Outdoor Readiness

TweetRobert Henderson suggested detailed contents for an outfit for gold seeking cheecacos (greenhorns) lacking wilderness experience. The Klondike Gold Rush was in decline at the time. Gold output had diminished but gold still panned out and no doubt Dawson merchants’ warehouses were piled high with tools and sundries as demand for kit declined along with gold output. Henderson may have thrown them a bone. He wrote for the Dawson Weekly News suggesting cheecacos (pronounced, “cheechakos”) should travel with a wad…

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TweetInuit shelter construction Winter caribou hunting camp during fall migration of Porcupine caribou herd, extreme eastern Brooks Range south slope, thirty to forty miles south of Shingle Point, Yukon, Canada. October 25, 1906. The village at which we had arrived was made of houses built on the general plan of the dome tent. First they had made a hemispherical framework of pliant willows with a floor space perhaps ten feet across, and a domeshaped roof, so high that a tall…

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TweetHistoric Arctic clothing… “Father Delande advised me to buy my skins here in Coppermine, for caribou had been rare on King William Land and I might find I had no wardrobe when I reached Gjoa Haven. He sent for Krilamik, the best seamstress in the village, and told her what was wanted. Limping, grinning, smoking cigarette upon cigarette, the old Eskimo woman walked with me to the Store. There are few sights more engaging than a craftsman practicing his craft,…

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TweetNaturalist-writer John Burroughs was born on this day in 1837. Brigand steak, a favorite of Burroughs, is more an experience than a recipe. The story goes that an early scoutmaster introduced this meal experience to Burroughs and it became a favorite right away. Back in the day it was not unusual for “Outers” to carry basic grub out there. Bread, cheese, meat and root vegetables, commonly onions made a meal on trail or in camp. Waxed paper wrappings doubled as…

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TweetMarch 1, 1872. Ulysses S Grant signed into law… An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public Park. Public lands past and present are among the best manifestations of American character.

TweetGo see FREE SOLO on the big screen, now. This is a novel and compelling documentary featuring the best in climbing and the best in climbing cinematography. National Geographic: FREE SOLO, a film by Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (@jimkchin) is a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of @AlexHonnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream of free-soloing the 3,200ft El Capitan. Don’t miss #FreeSolo! Alex Honnold free-soloed El Capitan June 3, 2017 perfecting a route called Freerider in…

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TweetTechnology is the hallmark of humankind. Reliance on modern technology alone is a beautiful Siren. Resilience rises tree-like from deep roots nurtured by bright sunlight cast on primitive and historical methods. Somatic knowledge, your knowledge of movement and method trained through repetitions of primitive skills, your independent authorship of tools and fire and shelter, and further; your repetitions of progressing historical methods, your reenactment of motions and methods borrowed from our fathers; spreads wide and heavy your branches of personal…

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TweetPlanning an outdoor adventure? Don’t leave home without your Trails Triad squared away. Responsible planning for all outdoor adventures begins with the Trails Triad. The Trails Triad is your three-legged stool providing a firm foundation for outdoor adventure planning and execution. Take away any of these essential legs and you launch your outings on unstable footings. The social media–gear marketplace nexus centers on great gear at the expense of adequate training and experience. Great gear is a great start but…

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