After winning the Mystery Ranch 6500 in the BAYED contest on On Your Own Adventures Forum – Hunt Talk, I’ve been trying to give this pack the workout it deserves.

Immediately, this pack became my go-to pack while shed hunting and bear hunting in the spring and carrying the spotting scope and other goodies.

Over the summer I took it everywhere with me.  The 6500 carried my gear deep into trail-less areas several times, on quests for cutthroat and golden trout.

Trying to get away from the crowds while paddle-fishing on the Missouri, I got a chance to haul out my first critter for the pack.

The pack even got to come to work with me a few times. Working on the Charles M. Russell NWR, I helped dig out a 75 million year old Elasmosaur fossil.  I packed in bags of plaster and five gallon water jugs for the crew using the NICE Frame and Load Sling.  I even packed out the skull of the beast encased in rock and plaster. It was the heaviest load I’ve ever carried.  The pack did great!

August through November the pack never went more than a few of days without getting sweat on it.  From bowhunting antelope in the breaks to chasing elk up high in the Gallatin Range, the pack came with.  After having many close calls during archery season, I ended up empty handed for elk with a bow.

I was, however, able to harvest a six-point bull as soon as rifle season began.  The bull came out pretty easy with the NICE Frame and Load Sling.  Help from my friends was an added benefit!

Although my buck from this year didn’t require packing, the 6500 was still there carrying my gear on our float trip in which we accessed land-locked public land via river.

Throughout the year, the NICE 6500 accompanied me on many adventures.  It’s the best pack I’ve ever used.  I am planning to add more MR’s to my collection for day hunting and skiing as soon as funds allow.

Thanks Mystery Ranch Backpacks and On Your Own Adventures for the amazing pack!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 Freeskiing World Tour in Revelostoke!  Here are a few shots from our very own Meg Haywood Sullivan. Thanks again Meg.  For full coverage, follow this link:

http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/story/_/id/7429572/kye-petersen-angel-collinson-win-revelstoke-freeskiing-world-tour&Asf

The next stop on the tour travels to our neck of the woods.  Good luck to everyone at round 4 of the tour, at Moonlight Basin, Montana.

Poppin new Saddle Peak colors..

Fresh

Finally, somewhere has snow this winter...

“You going to be able to make it to The Hills this year?”

That’s what I asked Sam as soon as my unsuccessful bow season ended. Sam is my hunting partner of six years, but he’s never around these days, busy training for the 2012 Paralympics’ Cycling events, while traveling the country as a motivational speaker.

“The Hills” is our annual hunting trip, and since Sam grew up hunting, he should know that tradition is everything.

He could only squeeze one long weekend out of rifle season, and it was all we needed to pack up the Sprinter and head north. We drove five hours and talked about where we might find some big Mulies, knowing that in late October, the deer hold high, waiting ’til mid November to head down to the wheat fields to rut. We settled on putting our MR packs, and our legs, to the test and hauled up to a high ridge line where we could set up camp.

The weatherman called for 50 degrees and calm and was wrong as usual. What he meant was 30 degrees with 70-mile-an-hour gusts – not necessarily the conditions you want when camping on a ridge. But we stuck it out like most Montanans would.

Our morning hunts were focused “grocery shopping” with our Mule Deer B tags, while afternoons and evenings were geared up for getting into the big boys. Our MR packs worked great for hauling our gear during the four days we spent hunting and stalking. They were, in all honesty, the most comfortable packs either of us have ever worn.

I only wish I could tell you first hand how great they are at packing out a mule deer.

But the vivid dreams of harvesting record-setting big game were met with the reality that the animals didn’t get our memo, “We only have FOUR DAYS in the field this season – so you better show up!”

Regardless, Sam and I share similar sentiments. It never is about how big of an animal you harvest – but who you’re hunting with. It’s about the lessons learned in the field, and stories shared around camp.

Sam has been traveling to The Hills with his father since he was 12, and I pray that Sam and I can continue that legacy with our own sons. They’ll get to experience for themselves what Sam and I  see every year: mountains sprouting out of nothing, wild places, and the opportunity to explore them in the way the one who created them intended.

