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Spring 2015

Features

  • Missouri River, floating in MT, Outside Bozeman,
    Activities: Rafting

    Liquid Highway

    Floating the Missouri Headwaters. “Rivers are highways that move on," observed Blaise Pascal, "and bear us whither we wish to go.” If you wish to float back in time this spring, to a place little changed from the days of…
  • Golden eagles, Montana conservation, Outside Bozeman
    Culture: People

    Bird Man

    Renowned wildlife biologist Al Harmata. Born and raised in New Jersey, Al Harmata was “just a lower-middle-class kid.” He had no idea wildlife biology was a profession, so, although he always appreciated wildlife, he went…

Departments

  • trend-setting, Bozeman, Fly-fishing, Outside Bozeman magazine
    Activities: Fishing

    Ahead of the Curve

    Casting before it was cool.  I think it happened in late July, 1980. Carl drove. We were high-school buddies, pals who grew up together breathing the scent of rain on sagebrush and living for things like elk and trout and…
  • Mountain biking, trail running, montana mountain sports, outside bozeman
    Activities

    Mountain Biking vs. Trail Running

    A motion duel. It’s a rivalry that’s been simmering since cavemen first carved stone into wheels: runner vs. roller. Today, on the trails around Bozeman, this matchup is apparent in the legions of mountain bikers and trail…
  • women getting after it, men that don't ski, outside bozeman
    Culture: Humor

    Doubtful Dating

    Questioning outdoor connections.  “I went out with a new guy last week,” I mentioned to my friends Al and Ian as we enjoyed a Cold Smoke at Ale Works. They didn’t pay much attention. “Twice,” I added. Al’s ears perked up…
  • Bozeman douche bags, Outside Bozeman, humor
    Culture: Lingo & Etiquette

    Whoa, Bro

    Are you a Bozeman d-bag? Lingo can be a good thing. It can be a fun part of any culture, and a time-saving linguistic device. But it can also be super, super douchey. Here’s a smattering of Bozeman slang to avoid at all…
  • dogs, pets in montana, bozeman dog parks, pet manners, outside bozeman
    Culture: Dogs

    Home School

    How to be a good dog-owner. Nobody wants to be that guy—the one with the unruly dog that jumps on people, snatches food from their hands, and barks incessantly. Problem is, correcting this and other annoying canine behavior…
  • Cutthroat fishing in Montana, fly-fishing Montana, catch and release
    Activities: Fishing

    Release 'Em Right

    Or you won't catch them again.  Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once. —Lee Wulff, father of catch-and-release fishing It’s a noble ethic: showing respect for a fish instead of needlessly ending its life.…
  • CSA box, local farming, farm to table, outside bozeman
    Culture: Conservation

    Good Food

    Eat better this spring.  “Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?” —Henry David ThoreauUnless you’re living at poverty line, there’s no reason to fill your gullet…
  • Pipestone, biking, Montana trails, outside bozeman
    Activities: Mountain Biking

    Sonic Singletrack

    Tuning into the trails at Pipestone. “This is one of my favorite downhills at Pipestone,” John says, a huge smile betraying his guarded excitement. “Just watch out for the stream crossing at the bottom.” And like that, he’s…
  • Calamity Jane, Outside Bozeman, Icons of the West, female historic figures
    Culture: People

    Unplain Jane

    The life and times of a frontier icon.Late 1800s Montana was no place for a lady, unless of course that lady was Calamity Jane. One of the most famous women in the country at the time, and a living symbol of the frontier,…
  • Carving, skiing Montana, Spring Outside Bozeman 2015
    Activities: Backcountry Skiing

    Endless Winter

    To stretch the ski season even further—and enjoy an inimitable skiing experience “at the top of the world”—fill up the tank and head east to the Beartooth Pass. Usually cleared by Memorial Day weekend (depending on snowpack…
  • Nature

    Nemoura Stonefly

    Sling it this spring. Every spring, fishermen anxiously await the skwala stonefly hatch, largely ignoring the skwala’s smaller cousin, the nemoura. While mostly flightless and overshadowed by their famous kin, nemoura make…
  • Family time with kids, kids in spring, outside bozeman, 2015
    Culture: Family Time

    School's Out(side)

    Plugging kids back into nature. The slow dawn of spring brings the sun’s warm rays, the smell of fresh grass emerging from the snow, the sound of birds returning home—and then the scream of a bored child brings you back to…
  • Montana Wilderness Association, Outside Bozeman
    Culture: Conservation

    Workin' for the Weekend

    Caring for our trails. Ever wonder who keeps your favorite Forest Service trails clear and open for use? It’s no easy task. The Custer-Gallatin National Forest has approximately 3,118 miles of trail, 903 miles in Bozeman’s…
  • Sandhill Cranes, mating, birds, bozeman montana
    Nature

    Love Is in the Air

    Just look to the birds.If seasons inspire emotion, then spring is the season of love. Just look to the birds.Two sandhill cranes arrive in a wet meadow, which they’ve nested in for years. They face each other and with wings…
  • Activities: Road Biking

