fans of the cheetah may argue that the African feline is faster, but they’re only…

By the 1880s, irresponsible land use, over-harvesting for sport, and simple ignorance contributed to a decline in wildlife in North America. For many species, extinction was a real possibility—and for some, such as the…

As we embrace a new season, we know that change is inevitable—and the same is true in the Bozeman Parks and Rec Department. We’d like to focus on some exciting changes that would not be possible without collaborative effort…

Falling leaves, shorter days, and that certain chill in the air are all signs of the seasons changing. At Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, “seasons changing” takes on a different meaning altogether.Season SettingDeciding…

I use the sparkle minnow in the fall when I commit to streamer fishing. The Coffey’s Sparkle Minnow is a baitfish/sculpin imitation so effective that it can almost feel like cheating. There’s really no wrong way to fish it—…

The season is open. Mine is a worthy prey. His home range is expansive, and in his element, he is King of Beasts. His numbers are large and growing. He is smart, he is elusive, and he is dangerous. In short, he is the…

Philosophies on pre-season training. Lunges. Squats. Wall sits. Lateral jumps. Tuck jumps. Cardio. Plyo. Intervals. Ugh. Ski season is coming, and for many motivated souls, that means pre-season or “dry-land” training.…

October Chute on Hardscrabble Peak gets its name from its ideal northerly aspect that captures early snow and doesn’t release it until late the following summer. And a couple years ago, on October 25, it opened for business…

If there is a fishing trip involved, my husband can wake up at 4am without an alarm like a he’s been lying awake all night thinking of those elusive fish slithering through the river. This is not a passion we share, mostly…

It happened all of a sudden With my two dogs—Mr. Magoo, an American bulldog, and Molly, a mastiff/Catahoula mix—in the back of my hatchback, I pulled into the Dudley Creek trailhead in Gallatin Canyon. Not quite a mile…

Countless conservation efforts exist for Montana’s big game: elk, deer, and sheep all have organizations devoted to their continued wellbeing and population balance. But what about the mountain goat? For years, this…

When you look at the tree-covered mountains of Montana, you can’t help but notice patches of red scarring the green hillsides: these are whitebark pines, and they’re dying at an alarming rate. Our ecosystem needs this tree…

On the northeast side of town lies a tract of land once integral to Bozeman’s industrial development, but it has gone to seed in recent years: the buildings are rotting and prior improvements made to the land are slowly…

The idea was fantastic, the progress has been slow, and now everyone is confused about whether it’s actually going to happen. Conrad Anker’s pet project—a proposed $1-3 million ice climbing tower—hasn’t seen much headway in…

Wilderness is big and wild—untamed earth spanning space between populations and providing a place for us to reconnect with our lost landscapes. When the time comes to retreat into to the wild and live with the twigs,…

How Outside Bozeman got me to run the Ridge Run. “You have to write an essay,” said a local runner. We were talking about registering for the Ridge Run. She had been completely coherent up until this statement. I began to…

We were hunting somewhere in eastern Montana, where the pulsing EKG of our state’s topography flatlines. The landscape is so flat, my dad would say, “if your dog runs away, you can still see him for a week.”With the ink…

Until recently, scientists thought all the work Mother Nature put into creating fall’s astonishing colors served no ecological purpose—but they were wrong. As the nights grow noticeably longer and temperatures drop, the…

If only I’d had the Ruffwear Beacon years ago, when my old dog Bear went deaf—it would’ve saved me countless hours trying to locate his jet-black body when he’d wander off at night. The lightweight Beacon clips easily on to…

Every Montana dog owner gets a little anxious during hunting season, and for good reason—there are definitely a few dumbasses roaming the woods, loaded guns in hand. One way to protect your pooch—and calm your nerves—is…

My average hot meal in the backcountry has long been limited to bratwurst on a stick, baked beans, and a few smores—all cooked (or usually burnt) over an open campfire. However, with the Trail Lite Duo System 6-piece cook…

You don’t need to be in the military to appreciate the new Helinox Tactical Chair from Mystery Ranch—indeed, it may be better suited to outdoor recreationists than soldiers, who seldom have room in their rucksacks for such…

Like headlamps, water bladders have become an outdoor-equipment staple—for civilians and soldiers alike. If you want a good hydration system that’s built to military specifications—meaning, it’s tough as shit—check out the…

The lovebird is a captured and marginalized African parrot that forever yearns to form a strong and monogamous pair bond with another of her feather, preferring to roost side-by-side for peaceful spells in the unbounded…

There’s something undeniably mythical about chasing large fish—precious few anglers escape that eventual, insatiable hunger for a lunker on the end of their line. Hence John Holt’s latest book, Stalking Trophy Browns: A Fly…

Two subjects of rightful popularity—survival and the military—come together in SAS Mountain & Arctic Survival (Skyhorse Publishing, $15) by former British Special Air Service soldier Barry Davies. This pocket-sized…