Who knows what we’ll get to fill our Mystery Ranch packs with next year. I’ll guarantee you I’ll be dreaming about it for the next 11 months.  Sam, on the other hand, he’ll be dreaming about “Gold in 2012.”

What: The 13th Annual Powder Blast

Where: The Emerson Center for Arts and Culture

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, October 28

Why: Fabulous Mexican fare, Lone Peak brewskies and live music by The Sierra Padres – all to raise some dough for the Friends of Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Why the heck not?

Tickets: Get ‘em at Northern Lights Trading Company, Timber Trails in Livingston, Grizzly Outfitters in Big Sky, or right here.

Cost: $30 per person.

We’re stoked to be a major sponsor of this event. Thanks Friends of the Avalanche Center!

What: After 2 years of filming, Sweetgrass Productions brings their ski epic, ‘Solitaire,’ to Bozeman.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 11

Where: Emerson, 111 South Grand Ave.

Why: See for yourself…

Click here to view the embedded video.

How: Tickets. $10 in advance, $12 day of. Available at Northern Lights Trading Company or buy online here.

On the evening of September 23, all that success sparked against a bit of luck, which sent my arrow flying. And so I harvested a gorgeous Montana archery bull.

Mike drew a prime moose tag this season, and he was out scouting some new country. At first light, he saw a fine herd of elk, but his main goal was to find one of the big bull moose he knew hung out in these hills.  Eight hours later, just before dark, he decided to wander a ways over toward the elk – four miles to be exact. A couple of cow calls, and suddenly a satellite bull was in his lap. He released an arrow at 35 yards, the razor-sharp broadhead did its work, and he heard the young bull hit the ground.

It was late and dark with no cell service. He hurriedly gutted his elk in prime grizzly country, and grew rightfully nervous on the hike out. With the smell of blood on his hands, he jumped at every shadow.

He remembered the landowner’s words when he asked for permission: “Have at it son, but watch out. There is an ornery griz in there. He chased us in our quads and almost ran our hired hand through a barb wire fence.”

He’d spilled the guts and the meat was cooling, and as he headed for cell range, he thought about whom he could call to come help him pack it out. It turned out to be a long list, but as a testament to what kind of man he is, he only needed to make two phone calls. I am honored to have received one of them.

Those two calls netted him three helpers, and early the next morning, four of us assembled in the dark at the trailhead for couple hours of hiking and hauling. We had four cans of pepper spray and some slightly stronger deterrents in hand. I was packing a slug gun, and a buddy had his defender loaded to the hilt. The last thing we wanted to do was give the statisticians more maulings to count.

As we headed through the dense underbrush, we could hear elk bugling not far from the kill site. Mike had made a perfect shot and got out of there without spooking the herd. A great bowhunter, friend and father, he always has a long list of friends ready to pitch in. Mike’s generosity in helping out others and the fact that he is such a good guy puts a bunch of people at the ready when he needs a hand.

Our Mystery Ranch packs out-hauled our friends’ pack frames by a wide margin. They’re so comfortable and easy to load that for a little while, I worried more about Mike’s friends sneaking into my garage and taking my pack than I did about any bears in the area.

Of course, they were friends of Mike too, so there was nothing to worry about. We made it back to the trailhead without any incident with bears, and the fellas said they couldn’t wait to get home and put their packs up on eBay.

Do you ever get called to help your friends pack out meat? Who do you call when it’s your animal?

When: Thursday, September 19th, 7 to 11 p.m.

Why: Mystery Ranch is proud to sponsor “Perfect Moments of Shred,” a photo fundraiser for the Aaron Robinson Plant a Seed Foundation. The night of snowboarding-inspired photographs will be a celebration of the life of Aaron Robinson, a Montana-based snowboarder who died while snowboarding in Chile this summer.

The show will feature a curated collection of iconic photographs from the snowboard world that have never been available for public purchase, until now. This limited edition series features work by the following internationally respected photographers: Jeff Curtes, Tim Zimmerman, Andy Wright, Mike Yoshida, Jenna Low, Scott Serfas, Oli Gagnon, Liam Gallagher, Colin Wiseman Scott Sullivan, Frode Sandbech, Reid Morth, Matt Georges and Chris Owen.

