Posts
Almost as predictably as the leaves turning color and the days getting shorter, Amanda and I normally reach a marital low point each fall. Amanda feels lonely and ignored for most of the summer while I’m physically gone or emotionally preoccupied with guided and private trips. And when I return, I crave personal time so…
Winter arrived early on the Colorado Front Range, pushing me out to the gravel multi-use trails and quiet county roads about a month earlier than usual. I wasn’t prepared for it: my inventory of road-worthy shoes consisted of just one pair of Hoka One One Clifton 5 (my review) with nearly 600 miles on them.…
Since 2014 I’ve asked clients to complete an online trip evaluation at the conclusion of their trip. It gathers feedback about their satisfaction, goals, guides, preparedness, location, physical difficulty, and meals. The results have helped me understand what we do best and how we could further improve, and to ensure that the quality of their…
Last month I left the Republic for a fun afternoon with the Gear Junkie crew in Denver. Before recording a 45-minute podcast interview, they sat me down for 21 quick questions.
Five years ago I bought the second-generation Samsung Chromebook 2 for business travel. Versus my primary machine — at the time, a conventional Windows laptop — the Chromebook was: Half the size and weight, Quieter and cooler, Faster at startup (8 seconds!), and Less expensive to replace if it was damaged or stolen. It proved…
This is a one-stop resource to help you learn to backpack, or backpack better. It: Establishes a philosophical context; Advises on gear, supplies, skills, fitness, and locations; and, Links to useful resources and additional reading. For such a comprehensive primer, it’s length is very manageable. It’s intentionally succinct — it’s high signal, low noise. I wish…
For the 2020 guiding season I plan to hire at least one additional backpacking guide, and possibly two or three. Interested in joining our team? Read on. Position description The work will be short-term and seasonal. It should be considered a supplement to steadier full-time work, an additional contract in a larger freelance portfolio, or…
The original Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor backpack has performed and sold well since it was released three years ago. So Sierra Designs recently expanded the Flex Capacitor series with two new editions, while also updating the original. I was involved with the design and launch of the original Flex Capacitor. But I haven’t been affiliated…
For two seasons Noel, Steve, and I had hunted GMU 12, a productive — and popular — unit in northwestern Colorado. We had some success, tagging a young bull in 2017 and having an almost successful timber sneak last year, but had made several realizations about the location: To reliably find elk, we had to…
For the first time since 2013, this year I didn’t race and I won’t log at least 3,000 miles. Nagging injuries, lack of race entry luck, and a growing guiding program all played a role, as did an absence of desire — whatever I’d been running towards in my mid-30’s, I felt like I’d reached…