Spring 2004

Ask about twelve-hour workdays stacked up, sometimes in blistering hot or numbingly frigid weather, continuous fatigue, or aches in the body, and Terry Johnson will still insist he has the best job in the world. If you’ve…

A woman's first season with the volunteer ski patrol. “Dispatch.”I’m always listening for the crackle of the radio, but can never quite get the volume control just right. It appears to me that the professional patrollers…

Floating the Wild and Scenic Missouri River. West of the rising moon and east of the Great Divide flows a still-wild stretch of the great Missouri River. Recently enshrined as the Missouri Breaks National Monument, this…

A week in the life of an MCC volunteer.I love my job, but like everyone else, I have my days. I live in a tent community with four other members and their idiosyncrasies.It’s not that I find making my tent a permanent…

Gazing into the Madison Range from Bozeman, Montana, one is gratified by an excellent view of the jagged Spanish Peaks. However, there is only frustration when attempting to see beyond the high, forested foothills into the…

“But I don’t run fast and my butt jiggles. I can’t run with them!” My next-door neighbor shrinks back from the door, hands on her cheeks, eyes big, when I suggest joining the Wind Drinkers club fun run. I explain, “You don’…

You needn’t be a mountaineer to appreciate Select Peaks of Greater Yellowstone: A Mountaineering History & Guide. Thomas Turiano’s ambitious and meticulously researched book is also an outstanding resource for day-…

This is the touching true story of Bozeman resident Kate Gibson's fight against cancer as told by her husband, Scott Bischke, and their 900-mile hike of Montana's Continental Divide Trail. Crossing Divides: A Couple's Story…

A couple of diehard outdoorsmen—in the traditional-Montana sense of the word—Don Laubach and Mark Henckel have written a lighthearted series of stories about their adventures in Montana. Their experiences, and the telling…

Explore your world by bike.In these parts, most of us have a room full of camping gear and at least one bicycle. So chances are, you already have nearly everything it takes to give bicycle touring a try. That includes an…

The easy-to-pack reference guide, Wilderness and Travel Medicine, is written for the layperson in how to manage medical emergencies while in the backcountry. Topics range from abdominal pains to kidney stones to fractures…

Two hundred and one years ago this month, Merriweather Lewis sat down at a table in rainy Fort Clatsop and gave consideration to an animal the Indians called “pekan,” one he personally referred to as the “black fox.” He…

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area in the 50's and 60's—before business expanded across the Bay into the suburbs, before the dot.com companies redefined the economy—I wondered where the pavement ended. Even then, you…

The first in a series of six books, Miranda and Starlight begins the story about a precarious ten-year-old girl and the special friendship she shares with the horse of her dreams. Inspired by her love of children and horses…

Having just closed the Jeep door, my eyes haven't yet adjusted to the inky indigo darkness of the March night. There is just enough moon to illuminate the snow with an odd bluish glow. Quickly, the cold weaves its way…

"Let us love nobly, and live, and add again years and years unto years, till we attain to write threescore: this is the second of our reign." —John Donne "Fortunate too is the man who has come to know the countryside." —…

The writing of Radd Icenoggle, in Birds In Place, is the highlight of this informative book. Consider "… a grebe trying to become an elegant swan describes the Western Grebe…" or “… the altitude-intensified sun pushes down…

Once king of the American West, the grizzly bear has been reduced to a small fraction of its former population, roaming only the wildest, most remote corners of Montana, Wyoming, and northern Washington. While unregulated…

I obtained a copy of Code of the West after it appeared on ABC World News Tonight in a story about growth here and in the West in general. Gallatin County created the free booklet (also available online here) to give…

After years of frustration with low-cost, second-rate waders, I finally decided to bite the green bullet and splurge for a pair of locally-made Simms waders. I’d been reluctant because I’m pretty rough on fishing gear, and…

Yippee-kayo! July 2-4, get yourself down to the Livingston Roundup Rodeo. Celebrating its 81st year, the Livingston Roundup has bragging rights as one of the oldest professional rodeos in Montana. This year top hands will…

This is Feldarb from Parallel 12 reportingback to Carbolyte in the Fifth GalacticQuadrant. We've dismissed our plans for abortingour mission and are considering a new tactic.The creature specified in your orders appearsto…

A result of a handful of Big Sky locals’ desire for a fun, family- and community-oriented winter event, the second annual Big Sky Winterfest is scheduled for March 20. The day will include five different race events, each…

Spring is a sometimes season in Montana—sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t. Such are the vagaries of a mountain climate, where the weather pays scant attention to the astronomical milestones of solstice or equinox.…

Spring in Bozeman is an amazing time for numerous reasons—the fields turn green, the bears awaken, and the temperatures warm—but for the fly fisher, it means the long-awaited thaw of snow and ice. A critical period between…

I have often been asked, “What’s the best exercise?”Sometimes the person asking has a specific goal in mind. He may have an injury and want to speed his return to normal function. She may want to prepare for an upcoming…

The fringe-petaled carnation, generous of blossom, has for decades been a standard flower in corsages, boutonnieres, and table arrangements. The pink carnation was selected in 1907 as the official floral symbol for Mother’s…