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Spring 2020

Features

  • adventure-mobile, camping, buggies
    Activities: Camping

    Basecamp Buggies

    Soon after we’d discovered that the rooftop “emergency exit” on our truck camper was actually a hatch to the party roof, the landscape stopped me in my tracks. Drinking a cold beer and watching the clouds shift as the brook…
  • Armstrong Spring Creek, spring fishing, spring runoff
    Activities: Fishing

    Clear Water Act

    Where to fish during spring runoff.  At long last, spring is here. Those bright, clear days, the warm sun on your vitamin D-deprived skin, finally exposed to light and air after a lengthy sequestration under layers of wool…
  • bison ranching, conservation, advocacy
    Culture: Conservation

    Getting Out of a Rut

    From veteran environmental advocate to greenhorn bison rancher.  Brow furrowed and jaw set, Matt Skoglund, 41, slams his black F-150 into reverse and digs the tires deeper into the snow. His truck sits high-centered in a…
  • Caroline Byrd, recreation, conservation
    Culture: Conservation

    Call of the Wild

    As the final segment of our four-part series, Outside Bozeman caught up with Greater Yellowstone Coalition’s former executive director, Caroline Byrd, for a conversation exploring the intersection of recreation and…
  • skiing, backcountry, hunting, spring
    Activities: Hunting

    Shedding & Shredding

    Making the most of spring.  Spring means many things: migrating birds, swelling rivers, the emergence of wild fungus, green valleys lined with white-capped peaks, dry(ish) trails, and the appearance of antlers dropped by…
  • running, marathon, ennis
    Activities: Running

    Runners High

    Lessons from a mountain marathon.  Twelve years ago, when Sam Korsmoe was brainstorming ways to bring people to Ennis, a “crazy idea” entered his head: to hold an annual road marathon above 9,000 feet. He immediately…

Departments

  • streamboarding, paddleboarding, Bozeman
    Activities: Boating

    In-Town Adrenaline

    Streamboarding Bozeman.  I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me. —Hunter S. Thompson Slowly, the waters rise. Inconspicuous at first, then gradually more…
  • Activities: Bird Hunting

    Tungsten Toms

    Avoiding toxic shot in the field. When wildflowers bloom beside dwindling snow patches, many hunters’ thoughts turn toward calling in lovesick gobblers. Although using lead ammunition to hunt waterfowl was banned in 1991,…
  • mental health, exercise, health, fitness
    Training: Workouts

    Mind Craft

    Improving mental health through exercise.  We are lucky to live in and around Bozeman. We have seemingly infinite access to opportunities for outdoor adventure and physical fitness. However, our state consistently has one…
  • rattler, rattlesnake, bitten, bite
    Training: First Aid

    Bite Marks

    What to do when the rattler strikes.  Spring is when the snakes come out—or rather, slither out, from their cold, stygian dens, creeping downslope in search of insects, small rodents, and other unsuspecting ophidian treats…
  • hip, orthopedic surgery, hip injuries
    Training: Injury Prevention

    Hip to the Hop

    All about hip impingement.  The fastest-growing orthopedic surgery in the U.S. over the last ten years has been arthroscopic surgery of the hip. One reason for the spike is that improved imaging and research have given us…
  • Training: Workouts

    Better Biking

    Exercises to improve your cycling season. I’ve recently gotten back into mountain biking. I’m pretty fit, but very few things have worked me as much as a long climb in the saddle. As a strength-and-conditioning coach, my…
  • hot springs, medicine, medical
    Places: Hot Springs

    Hot & Healthy

    The medical benefits of hot springs.  Montana has 61 known hot springs with more just across the Idaho border. Soaking in hot springs is fun but there are also health benefits. The hot mineral-rich water alters our…
  • stars, astronomy, Venus, spring, sky
    Training: Astronomy

    Flash Mob

    Bright shiny things in spring's night sky.  Spring in Montana can be a sometimes thing. But whether we’re looking up from snow or flood or mud or some other sketchy transition from skis to mosquito repellant, we always…
  • simulation, trail running, interactive running simulation
    Culture: Humor

    Natural Selection

    Simulated trail running takes stride. Montana trail runners get a pretty raw deal: after months of slipping around on icy, snow-packed roads and town trails, or suffering through endless miles on a treadmill listening to…
  • crossbiking, biking, Bozeman
    Activities: Biking

    The Open Road

    Exploring Bozeman by bike.  Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose. —Walt Whitman We all strive to recapture our lost…
  • weekender, trips, Gardiner, Livingston
    Road Trips

    Valley-Ho

    A world away, close to home.  Fifty-four miles: that’s the distance between Gardiner and Livingston—and that short distance holds limitless adventure. But how do you distill all those options into a single weekend? I’m…
  • whitewater, safety, rafting, river
    Activities: Boating

    Better Safe Than Soggy

    Tips & tricks for whitewater safety. "Rivers flow not past, but through us; tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide."—John Muir As spring temperatures rise, snow…
  • camping, Gallatin Range, Hoodoos, superstition
    Activities: Camping