Proceeds from the event will Benefit the Aaron Robinson Plant a Seed Foundation, a Whitefish Based non-profit started after Aaron’s untimely death, which will help carry out Aaron’s dream of providing underprivileged children the opportunity to experience a passion and love for snowboarding.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Despite the lack of a tag, Kyle has devoted himself to following me around in the woods with over twenty pounds of camera and video equipment in an attempt to capture the experience.  Props to a solid elk hunting partner and friend!

Let’s hear about your hunting partner!?

As a “sport,” hardcourt bike polo is still fairly young. The League of Bike Polo, a governing body, has formed and there are now tournaments around the world as well as an official set of rules that goes beyond the three rules we have always used here in Bozeman (of which I can only remember two.)

Polo in Bozeman was instigated in 2006 by bike culture aficionado, long-time wrench monkey, and all-around great guy, John Friedrich. John is also the guilty party who brought alleycats, rocky sprints and several other urban-style cycling shenanigans our town of 35,000.  Sadly for the community, John has since moved on to cast a much wider net at Specialized in Morgan Hill, CA.

Attempt #1:  Bogert park

After a pilot game in a run-down parking lot behind John’s apartment, the first attempt at playing polo as a community activity took place at the now nationally famous “waste” of stimulus funds, the Bogert park tennis courts. The game did not last long at Bogert, as Bozeman municipal code does not allow for recreational wheeled vehicles on tennis courts.  As it turned out, the large and often vacant pavilion immediately to the west of the tennis courts was also off limits during most hours of the day, due to an ordinance passed back in 2000 when a few neighbors (mostly one neigbor who we swear just sits in his back yard eagerly awaiting the magical hour when he can report whichever wheeled recreators just turned into criminals like a Cinderella’s coach into a pumpkin) complained about the noise caused by skateboarders. To be “fair” the ordinance includes all wheeled recreational vehicles, rather than limiting the ordinance to the source of the problem.

Attempt #2:  Baxter parking garage

If you have ever ventured into the underground parking garage behind the Baxter hotel, chances are you took one look and immediately ventured back out. Our founder John Friedrich once described the parking garage as “a concrete box coated on the inside with infectious diseases and a grotesque shape-shifting monster in the corner and sharpened rusty knives at shoulder height, ensuring only the strong of will and skill would play.” Everyone rolled up their sleeves, donned dust masks and spent 3 consecutive nights sweeping away the filth to make the garage fit for play. The Baxter location attracted great turnouts of people and the lights were really helpful as the days grew shorter into the fall, however the space was too good to be true. Although the garage had a pre-game sweep every week and, thanks to polo, people were actually able to park their cars down there without the worry of flat tires and tetanus, the property owner was not too friendly to our game. After a few weeks the cops were called, polo was evicted again and the garage assumed it’s former identity as a great place to share needles, paint graffiti and dump trash.

With the loss of the parking garage space occurring well into fall, polo did not continue until the following spring. After a couple of other places were tested and rejected for either poor playing surface or because “the man” had something to say about it, polo found it’s home for the next couple years at the Hawthorne school playground. With a promise to the groundskeeper not to damage any windows, and to clean up after ourselves, we were good to go. But late in the summer of 2010, construction started at Hawthorne, leaving us to hang our heads and take our mallets elsewhere.

For a couple of months, polo found a home in the basement of the new publicly funded downtown parking garage, but the sloping floor, several power boxes ominously protruding from the wall and the occasional partial flood quashed our enthusiasm.

When Mystery Ranch moved facilities and gained a nice paved parking lot, we finally got a reliable, legal space to play for the foreseeable future.

We’re always looking for more players, and all are welcome, even if it’s just to watch a bunch of adults talk trash while hitting a street hockey ball with mallets made from repurposed ski poles. Really, it’s just a whole lot of fun.

6:30 Wednesday nights @ Mystery Ranch, 1750 Evergreen Drive, Bozeman

For more info see thebozemanfix.blogspot.com and Bozeman Bike Polo on Face book.