Journal

A Little Kifaru History (Written in 1997)

As a foot soldier in the hunting fields, I’ve been carrying store-bought “hunting packs” for over 40 years. Not liking what was available to purchase, I started making my own. The first problem I ...

Flexible Hunting (written in 1997)

I like things flexible. Versatile. Like my choice of rifles: keep them light and give them enough caliber to handle any situation you might encounter in the area you’re in. And so on, with all one...

4 Season Camping (Written in 1998)

May as well start with summer. Ah, summer. A time of mid-day warmth and mosquitoes in the high country. You’ll probably want to open both nylon doors and close the mosquito netting doors. Don’t...

Backpack Check List (Written in 1999)

Here is my old checklist: Backpack, boots, extra sox, extra underwear, bandana, rain/snow parka, toiletries (TP, handiwipes, tooth stuff, any routine medication), first aid kit, hat and gloves,...

Camp Cooking of Small Game (Written in 1998)

This discussion will focus on general principles to ensure toothsome meat, especially small game, collected and prepared in the backcountry. #1–try for center of mass hits.  This will usuall...

Getting Further Back (Written in 1997)

Good afternoon. Thanks for coming. I’ll set the tone for this talk by giving you a subtitle: “Making Meat on Your Own Two Feet”. I’m going to talk mostly about backpacking up and in to where t...

Meditations on Hunting Backpacks (Written in 1998)

As the founder, chief designer and former owner of Mountainsmith, one of the world’s best known manufacturers of technical backpacks, I spend about 200 days a year camped out testing designs. On a...

Shelter From the Storm

Greetings and Happy New Year to my colleagues and readers here on the Blog  My freezers are packed with moose and deer and elk—the results of a long and plentiful autumn of hunting and wandering m...

Patrick's Possibles Pouch

I'm finally getting around to revising my twenty year old essay on what constitutes a rambling man’s Possibles Pouch,,,,what it is, and what goes into it,  The concept is to store close at hand ev...

Most Significant Improvements To Backpacking In The Last Sixty Years

I looked at my Favorite Designs List, above, and had to admit that Lists are fun! So let's make some more!  In over sixty years of backcountry rambling I've used an ever-evolving array of equipment...