    Voodoo in the Hoodoos

    Out in the wild woods, reality and myth come together.  Anyone who spends time hiking, hunting, or camping in Montana has experienced the howl or screech that stops you in your tracks, the animal track that doesn’t make…
  • hiking, dogs, spring
    Activities: Hiking

    Trail Tails

    Tips and guidelines for hiking with a dog.  With spring comes more opportunity to comfortably and safely get outdoors for some fun with your dog. It’s a perfect time to start planning trips and organizing equipment, and to…
  • dogs, dirt, cleaning, washing
    Culture: Dogs

    Mud Vessels

    How to avoid murdering your dog.  It’s that time of year: the birds have returned, the animals are twitterpated, and the first green tendrils have emerged from the fresh bare soil. In Montana, this is where the resemblance…
  • electric bike, e-bike, e-MTB
    Activities: Mountain Biking

    Motor Ahead

    Where can you ride your electric bike?  Late last summer, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt released a controversial Secretarial Order regarding electric mountain bikes (e-MTBs). Bernhardt’s order advised land…
  • hunting, turkies
    Activities: Bird Hunting

    Back to the Woods

    There's no better motivation than spring turkey season.  When T. S. Eliot declared April the cruelest month, he couldn’t have been living in Montana. As dawn broke that April morning, the sounds of courting snipe and…
  • birds, waterfowl, migration
    Nature

    Snowbirds

    The Freezeout Lake waterfowl migration.  Whooooshhh… the sound was deep, like a muffled explosion. I looked up into the sky’s soft palette for the source of the sound, but saw no plane above me. My eyes dropped to ground…
  • dogs, dog training, Svalinn
    Culture: Dogs

    Trust Fund

    Building a better outdoor companion.  The wall is narrow, and high: six, maybe seven feet tall. A cat might leap onto it without hesitation, but for a dog, it’s a daunting proposition: a scant four inches upon which to…
  • paragliding, bozeman
    Culture: Season Opener

    Not All Who Wonder Are Lost

    Dealing with the changing face of Bozeman. “Wisdom begins in wonder.” —Socrates I recently saw a bumper sticker that read “Make Bozeman Montana Again,” and I laughed. Bozeman will never be Montana again, I thought. And my…
  • hiking, bear trap canyon
    Activities: Hiking

    Trap Zone

    Hiking in Bear Trap Canyon.  Bear Trap Canyon is a spectacular drainage encompassing 6,000 acres in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness within the Madison Range. The Madison River, its headwaters in Yellowstone Park, rages through…
  • goose, recipe, food, hunting
    Culture: Food & Drink

    Goose-Leg Feijoada

    After a good waterfowl season, my and many other Montana hunters’ freezers brim with one of nature’s most versatile foods: the Canada goose. A goose breast is trophy piece of meat, weighing up to a kilogram, with a rich…
  • Painted Hills trail
    Culture: Arts & Culture

    Walking Your Dog

    Hey you! With the stick in your hand! That your dog? Wanna hear something? In the hour between the wolf and the dog when the earth opens the brothers howl and people die he follows me up the mountain trail You must be…
  • fish, illustration
    Culture: Arts & Culture

    Twin Territory

    The sky pledged its justice to vastness and distant mountains remained unable to reveal their rugged nature against such a force. The scene was magnified tenfold by the unbroken surrounding water reflecting everything…
  • illustrations, artwork
    Culture: People

    Sintering Imagination

    Bryan Schaeffer uses illustration to get people outdoors.Sintering is the process of bonding different particles into a solid mass by heat or pressure without melting to the point of liquefaction. Most of us in southwest…
  • climbing, bouldering
    Activities: Rock Climbing

    Dry Heaves

    Spring climbing day-trips.  You couldn't make your annual pilgrimage to Moab for the spring-break climbing extravaganza. Dreams of sunny desert sendage are floating through your mind, and you need to scratch that itch one…
  • river, conservation, natural resources
    Culture: Conservation

    Plant Me a River

    Landscaping as an act of conservation.  As individuals concerned with the continuous depletion of our natural resources, we’re often asked to conserve in ways that seem ineffective. What difference does a recycled sheet of…
  • fitbits, mountains, running, jogging, gym
    Activities: Running

    Fitbitten

    Gymnification of the outdoors.  If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? It’s an old and wonderful thought experiment: can something exist without being perceived by…
  • boat ramp, rivers, floating, fishing, whitewater
    Activities: Rafting

    Pillory: Boat-Ramp Bozos

    Don't be that guy.  When the ice melts and the rivers open up after a long winter, everyone’s itching to get on the water. First, it’s anglers and recreational floaters; then, once runoff ramps up, it’s whitewater rafters…

Gear Reviews

  • apparel, hunting, pullover, shirt
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Voormi Access NXT Pullover

    The latest gear company to set up shop in Bozeman, VOORMI has come out swinging with a swanky new shop downtown and a suite of premium garments for the upscale outdoor crowd. But make no mistake: this outfit's as earthy as…
  • sunglasses, gear
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Smith Caravan MAG