    Path Through Paradise

    The Hwy. 89 South Bike Path in Livingston will get a much-needed facelift this spring, part of a multi-phase project to eventually extend the trail all the way to Gardiner. Park County received funding from the Montana…
  • Outside Bozeman astrology zodiac
    Culture: Humor

    Prophetic Pronouncements

    Signs for the spring season.The future is annoyingly uncertain. Why can't we just know what's going to happen to us, wouldn't that make life easier? In the absence of a modern-day Nostradamus to foretell events, we give you…
  • river raft basics, floating montana rivers, outside bozeman
    Activities: Rafting

    River Ready

    A raft is an incredible piece of equipment, allowing you to comfortably travel down a river through the middle of nowhere and bring along all the amenities of home. From Class V whitewater to flatwater teeming with trout,…
  • Cutthroat in Montana NP
    Nature

    Cutthroat Comeback

    Restoring a Yellowstone native. In 1994, Yellowstone National Park officials discovered that non-native lake trout had been illegally introduced to Yellowstone Lake and were decimating the cutthroat population. A poster-…
  • biking Montana, Outside Bozeman, trails
    Culture: Season Opener

    Showing Up

    The outdoor honor code. "Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person’s money as his time.” —Horace Mann Like most Montanans, I’m not too finicky about…
  • Yellowstone National Park wildlife, bison in the park, Outside Bozeman
    Nature

    On the Prowl

    Spring comes to Old Faithful. Each year in the middle of March, the Old Faithful visitor center and all services shut down for a month as crews begin plowing the roads to prepare for the spring re-opening. For a full month…
  • indoor kayaking, bozeman swin center, outside bozeman magazine, parks and rec
    Places: Cities & Towns

    Shoulder Season

    Recreation within city limits. Spring is a time of change, transition, and new beginnings for some, but certainly a shoulder season for most of us. As we say goodbye to Nordic skiing at Lindley and operational chairlifts at…
  • survival in Montana, wilderness, outside bozeman
    Training: Skills & Safety

    Ready. Set. Survive.

    Are you ready for the worst?“It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm rather than trying to thaw yourself out later.”—Mors Kochanski, Basic Safe Travel and Boreal Survival HandbookAn underlying sense of doom…
  • Runner at sunset, health and fitness
    Training: Workouts

    Strengthening Season

    Six ways to restore optimal fitness. Every season, success comes down to how well you prepare your body and mind to withstand (and maybe exceed) the demands of your favorite outdoor activity. Each and every sport has its…
  • Spring migration, birding in Montana, Outside Bozeman
    Nature

    The Flight of Spring

    Bird migration in southwest Montana. In Montana, we’re blessed with abundant wildlife and unspoiled landscapes, allowing us to witness one of nature’s most extraordinary wonders: bird migration. When the weather warms and…
  • whitewater in montana, training on rapids, outside bozeman
    Culture: Around the Bozone

    Spring Training

    Outdoor-skill development for the season.  If you spend time in the backcountry, on the river, or anywhere in the mountains, certain skills are essential, even if you’re only going out with friends and family. While you…
  • The dump jump
    Culture: Conservation

    The Dump Jump

    From July 2013 to June 2014, the Logan landfill collected over 100,000 tons of waste. Closed since 1995, the old, unlined Story Mill landfill emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contaiminate groundwater and leak…
  • The rocks of Revenue Flats, climbing outside bozeman
    Activities: Rock Climbing

    Sunny, Low & Sticky

    Spring rock climbs. As soon as snow-cover recedes, spring climbers in the Gallatin Valley flock to our few low-elevation, sunny, south-facing crags—and none are more well known than Neat Rock, Winter Wall, and Revenue Flats…
  • Dirt road running, spring training, Outside Bozeman
    Activities: Running

    Runnin' Dirty

    Early-season, dirt-road running. Come spring, we’re all bored of circling subdivisions and itching to get on real trails again. But in Bozeman, snow lingers on the best trails till summer, and melt-out can make conditions…
  • Kayak Fishing, Montana rivers, Outside Bozeman
    Activities: Kayaking

    Get Hooked

    An introduction to kayak-fishing.From the first time I paddled out onto a glassy Montana lake in a sit-on-top fishing kayak, I was hooked. I’m willing to bet other outdoor enthusiasts will feel the same, so I’ve compiled a…
  • fish caught in moonlight
    Culture: Arts & Culture

    The Lost Fish

    Poised carefully on the rocky bank,My stance is firm and wide.The line stretches, as if to break—Oh, can I win this fight?He increases the distance between usAs I stand helpless on the shore.I know too well the consequences…
  • Illustration, colored highway
    Culture: Arts & Culture

    View from Above

    An empty bench, well-placed for the philosophic mind,Welcomes a wearied traveler, who’d forgotten the tedium of the hike.It has been years since you walked those slopes,Since you tried to look upon the roof of your home, or…
  • Culture: Food & Drink

