To introduce this season's Stumptown Collection, we head back outside with See See Motorcycles, catching misty mountaintop views from the PCT and defying gravity over the dusty Oregon dunes. With a retrofit two- wheel drive Rokon in tow, we easily made it Miles from Nowhere.
Wildlife biologist Jamie Granger shares her experience as a woman with a strong affinity for the outdoors.
Not long ago, leaving the pool after a roll session, with my kayak on my shoulder, I stopped to talk with an older lady in the parking lot. Seeing my kayak piqued her curiosity and she peppered me with questions about my life. After a few answers, she asked if I had always been a tomboy. The directness of her question took me by surprise- a tomboy! I thought, hadn’t she noticed my dangling earrings, fitted shirt and skinny jeans? I laughed, then retorted, that in my opinion, the fact that I enjoy spending time outdoors, doesn’t necessarily delineate me as a tomboy.
I consider myself to be a very fortunate person. I missed a shot on a nice 5 x 5 elk this year, the last week of the archery season in Colorado. There I was in the Flattops wilderness area, with a bull elk coming in to what he thought was a cow looking for romance. I missed what should have been an easy shot due to a combination of errors on my part, the main one being using the wrong pin.
This fall, we introduced the Danner High Ground, a family of men’s and women’s lightweight big game hunting boots. The athletic design, combined with key elements that lighten the boot and increase functionality, ensure you are quick on your feet no matter the hunting terrain.
Every year I await the cool mountain air and the turning leaves that signal September is here. For me, September means archery season and rutting elk. This year my good buddy Stan and I loaded up the truck and headed for our favorite elk hunting location. After driving half the night we finally arrived at the trailhead and unloaded our gear. Our chosen camping spot was over seven miles in, so we decided to hunt our way over the course of the morning.
We’ve teamed up with our friends from wings+horns to develop a limited edition version of our iconic Mountain light. Vancouver, BC based wings+horns is a brand that has been combining classic designs with innovative fabrics since 2004. They share our same love for the Pacific Northwest and quality manufacturing.
There is a saying that “every dog will have his day” and this most certainly applies to hunting. If you spend enough time in the woods, you are bound to experience an “epic” encounter at some point. A few weeks back, my number was apparently up to be thrown a bone and I was to experience one of these “epic encounters”.
We looked back at the last two decades of our most iconic hunting boot and extracted the best parts to build the fourth generation Pronghorn. An updated design, improved fit and new versatile outsole delivers a lighter, faster and superior performing boot that will live up to the legendary ‘Pronghorn’ name.
The thing that connects you to the earth is also the thing that sets us humans apart from most of the other creatures that exist on this fine planet. You see... we walk on two of our four limbs meaning that our little 18” (or under) inches of connectivity disperses the weight of our entire body. Humans evolved this way because it made hunting and gathering far more successful.
For most, the Bull Run's silhouette represents the timeless work boot; built with a strong, yet supple full-grain leather that forms to your foot, iconic stitch down construction, and an extremely comfortable Cristy outsole. However, it's the details that you can't see that set the Bull Run apart from its competitors.
The desert is one of the few places on earth that truly lives up to the romance surrounding it. It is a place of solitude, simplicity and above all else, space. And along with those romantic notions comes a tangible feeling of isolation. I spent the last four months living on the summit of Steens Mountain in southern Oregon, where I was stationed with one other biologist and assigned the task of monitoring the bird populations that breed in that desolate place.
The Vicious is not your traditional Danner. The desire for a lightweight, comfortable work boot challenged us to create something better. Throughout the design process, we used our wealth of knowledge and experience, but questioned our assumptions at every step. The Vicious is our most comfortable non-traditional work boot, and one that is built to last.
For some, Summer means sun. Not here. In Washington we might get sun sometime after the Fourth of July. Memorial Day was dark. The whole weekend was actually. The sun came out once, to set, but other than that it was shades of grey. That's the Northwest.
The canyons call as jagged cliffs cut into the skies above. The meadows quake as rolling hills run into the river’s divide. It is here where monsters emerge. Where miles consist of grueling climbs and shaky descents and success only comes in form of those prepared to tackle it. The Gila National Forest is some of the most wildly stunning terrain in North America and there is only one boot designed to conquer it.