    The next step in Smith’s interchangeable-lenses progression is the Caravan MAG, a medium-coverage shade that comes stock with two sets of lenses for bright and low light. A simple hinge-and-pop system blends seamlessly into…
  • keg, growler, camping, gear
    Gear: Misc

    Review: TrailKeg Half-Gallon

    Beer: after a long day in the outdoors, nothing’s better—and TrailKeg’s Half-Gallon pressurized growler is here to keep your brew cold and carbonated wherever you take it. Lightweight and easy to use, the TrailKeg is the…
  • boots, shoes, hiking, gear
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: LOWA Renegade GTX

    No break-in required: the Renegade GTX from LOWA is comfortable and blister-free from the first wearing. These pups have great ankle and arch support, and I love the color and ease of lacing. My feet and toes stay toasty on…
  • bear spray, biking, pack, gear
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: Oveja Negra Chuckbucket

    I’ve long searched for a good place to keep my bear spray while biking. Hip belts retard deployment, sternum straps flop around, and water-bottle cages are too big. Recently I found the Chuckbucket from Oveja Negra, an all-…
  • camping, hiking, fire, stove
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: MSR PocketRocket 2

    Backpack weight matters in the spring, when you’re not quite in shape and slippery rocks threaten to send you sprawling—and the MSR PocketRocket 2 helps keep your pack light and your spirits high. This tiny burner weighs a…
  • dog, vest, gear, life vest
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: Ruffwear Float Coat

    When running rapids or initiating a young pup, Ruffwear’s Float Coat puts the mind at ease—even as it disquiets the dog, at least the first time you slip it on. But with timid youngsters, the confidence boost is invaluable…
  • water, water filter, gear, hydration
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: MSR Thru-Link

    Instead of stopping to filter water, stay on the go with the MSR Thru-Link Inline Water Filter. Taking up minimal space in your pack, it’s compatible with any hydration reservoir, so just fill your bladder in the creek and…
  • vest, apparel, running, gear
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: Nathan VaporKrar

    I’ve always struggled with efficiency and comfort on longer runs in the mountains, which naturally led to diminished motivation—enter the Nathan VaporKrar 2.0 12-Liter race vest. Lightweight, with an apparel-like fit and…
  • apparel, shorts
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Sitka Territory Shorts

    Lightweight yet durable, Sitka’s Territory Shorts kept me cozy on sunny days from April to June. Rugged hikes were more comfortable thanks to the nylon-spandex stretch around the waist. The DWR finish held up against wet…
  • camp stove, stove, burner, cookware
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: MSR WindBurner

    On a recent cold and windy day, we set up MSR’s WindBurner Stove System Combo on our truck tailgate. The anti-topple stove lit easily in the less-than-desirable conditions, and cooled down quickly for easy packing. The…
  • boot, wading, fishing, Orvis
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Orvis Pro Boot

    The Pro wading boots from Orvis live up to and surpass the high standards set by their name. While my skills are far from “pro” level, my clumsiness along southwest Montana’s river bottoms is expert, indeed. The Pros have…
  • hoody, sweatshirt, Voormi
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Voormi River Run Hoodie

    It only took one outing for the Voormi River Run Hoodie to vault to number one in my base-layer hierarchy—which is saying a lot, as over the years I’ve stockpiled a plethora of Merino wool shirts. The River Run is a…
  • stove, cooking, cooktop, stovetop
    Gear: Equipment

    Review: GSI Selkirk 460

    The Selkirk 460 portable cookstove rom GSI is compact, light, and durable, yet big enough for multi-tasking in two pans at once: the perfect base-camp stove. With the easy set-up, I spent way less time fiddling with…
  • Oboz Bridger 7" Insulated Outside Bozeman Review
    Gear: Apparel

    Review: Oboz Bridger Boot

    I don’t think my feet had ever felt a hug before I slipped on the Oboz Bridger 7" Insulated Waterproof boot. Immediately I noticed the insulation, which formed to my feet for maximum warmth. I laced the boots up above my…

Book Reviews

  • Essential Yellowstone
    Culture: Books

    Book: Essential Yellowstone

    In Essential Yellowstone: A Landscape of Memory and Wonder (Riverbend Publishing, $20), Michael Yachim imparts insight and passion about some of our last great wilderness, which serves to ignite the fervor for adventure of…
  • American Buffalo
    Culture: Books

    Book: American Buffalo

    Few people know the comprehensive history and biology of our national mammal as well Bozeman’s favorite carnivore, Steven Rinella. While on an elk hunt in Montana’s Madison Range years ago, he stumbled upon a bison skull—an…
  • Culture: Books

    Book: Trail Mix

    Wild and free—that's the creed of those seeking liberation from the soul-stifling constraints of society. While civilization tends to cookie-cut human identity into subservient models, outdoor enthusiasts find ways to stay…
Outside Bozeman Spring 2020

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