-
Jewel Basin Hawk Watch 2023
As summer wanes in later August, my fellow bird nerds and I get excited for an annual event, raptor migration. Unlike many bird species that migrate at night, raptors such as hawks, eagles, and falcons, choose the day time along mountain ridges where they can ride currents and updrafts. This saves valuable energy as they…
-
What’s in our Day Hiking Backpacks (2023 Edition)
When I first got interested in hiking and backpacking after moving back to Montana, I opened up Backpacker Magazine and started creating a list of items I needed to purchase to explore the great outdoors. Unfortunately, I ended up with boots that gave me blisters and hurt my feet, a tent that was too heavy,…
-
Climbing Clements Mountain
Every once in awhile I like (love) to take off my camera and binoculars and trade it for the lightest running pack I have. On Sunday, Kristen and I lightly loaded up our running packs and headed for the hills. We arrived up at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park along with a string of…
-
Bridalveil Fall
Waterfalls can vary wildly from month to month, and even season to season. Yosemite National Park is home to a host of incredible waterfalls and Bridalveil Fall is part of this collection of wonders. I went to Yosemite National Park in June of 2015 to a waterfall that was the lightest of veils, then again…
-
A Few Of My Favorite (Hiking) Things
Every year I log hundreds of miles on the trail. Through those miles, some gear rises to the top that I end up absolutely loving. Here are a few of them… There are a lot of sites/bloggers out there who do extensive reviews of products. They’ll list the “Top 10 day packs” and review them,…
-
Mt. Reynolds and Dragon’s Tail
Mt. Reynolds in Glacier National Park stands prominently above Logan Pass. A ridgeline extends to the south forming another wonderful summit called Dragon’s Tail. While Dragon’s Tail isn’t officially recognized as a high point by the USGS, it is by the Glacier Mountaineering Society. For that reason, and just because it’s there and amazing, we…
-
Sky Rim Trail via Specimen Creek
Specimen Creek, one of the larger creeks in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park, is a great way to access the incredible Sky Rim Trail. Pair it with the Black Butte Trail and you have an epic day hike with petrified trees, meadows, forest, a sketchy traverse, views, and a great chance to see…
-
Back to Yellowstone
I’m about ready to head south again. As smoke from innumerable fires both inside and out of Glacier fill the skies, I’m thankful that I’m spending September in Yellowstone National Park. My blogging has slowed as I’ve doubled down on my hiking, but that will bring hiking blogs all throughout the offseason. Yellowstone is a…
-
Hiking with the Panasonic FZ1000
After hiking for miles and miles with my DSLR setup of a Canon 7D, 70-200mm 2.8L, 2X Extender, and Tokina 11-17mm, I needed something else that took great photos and video, wasn’t heavy, and didn’t take up a lot of space. I’ve been very pleased with the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. With a 1″ sensor,…
-
Northern Hawk Owl on Camas Road
The wind blew all night as a new system rolled into town. The sun arose to a blue winter sky and crisp air. I looked towards the mountains and knew I must head into Glacier before working. I grabbed my camera and drove up with no particular destination in mind. After wandering around in my…
