Summer 2014

Patience may just lead to perfection. When I first observed spey casting, it looked like a man waving in surrender, or perhaps a horsetail swatting flies off its ass. There is nothing graceful about either image. As any…

Multipitch alpine climbing in Beehive Basin.Exit the tram atop Lone Peak, let the view wrap your mind with 360-degree exposure—the wild Montana landscape, its dramatic rise and fall of range and valley—and 99% of the time,…

Biking Bozeman's hidden trails. Mud spun off the tires and splattered my legs as I cycled through another pedal-stroke. The sun dipped low on the horizon, turning the skyline orange—the kind of evening that makes you want…

How wilderness flows through time. There is much I don’t know about the things that have shaped me, but I do know the moment when my passion for wild places was lit. I was 11 years old. My schoolteacher parents had summers…

A solo adventure to Shoshone Lake After an unusually bad week working at one of Yellowstone Park’s restaurants, I needed an escape to the backcountry. I’d been fishing frequently at Lewis Lake, but now, by the middle of…

Mountain biking Stone Creek.In the scenic Bangtail Range north of Bozeman lies the Stone Creek trail—an unbeatable out-and-back that tests riders’ endurance and switchback skills, both on the ascent and descent. The climb…

Wild berries around Bozeman suitable for human consumption. So there you are, walking down the trail, and you see a plump, juicy berry dangling among the shrubbery. Should you eat it? Maybe, maybe not – some berries are…

The skinny on grass-fed beef To make the perfect grass-fed beef burger, you need three things: an understanding of grass-fed beef, an instant-read thermometer, and some quality ground grass-fed beef. Grass-fed beef is a…

A close encounter in Yellowstone Park. I left Yellowstone’s Gneiss Creek trailhead on a cool, late-summer afternoon. After hiking through dense willows, I emerged into a deep, grassy meadow tinted a beautiful golden-brown…

Canoe camping made easy. As middle age shrinks in the rearview mirror, one becomes somewhat less enamored with dragging luggage over rugged Rocky Mountain ridges. If you’re over backpacking and still want to camp, you can…

This summer's hottest fly. Most trout guides agree: despite countless nights at the fly-tying vice, that innovative next-level fly is a rarity, as elusive as a 28-inch brown. But every once in a while, the magic happens.…

Livingston's in-town trailsFrom almost anywhere in Livingston, you can enjoy stunning views of the Crazy Mountains, the Absaroka Range, or the Gallatin Range. But you don’t have to leave town to get on a trail. Just a few…

What you need to know about altitude sickness.Altitude sickness, also known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), is caused by lack of oxygen at higher elevations. While AMS doesn’t conjure up as much fear as a grizzly…

Were the good ol' days really that great? After years of lopsided matchups, with Bozeman trouncing one seemingly worthy adversary after another, it’s become clear that most other places simply don’t compare. So after a…

Bozeman Parks and Recreation updateSummers are sweet in Bozeman, but they’re relatively short, and with so many amazing activities to take part in (it’s a tough life) you may feel you need a small fortune to complete them…

Where to get racy this summerWith mud season behind us, it’s time to get outside and enjoy the thousands of trail miles and vertical feet that Montana has to offer. Drop those weights, get away from the sweaty guy on the…

The effort makes the catchAnyone who spends time during summer and fall below Holter Lake on the Missouri becomes intimately familiar with one of the most prolific hatches on the storied water: not baetis or caddis, but…

Uncovered in the high country. It was a long time ago. I was young, independent, and full of myself. Having grown up an hour north of Yellowstone Park, I was used to the great outdoors. Our ranch buildings were mere steps…

Turning around is never easy. Sheep Lake is a deep body of crystal-clear water, maybe 20 acres in size. It sits in a glacial cirque at an altitude of just over 9,000 feet near the south end of the Madison range, not far…

A weekend of outdoor adventure in Helena.A short drive from Bozeman is Montana’s state capitol, Helena—a perfect weekend destination for mountain biking, geocaching, hiking, trail running, fishing, water sports, and a…

