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Greatheart Mesa, Zion National Park

Leaving Landmannalaugar As was often the case, Oolav was angry. He was the high priest of the elves living around Landmannalaugar in the heart of the Icelandic backcountry, and he was tired of all the human activity in the area. He had elves redirect rivers across the road, but the humans kept coming in buses and trucks big enough to manage the crossings. They came to bathe in the elves hot springs, they came to hike the Laugavegur Trail through elfen lands and to sleep in hu

Runners heading south down the shoulder of Naya-Nuki Early morning, August 9, 2025. Runners are making final preparations for the 40th running of the Ed Anacker Bridger Ridge Run put on by the Big Sky Wind Drinkers: Jonah is bouncing around holding his privates. “Man I miss the old days. Few runners, no lines at the John.” The young guy in front of him turns around. “Would you like that Jonah? Would you like to go back to the old days?” “Uh huh.” Jonah says as he continues bo

Blaze Mountain and Spanish Peak I have done at least a dozen backpacking and trail running trips into the Spanish Peaks over the years—not counting hikes to Lava Lake—but I have never made it all the way into Spanish Lakes. I can count five times that I’ve been in the South Fork drainage of Spanish Creek, I even turned onto Spanish Lakes Trail in the summer of 1980, but I didn’t make it all the way to the lakes. The plan on that trip was for my buddy Huk and I to spend the f

West ridge of Hyalite Canyon in early morning light The peak of summer is slow in coming and doesn’t last long in the Montana high country. Snow lingers into July: this makes for stunning contrasts with the fresh greens and flowers in the forests and fields below, but it makes high country travel difficult. The long summer days and warming temperatures slowly melt the snow and the high country finally fully opens. It’s time to form an action plan for those adventures we have

I first ran the Devil’s Backbone Relay, an event put on by the Big Sky Wind Drinkers, in July 2021. I ran it north to south, from Hyalite trailhead along the Gallatin Crest to Windy Pass Cabin and then onto Portal Creek trailhead. At the pre-run meeting the evening before, the run director told us about a directional arrow and posts on the course. At the time, I envisioned paint stirrers stuck in the ground, possibly with plastic pink ribbons tied at the top. I found tall woo

Outside Bozeman, Summer 2025. This story works through two Granite Peak attempts 40 years apart. There are two versions of this story on...

Outside Bozeman Summer 2025. I like how the story came out. As is often the case, their pushing me to make edits helps bring the story...

Pre-race instructions In a race like Old Gabe, put on by the Big Sky Wind Drinkers in mid-June each year, I have to believe that our psychological ids are in control. Running an Old Gabe route satisfies cravings that few who aren't out there can understand. You have two choices, 30K or 55K—pick your level of insanity. The start for both routes is at 6 AM and they trek 9.5 miles from the Middle Cottonwood Trailhead over Saddle Pass to the Truman Gulch Trailhead, then turn a

Atop Baldy with Forest This is more introspective and melancholier than what I usually write; just mixing it up a bit. I never wanted to grow old. It’s not that I wanted to die young, it’s more that, like probably everyone else, I’ve wanted to stay forever young. I’ve been trying. For as much of my life as has been possible, I’ve been outside exercising, I’ve been eating right, and I’ve been conscious of my health more generally. Lately when I’m out trail running, I regul

Mount Baldy looms left of center in the background The Baldy Blitz, has a 30ish-year history. The Blitz is a race up and back down Mount Baldy in the Bridger Range in mid-May each year. It was started by a group of climbers. Timing was basic the way timing was not too many years ago. The “Race Director” would put his watch around the antennae of his car, and a clipboard on the hood. He’d yell go to the 10 or so people that had gathered; he’d join the race to the top of B

Mid-March 2025: There are places on the planet that have a mythical feel to each of us; which places have that feel are different for you...

Kiener's Route on Longs Peak in red; Green dot is our perch: picture courtesy of Summit Post September 2nd, 2010: It was getting late. Our progress up Kiener’s Route on Longs Peak, in Rocky Mountain National Park, had been hampered much of the day by difficult climbing and my inexperience. Hours earlier when we were exiting Lamb’s Slide, a steep icy couloir that we climbed for about 1000 feet, Jeremy sensed that we weren’t going to make it, and he had started looking for a

February, in Bozeman, is my favorite time of winter. It is cold; the chill is inescapable. The world is white; the land is buried;...

Outside Bozeman Spring 2025. The title at the top is my name for the article. The article, as it appears in Outside Bozeman, has a...

This is an old story, both because it took place more than 40 years ago and because I wrote it more than 20 years ago. It's also the second part of a story. The first, I put up more than a year ago. It is "Sunburn: Getting Huk out of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness." I include a link to it directly below. But I do recognize that each of these stories are longer than my typical stories, so, if you are only interested in reading the second half, the first half can be sum

Outside Bozeman Winter 2024-25. They did a good job editing my article. The AI generated art is spectacular. They got everything...

Gallatin Peak from Summit Lake October 12, 2024: We grunted our way up to the high ridge on Gallatin Peak. It was me, my son-in-law, Chris, and his dog, Forest. When we got to the ridge, it became clear that there was no direct route to get Forest to the peak. It was slabby, sketchy class 4 climbing, beyond the gripping ability of Forest’s claws. We found a space between the slabs that enabled us to move him a little higher, but then the ridge became impassible for him.

“Two beers please Jake,” Ella said to the bartender while holding up two fingers to make her order clear in case he couldn’t quite hear...

The current was strong; I held onto the clothesline that had been strung across the river to aid our crossings. The river got deeper...

Mt Brown lookout Ed and I stepped off the trail to let the mountain goat pass by. We were high up on Mount Brown in Glacier National...