Pre-Season Prep: Train for the Hunt
At our house, preparation for hunting season takes place year-round in just about every aspect from fitness to dialing in gear. Tags in our pockets and boots on the ground in the fall is something we dream about during the...
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 had to solve when I began...
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’s hunting gear. When I...
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 worry about pitching the floorless tipi...
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, fleece, appropriate sleeping bag for the conditions, foam pad(s) for above, spoon,...
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 usually place the bullet through the animals thorax (chest), not the gut....
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 the game is. We’ll...
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 almost every one of those trips, I carry...
The Possibles Pouch (written in 1997)
Over several decades of wandering the backcountry I’ve developed a kit of “possibles”–items that can save my bacon, or just ensure comfort, wherever I roam. The term “possibles” comes from the intrepid Mountain Men of the Rocky Mountain West, who...