Three days in western Montana. Some places are just made for playing, such as western Montana. Within its 22,000 square miles of wild terrain are blue-ribbon trout rivers, colorful cliffs, wide valleys, thousands of miles…

An argument for dry-fly fishing When I was young and learning to fly fish with my ever-patient grandfather, I asked him why we had to fly fish. He had been kind until then, but the thread was wearing thin and he hesitated…

The tangled web of the whitebark pine. After countless water breaks and switchbacks, you finally approach timberline. Before entering a world of ankle-eating scree, you’re greeted with one last chance for shade. Gnarled by…

West Yellowstone in a day. The quirky, tourist-meets-nature town of West Yellowstone is just a scenic 90-minute drive from Bozeman. Best known as the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the town itself is an…

Shooting ain't just for the boys.When I was growing up, the boys in high school would return victoriously from sighting in their guns and I would hear things like, “308 BR549 Roger 4 Clicks MRAD Over.” I had no idea what…

Running with your cat. Much has been said about the relationship between man and dog, but a man and his cat? More glowing prose has appeared above a truck-stop urinal. It’s true that cats lack many of the qualities that…

Keeping your pets safe this seasonSummer is finally here, and with it comes more time outdoors for us and our four-legged friends. Veterinarians see more patients with activity-induced injuries this season than any other.…

The other, other white meat Unfortunately, we live in a time where a fat guy eating deep-fried swine-gut in the Caribbean is considered entertainment. I’m serious here—there are a half-dozen programs on various networks…

Learning to take it easyLast summer, my kids and I spent four or five days by the Yellowstone River. I watched them play for hours as the river cruised by.Swallows skimmed the water, darting from nests in nearby cliffs.…

A "courageous" case of mistaken identity I am probably the only person on Earth who can tell a story about smacking a wolf, and still manage to come across as soft. Pine Creek Lake and Jewel Lake, resting high in the…

Chiropractic care for outdoor athletesThanks to warm weather and long daylight hours, we are are at the peak of our physical activity during summer. While that’s an inarguably good thing, this increased activity can cause…

Physical activity has many benefits.It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine, and while there’s no doubt that a bit of mirth can be good for the soul, it won’t do much to solve the health problems plaguing 21st-…

Bozeman Ranger District dispatch. In Bozeman, public lands are right outside your back door in any given direction—they’re one of the reasons we love living here. The Bozeman Ranger District alone has over 900 miles of…

Fishing through the storm.  As our Jeep bounces down the winding dirt road, I peer at the massive thunderheads rolling in above us. The sky is dark and the air thick as pudding. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I yell…

Kayaking destinations for beginnersEven if you’ve already rowed a raft, cast a line, or floated a tube down a southwest Montana river, there’s another exciting option for anyone wanting to try something new: kayaking. This…

The ups & downs of Chestnut Mountain.   For the last three summers, I’ve been running Chestnut Mountain once a week as part of my training regimen. It’s one of my favorite runs, but only after the first 55 minutes—after…

Pro tips for boat trips I spend winter evenings thumbing through catalogs and browsing the interweb looking for the perfect accessory to outfit my precious boat. I love my boat. I mean I really LOVE my boat. The affection…

The red fox's feline traits explainedA red fox is not actually part cat, although they do possess various traits that can make people think otherwise. One of three wild canine species in southwest Montana, this highly-…

A versatile trout-tricker.  Near the small town of Dillon lies one of the most productive tailwaters in the great state of Montana: the Beaverhead River. The Beaverhead is famous for its large trout and their sly,…

Understanding Montana's stream-access law All surface waters that are capable of recreational use may be so used without regard to the ownership of the land underlying the waters. In January, the Montana Supreme Court…

Redefining nature’s hierarchy I live in a remote mountain cabin at the end of a dirt road in a thick pine forest. It’s slightly more accessible than North Korea and looks as if it was built by Habitat for Humanity on a…