    Surf, Turf & Sky

    Didn’t git yer elk last hunting season? Fear not; the bounty provided by Montana’s fields, forests, and rivers never ceases—you just have to know what to look for.  Fish Most waters in our area are open year-round, and…
  • pets, Outside Bozeman, Montana, dogs
    Culture: Dogs

    Call of the Mild

    Canine considerations for spring. Spring means lots of new adventures for you and your furry family members.  Here are some things to take into consideration this season.ExerciseWarmer weather means we all feel friskier. It…
  • Cutthroat, trout behavior, fish and wildlife, yellowstone national park
    Nature

    Fishing for Answers

    Trout behavior explained. Ever wonder how trout mange to stay put in the rivers and creeks of southwest Montana during spring runoff? So did I, so I recently sat down with FWP’s regional fisheries manager Travis Horton to…
  • Outside Bozeman wins award
    Culture: Humor

    O/B Wins Unprecedented Award

    Amid ordered applause and squeals of spurious excitement, Outside Bozeman magazine recently accepted the 2015 Best Outdoor Journal in Southwest Montana (BOJSM) award. This coveted accolade was both presented and received by…

  • Southside Celebration

    When the spring sun blazes overhead, the glorious trails of the Bridgers and Gallatin Range beckon. But what about our own back yard? As any kid knows, there’s plenty of fun to be had right here at home—which is why…
  • dark mountain bright night, alpine lakes, rushing rivers, spring in montana,
    Places: Rivers & Streams

    Outlook - Spring 2015

    Spring speaks promises of warmth, whispering words in the currents of rivers that rise like smoke to the big sky. The sun, ablaze with the energy of transformation, glazes sultry light on the landscape. Feral rays slip…
  • Shoulder Stabilization (start)
    Activities: Rock Climbing

    Rock Hard

    Spring exercises for climbing.  While some of us are still hoping to get in as much spring skiing as possible, the season is changing and the thought of warm days and dry rock is enticing. This is the time of year when…
  • Gardiner Arch, Yellowstone National Park, Outside Bozeman, North Enterance
    Places: Yellowstone Park

    Native Decongestant

    If you’ve driven to Yellowstone through the North Entrance, you’ve no doubt experienced the traffic congestion that afflicts the gateway community of Gardiner every summer. Over the next three years, however, major…
  • raptors, outside bozeman, conservation, education birds,
    Culture: Around the Bozone

    Higher Education

    The Raptor Center reaches out. It’s halfway through a warm day in the valley and a visually impaired red-tailed hawk named Rosa is stretching her wings in the sunlight, perched on the arm of her handler, Becky Kean,…
  • Spire, Climbing in Montana, Outside Bozeman
    Activities: Climbing

    Climb Higher

    Spire Climbing Center’s long-awaited expansion is nearly complete, and the new facility is set to open in early April. The new-and-improved climbing center will boast over 10,000 square feet of new rope climbing and…
  • Elle's Belles, Montana themed cakes, outside bozeman
    Culture: People

    Baked, Brewed, & Buzzed

    Local food-and-beverage businesses steeped in the outdoors.Bozeman is packed with burgeoning small businesses and the town’s outdoors-obsessed populace is a constant vehicle for their growth. Now, alcohol, sugar, and…
  • shooting in MT, spring shooting, silencers, Outside Bozeman
    Activities: Miscellaneous

    Silent Spring

    Suppressors aren't just for spies and assassins anymore.  A change is in the air. You may not hear it coming, but you’ll see it—at sporting-goods stores, gun shows, and shooting ranges around southwest Montana. And if our…
  • Raptors, birds of spring, birding in Montana, Outside Bozeman
    Resources: Groups & Clubs

    Flitting Around

    Digging the birds in our big sky? Check out these opportunities to spot more birds around the Bozone this spring.Sacajewea Audubon Society offers a free program open to the public every second Monday of the month, at Hope…
  • Grizzly bears, Montana wildlife, Safety in the backcountry, Outside Bozeman
    Nature

    Bearanoid

    Overcoming irrational fear.  Every spring I wrestle with a condition known as bearanoia—the extreme paranoia that bears are lying in wait around every bend in the trail, hiding behind every boulder, and lurking over every…

Gear Reviews

Additional Articles

  • Bear Spray
    Culture: Humor

    Bear-Spray Recycling

    The top 10 uses for expired canisters. 1. Replace your friend’s cologne or perfume to punish overuse. 2. Convert to a flame-throwing ice-and-snow melter. 3. Utilize as aromatherapy for difficult cases. 4. Deter guests…

Book Reviews

  • The River Why by David James Duncan
    Culture: Books

    Montana Required Reading, Part II

    Mud-season must-reads. “You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” –Ray Bradbury People and places change, and that’s not all bad. But what would be bad, disastrous in fact,…
  • Prepare for anything, wilderness, survival in Montana, Outside Bozeman
    Culture: Books

    Book: Prepare for Anything

    Though big and heavy, Tim MacWelch’s Prepare for Anything Survival Manual (WeldonOwen, $27) is one of the best items you could stuff in a survival pack—it’s got all the bases covered, from essential gear to survival skills…
Outside Bozeman Spring 2015

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