BUCK KNIVES journal
NORTH BRIDGER BISON.
Buck Knives is built on a family legacy. A legacy that extends over 4 generations of fathers and sons. That legacy wouldn’t have started without a risk by Hoyt Buck over 100 years ago. In the same spirit, Matt and Sarah Skoglund, and their two young children, have taken a chance on moving to Montana to start a bison ranch. Here’s the story of a family’s leap of faith into a new life.
“It’s incredibly important to us that we pass down to our kids a deep connection to the land and where their food comes from,”
— Matt Skoglund.
road trip to spring.
Spring, That time of year in the Rockies when Mother Nature teases us with fleeting 60-degree days, muddy trails, and the illusion that it’s time to break out the shorts and sandals. Inevitably, these will be thrown back into the close in favor of multiple puffies and snow boots. Here in Montana, Spring marks a mass exodus from our snowy mountain town to the sandstone crags and towers of the desert.
“My favorite part about this type of climbing is that everything feels like uncharted territory. Unlike climbing a line of bolts on a wall, it’s up to the climber to decide where to place protection and to navigate the obstacles accordingly—it feels like exploring a new frontier.”
— Sophie Tsairis
Danner blogs
RUBY + REVOLVER.
Her home is warm and wraps you in a blanket of pine from the wood stove. An open floor plan is illuminated by large windows, every space holding a purpose. Walking through the living room you pass a homemade bouldering wall and a hallway that reveals a sun-lit studio. Stones of all colors and sizes, strips of silver, and cut brass scatter a workbench. The modest house, built by hand from the ground up, features a workspace that flows seamlessly into the Bitterroot Mountains just outside the back door.
“When I look at the pile of reclaimed silver, I look at each piece and think of where it came from. The person who made this spoon didn’t anticipate that it would ever become something more than that.”
— Jess Neeley
ANTLERMAN.
Near the headwaters of the Missouri River in Southwest Montana is a history museum like you’ve never seen. You won’t find a miner’s headlamp, old models, or the first microwave. There’s no admission fee, no wristbands, or entry stamp. This museum – built by miles logged and sweat spilled – holds the history of the Headwaters written in bone, and Jim ‘Antlerman’ Phillips is its one-man curation team.
“My parents had a small trailer in the Gallatin Canyon. There was no TV, so I’d walk the river corridor. On my first walk, I found my first elk shed. I found another the following day and have been hooked ever since. I can’t explain it, I just love it.”
— Jim Phillips
PLEDGE TO PATIENCE.
Each year, a tight knit group of families and friends gather at Bobby Warner’s Tucker’s Ridge Farm in Meigs County, Ohio for the opening days of the youth turkey season – a restricted season allowing kids the opportunity to hunt before the general public. Mark Seacat and Bobby Warner have hunted around the world together, but this unique season is a special opportunity to focus on the kids.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Mark said. “Take all the time you need to make the perfect shot.” Townes squeezed the trigger – nothing. He tried again with the same result.