Fall 2004

Buck is what many people would call a “problem dog.” Though attractive and well-built, he’s also hyperactive, unruly, and stubborn as a mule. For two days, we’ve watched him leap and lurch, surge and struggle—a spigot of…

I wake up in Big Sky crust-eyed and weary from my high-speed race across Montana. I'm banged up with burning muscles and trail rash. Yesterday's bike ride in the Black Hills and an over-the-bars crash in the Badlands the…

It was Matthew who killed the elk. I was only trying to learn how it was done.My first year in the valley I knew next to nothing, though when only a week of hunting season remained and still I had no meat, I knew enough to…

Rock-art sites may be a key to the past for archaeologists and historians, but they are sacred places of power to the Native Americans whose ancestors created the ancient images.While the whole natural world is sacred in…

Bozeman Women’s Activity Group.Does exploring Montana’s alpine world, while soaking up breathtaking scenery, appeal to you? Then grab your hiking boots and backpacks and come join the BWAGs, the Bozeman Women’s Activity…

The increasing incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has been a growing concern for both the athlete and the medical profession. Approximately 70% of ACL injuries are non-contact, and four risk factors are…

Participating in the Bozeman Ice Festival. It’s late November, and the bone-chilling temps of winter have begun to peel away autumn’s once-firm grip on southwest Montana. At 9:00 am, we’re bundled up and shivering as we…

Ski season is right around the corner and now is a great time to train for improved performance. Entering the ski season fit and flexible will increase your enjoyment and decrease the risk of injury. The following exercises…

Call me a scavenger, but every autumn, whether the apple trees in my yard produce or not, I end up with bags and bags of sweet-smelling apples of many different varieties. Just a step above dumpster-diving for freebies, I…

“Climbing!” I yelled as I began my ascent up the side of the canyon. It was a beautiful afternoon, after a night of unrelenting thunderstorms; we were all covered in mud from the scramble to “our spot” and were stoked that…

We pull off old Montana Highway 2 in our shiny new Toyota Tundra as I suck the last of my orange juice through my super-sized McDonald’s straw, throw open the door, and step out into the warm August breeze. Chris stuffs his…

Once in a while the bored Montana resident, tired of the same old routine, stumbles upon a hidden treasure—a place that flies below the radar, but holds great tidbits of history and peculiar artifacts. The Headwaters…

The United States Forest Service is currently deciding who can use the Gallatin National Forest, whether you travel with pedals, stirrups, or a clutch.In 1977, a popular trail system east of the Gallatin River from…

I walk on concrete wherever I go. The windows around me reflect pictures of the sky. I travel on trains through the tunnels, no wind in my hair. Then feel the pulse of swift life with fast steps. The people are oddly quiet…

It’s not what you were planning on when you headed out on a beautiful fall morning for a day in the great outdoors, but suddenly it’s getting dark, you’re alone, and you don’t have any idea where you are. You’re lost and it…

The federal government seems convinced that the grizzly bear is no longer an endangered species. The hulking mammal’s population has quadrupled since 1975, to about 1,200 bruins in the lower 48 states, and plans are now…

Alpine skiing, enjoyed by 200 million people worldwide, is commonly associated with knee injuries. Severe knee sprains involving the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are the most common injuries in alpine skiing and result…

The law locks up the man or womanWho steals the goose from off the common,But lets the greater felon looseWho steals the common from the goose. —Anonymous Montana towns have always enjoyed a unique and enviable social…

If you need a compact light for those late-evening hatches, but don’t want to add more bulk to your already-burgeoning fly vest, look no further than the Impulse from Princeton Tec. This handy, high-powered LED keylight has…

Altitech2 - $150 highgearusa.com 888.295.4949 Ever since wrist-top altimeters came out, I’ve wanted one. Desperately. I mean, how cool would it be to have an exact elevation right there at your fingertips? No more guessing…

Are grizzlies in Yellowstone going hungry? Some scientists say if they aren’t now, they will be soon. A major source of food for grizzlies, the Whitebark Pine and their fat-rich nuts are threatened by a fungus known as…

Big Timber native Joe Josephson was one of the first sponsored athletes invited to the Bozeman Ice Festival in 1997. “Jo-Jo”, as his friends know him, enjoyed the experience so much that he’s been back every year since. “I…

by Don Butcher - Wyoming, MILane Coyote, 2001 - 216 pagesIn The Adventures of Gray Wolf, we explore the tales of a seasoned backcountry adventurer as he recounts nearly 50 remarkable experiences throughout the Canadian…

by Ron Spomer - Belgrade, MT Wilderness Adventures Press, 1999 - 518 pages The results for the 2004 Montana big game hunting season special permit drawings came in over the summer. Therefore, you’re either ready to enjoy…

Mike Lapinski has succeeded in writing a book that will most likely save someone’s life. Hardly another collection of hair-raising accounts of bear attacks, True Stories of Bear Attacks: Who Survived and Why (West Winds…

More memoir than business guide, A Sportsman’s Life (Lyons Press, 2002) traces the ups and downs of retired CEO Leigh Perkins during his reign at Orvis. Perkins bought the tiny company in 1965 for $400,000; by the time he…

Remembering Richard Brautigan. We’ve all had a friend like Richard. He’s the one that calls to go fishing and ends the conversation by telling you not to forget the whiskey (or beer, or Carlo Rossi—any alcoholic beverage…

Among the original settler folk of the Wild West, women were a demographic in short supply compared to the male cowpunchers, sodbusters, gold-seekers, and adventurers that filtered into the high plains and Northern Rockies…

Many fly patterns have been designed to work for a specific region. There are, however, a number of flies that cross over between fresh water and salt water. One fly that has been a crossover pattern for several years is…

Winter driving around the Bozone. I’m a cheapskate, so naturally I have always tried to eke out as many miles on my car’s tires as I could. Then one day I went over the Bozeman pass sideways. When I left home early that…