Recent content by Steve in Idaho

Very similar to my setup for the steeps. In fact, I have Switchbacks mounted on two different pairs of skis. The cool kids scoff, but old school works for me.

I avoid it. But I don't get wrapped around the axle over a wrapper being burned from time to time. I'm not sure putting it in a landfill is better in the long run, but I'll admit that it's a very small part of that too. Like Mem, I feel like there's a host of bigger problems to dwell on.

Good call on the gold graphics!

One of my favorite things is a moonlight paddle on The Meanders (if you know, you know). Bats, beavers, roosting eagles, and the occasional moose - but none of the daytime crowd.

What happens when one of these biophobia people gets thrown together with a furry?

Kind of a hard question for me to answer definitively. My family had no connection with boats of any kind. When I was about ten, I went to a summer kid's camp at a lake in the Sierras outside of Grass Valley. There was a fleet of aluminum canoes there, which we all were going to get some...

Well I already mentioned my Bowron Lakes trip. Everything else is tentative and depending on other obligations. But there are a few things I'm considering. More time in Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming, which might include the upper Green, the Yellowstone, or the south fork of the Snake. High...

Yeah, I fell for it too. Anyway... happy New Year! Waiting for it to either stop raining or start snowing. Meanwhile I'm sitting by the fire.

I was gonna ask if it comes with a magnifying glass. :)

Look at 1982/1983. What a winter that was! I long for another.

It's also not always about vast wilderness. Or even wilderness by any definition. I find solitude on the local lakes and rivers, simply by taking my canoe into the places others can't or won't go - which is easy, considering the limitations of motors and even double blades. It's part of what is...

I have loved maps ever since I could read. All adventure planning begins with maps. My professional career relied heavily on maps. I don't understand people who can't or won't read maps. My favorites are USGS survey maps, of which I have a huge collection - many with notations from observation...

For myself? Nothing. For my son who lives in the frozen wasteland - Kahtoola Microspikes. Fantastic gear, if you have the need.

With the right people, a small group is nice. But those people are rarely available. I'm so used to doing my adventures alone that I expect it. And frankly I prefer it most of the time because I can choose the direction and the pace without disappointing anyone.

I never have figured out how to use snotel in a meaningful way. I rely heavily on these two sites... https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/ https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/select.html For the Owyhees though, I mostly just look out to the southwest of me and listen to the locals ;)