7 Bikes for 7 Wonders is the latest campaign for Travel Oregon. To celebrate the seven wonders of Oregon, Travel Oregon connected with seven bike builders to create a one-of-a-kind bike inspired by the corresponding wonder. Each of the seven weeks of the campaign, a new bike is unveiled, then hidden the following Saturday for anyone to find and keep. A video introducing the bike is … Continue reading 7 Bikes for 7 Wonders
If there were an award show recognizing the most beautiful places in the world to fish, Rainy Lake would be a nominee. This place is heaven. A high alpine lake deep in the North Cascades. You can find it on the Pacific Crest Trail, just east of North Cascades National Park. The water is clear and blue from glacial melting. Trees line the eastern shore, … Continue reading Rainy Lake
Rivers are vital to nature. If a river is healthy, so is the surrounding natural area. If a river is unhealthy–i.e. dammed up–the surrounding natural area is negatively affected. This begs the question: Why clog a healthy river? And it is a question more and more people are asking. Patagonia released DamNation, a documentary about removing deadbeat dams–dams that were once built for hydroelectric power, … Continue reading Free The Snake.
The North Shore of Minnesota is one of my favorite places on the planet. How much do I love this place? AP Style says I shouldn’t capitalize it as a place, but I love the North Shore so much that I capitalize it anyways. That’s fucking love. We make a trip up from Minneapolis every few months to camp or visit Duluth. The fly fishing … Continue reading North Shore Sending Off
Sometimes you read a quote and it just hits you. The words contain a self realization you had yet to discover. Like the secret of life was just handed to you. That’s what this video did to me. But instead of being the secret of life, this is the secret to life. If Jed can’t inspire you to change direction of your life, it’s already too late … Continue reading Lessons Learned While Biking from Oregon to Argentina
It’s great to write those words. Brookies for days. Most Driftless rivers, where I usually fish, hold mainly browns. Some have a few rainbows. Select pools in select rivers hold brookies. My latest trip to northern Minnesota was a trip away from my usual rivers. It reminded me why I love fly fishing so much. Not like I’d forgotten, though. The Baptism River flows through … Continue reading Brookies For Days
The state park often takes a back seat to the national park. Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc. are all regarded as the ultimate places to experience nature. While none can/should argue the unique beauty of the national park, none can/should argue the equally unique beauty of the state park. These are places that don’t require a drive across the country to visit. Only have two days … Continue reading Minnesota State Parks Poster
The 30 miles each way from my place in south Minneapolis to Carver Park Reserve in Victoria, Minn. is almost entirely on bicycle trails. The exceptions being the two miles from the house to the Greenway and a couple blocks in downtown Hopkins. This makes Carver Park Reserve a popular destination for bike campers. We loaded up our bikes with our gear the night before. … Continue reading Carver Park S24O
The barrier of entry for the inexperienced outdoorsman to spend time in nature is too high. Where do I go? What gear do I need? How much gear should I bring? Do I need to make a reservation? Who do I call? What should I do if my main plan falls through and I’m stuck in the woods with no place to stay? The good … Continue reading Hipcamp Adds Minnesota
When I told Audra I wanted to bike the 31 miles from Park Rapids to Walker and back, she told me I was nuts. We biked from Park Rapids to Akeley and back the previous year. It was a much shorter route, though we picked a hot, windy day for the ride. By the halfway point, we hated it. On that ride, I said I wanted … Continue reading Park Rapids to Walker to Park Rapids
Birch & Flannel 