Bozeman summer astrology Aries: March 20 to April 20 An increased level of physical and mental energy will help you send that climbing project or epic mountain bike ride. Matters involving family or home may fall to the…

Bowled Over:In March, a 259-acre property just north of Bridger Bowl changed hands from California-based Bridger Canyon Partners to the Jackson Financial Group, a Montana LLC established in April 2014 whose principal…

Fountain of YouthDespite the arrival of Medicare cards, more gray hair, and the consternation of our friends, we thought we had trained pretty well for our fourth trip to the Bozone. Fixated on goals, we did manage to…

The grass is always greener, be it a fence or a cloudy day. We wait for the snow to fall or the rain to stop, the trails to dry or the rivers to flow.But summer—summer is the other side of the fence. Where everything is…

It’s not always easy to tell when summer begins.In my experience, there are two ways to accept summer: adopt early or cling to spring.Early adopters are fueled by anticipation; they’re tubing the Madison on the first 65-…

Sandhill cranes pull up their stockings, tie down their nests; an upset storm creeps in, smokes a cigar down the crack of Saddle Peak, rests its legs over Sacajawea, puff puffs a bit of rain and hail before coughing up some…

Slate, like faces staring into the sun cold from the internalness of stone lying open and exposed waiting to be warmed Clinging for its life a flower ties a bond with its savior and plants itself in a crack sheltered and…

I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for in a new cookset for my raft—it had to be compact, light, and it needed components to dish up meals for four people. The Pinnacle Camper integrated cooking and eating…

When the peaks and alpine lakes call, pick up the Tibet GTX Hi from Lowa and head to the high country. With its 9-inch height, this burly backpacking boot protects your feet from impact and keeps your ankles from rolling…

There’s nothing better than a warm shower after a day of mountain biking or climbing, but when you’re camping out of your car, there are few opportunities to get clean. Nemo’s Helio pressure shower is the answer. Simply…

After a “slight mishap” dumped my friend and me into the East Gallatin while canoeing spring runoff, I found myself wet, cold, hatless, and—effin shit!—my expensive sunglasses were sacrificed to the river gods as well.…

Montanans need gear that will keep them dry and warm through foggy morning excursions and sudden afternoon downpours—and the Helly Hansen Loke jacket is ready for Montana’s schizophrenic weather. The Loke is windproof and…

I have a new fishing partner; I’ll call him Eddie. He doesn’t drink my beer or eat my food. Hell, he doesn’t even try to catch fish, but he does provide protection. Protection from summer heat. Protection from sunburn.…

Ankle injuries are annoyingly common for trail runners, so keep these tips in mind to ensure your ankles stay injury-free.Stretch and strengthen. 
Toe raises, tracing the alphabet with your foot, and resistance-band…

Annual average grizzly-inflicted injuries in the backcountry: 1Number of snake species in Montana: 10Venomous snakes species in Montana: 1Reported snakebites in Montana each year: 5-6Number of deaths by snakebite in Montana…

Trail running—especially in mountainous terrain—is more complicated and challenging than monotonous pavement pounding. If you’re transitioning from roads to trails, don’t expect to run at 100% right away. You’ll need more…

Like most fishermen, I happen to enjoy a frosty barley pop while engaging in my favorite pastime. However, I was recently informed that my penchant for domestic suds is somewhat pedestrian. So I did what any man would do: I…

Few animals elicit more awe and debate than bison. In American Plains Bison: Rewilding an Icon (Sweetgrass Books, $20), retired professor of wildlife biology James A. Bailey draws on this unique species' inspiring…

Once thought extinct, and still one of North America’s rarest mammals, the black-footed ferret exemplifies the ecological, social, and political challenges of conservation in the West. David Jachowski’s Wild Again: The…

International travel is a dream of many, but often shelved for being too expensive or difficult to work into an already hectic life. Jackie Laulainen’s The Aspiring Traveler’s Handbook: A Preparation Guide to International…