Mountains and Mustangs

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Sunset Lake – Jedediah Smith Wilderness

Spring has arrived in the Tetons. With these longer days and more sunshine, my family starts looking toward the summer and our Outfitting season ahead. Preparations are extensive — organizing and evaluating all the tack, gear, as well as managing horses and training new staff in operations. Managing 50 animals and multiple humans is a busy business so focus turns to logistics and preparation as soon as possible.

Hidden Coral – South Bitch Creek   — (Charlie on Magpie)

Last year, we acquired a new camp up in the Teton Wilderness in Pendergraft Meadows. Pete took trips through the camp and also had some teams do trail clearing and camp work but this year is the first season launching official trips into that area, in addition to our permits on the west side of the Tetons. www.pendergraftoutfitters.com.

Charlie, our daughter, and I headed in for 9 days last season. She was 2 and loved every minute of this beautiful spot, which we think is perhaps one of the most gorgeous camps in WY and the US. It is a stunning 17 mile ride (or walk) in and exceptional every step of the way.

Pendergraft Camp:

  

For our now 2.5 year old daughter, we just bought a 17 year old Icelandic pony so that she and I can get in and out of the camps more easily (less load for mama) in order to spend some time with papa and clients and friends throughout the summer. Pack tripping is a family/friend affair and a wonderful way to gather with your tribe and get deep into the wilderness.

Linn Outfitters — We run both hiking assisted horse-pack trips as well as horseback riding trips. And, we offer hunting trips in the Fall to both the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre and more rustic trips out to the Pendergraft Camp for two very different and exceptional hunting experiences.

Fall at the Darwin Ranch

 

Kids Pack Trip

 

In the last 8 years, we have been adopting American Mustangs from the Honor Farm in Riverton, WY. We have rescued 10 to-date and they have all proven hardy, reliable, and strong in the mountain environs. They thrive in the wilderness — it’s in their blood. The Honor Farm program is fantastic in that it helps rehabilitate the inmates as well as begins the training program for the wild horses. Last fall, we adopted 4, including my own horse, Bodhi (who joins Otter and Pingora), and Charlie’s future horse, Gypsy. With lots of love, kindness, and good training, these animals adapt quickly to the Outfitting program.

This spring, the BLM is offering $1,000 to anyone who can adopt an untrained mustang from their holding corrals. If you have the space, the skill, and the time, it is worth it. These horses are worth and they need good homes.

 

Hope you’ll consider joining our family in the mountains. As a 5th generation Outfitter, we offer truly unique pack trip experiences in the Tetons and beyond. We’d love to welcome you to our Wyoming tribe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PSA – Utah Avalanche Center Free Program

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The Utah Avalanche Center has created a new program online that offers 5 courses of avalanche/snow safety classes called Know Before You Go (via Utah Avalanche Center)

The most effective way to have fun and stay safe in the winter backcountry is to learn about avalanche safety. The backcountry doesn’t need to be scary or dangerous and you can go out in any conditions when you know something about how avalanches work and how to avoid them.

The Utah Avalanche Center has created a set of free interactive online avalanche eLearning courses. They are for anyone who wants to learn more avalanche safety skills, can’t take an on-snow avalanche class, or want to refresh and sharpen their avalanche skills. Going through these before taking a Backcountry 101, Avalanche Rescue, or Level 1 class will leave students much better prepared and ready to spend more time practicing skills. The courses use a mix of text, images, animations, videos, links to additional content, and interactive exercises to teach the basics you need to know before heading into the snow.

The Utah Avalanche Center hopes that everyone going into the backcountry this winter checks this program out and uses what they learn to get out, have fun, and come home safe.

https://kbyg.org/learn/

WWA Grassroots Advocacy – Join Us Today!

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This past weekend, as an ambassador to Winter Wildlands Alliance, I headed up to Boise for the Winter Wildlands Grassroots Advocacy Conference in Boise, Idaho. The meetings, led by Spitfire Strategies’s brilliant Kristen Grimm, we learned about creating effective messaging for those issues that are at the forefront of many of our minds these days — including protecting our public lands and slowing the rapid pace of climate change.

We need you! To join our ranks, learn more about Winter Wildlands Alliance and all the work they do to help keep us informed on pertinent local and national issues. We have the power to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Only $35 per year.

 

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO PROTECT THE PLACES WE LOVE? YOU.

$35 a year (auto renew) makes you a vital partner in supporting public lands, kids on snow, mountain communities and wild winter landscapes. The more of us there are, the stronger we are! Join here: WWA member

Basic Membership

  • Annual Member Guide and Trailbreak Newsletter delivered to your door (old school style!)
  • For a limited time, a beanie from Flylow and a Keep Winter Wild sticker!
  • Custom action alerts specific to your local zones.

Membership Plus

WORKING FOR SOLUTIONS AND TAKING THE LONG VIEW

Winter Wildlands Alliance is dedicated to preserving winter wildlands and quality human-powered snowsports experiences on public lands. We represent a growing community of backcountry and Nordic skiers, splitboarders, snowshoers, climbers, climate researchers, and other human-paced winter explorers, from Maine to California to Alaska. Our members, and the members of our 40 different grassroots groups nationwide, deeply value natural winter soundscapes and the opportunity for solitude and escape afforded by the last remaining places across the American West where solitude, fundamental wildness and non-motorized experiences are preserved. From the backcountry to Washington D.C., Winter Wildlands Alliance works with land managers, elected officials, grassroots groups and other partners to pursue a balanced approach to winter recreation management for the long-term protection of the places where we play.

 

AND..WWA runs the:

NATIONAL SNOWSCHOOL PROGRAM

Special Temporary Link: NAAEE Workshop Participants Click Here!

SnowSchool introduces kids to the joy of exploring our nation’s winter wildlands.  A growing national Snowschool 3education program of Winter Wildlands Alliance, SnowSchool annually engages over 33,000 participants across 65 sites.  Each winter, in 16 states along the US snow-belt, K-12 students and teachers venture out on snowshoes as part of a fun and educational science-based field trip. Over 50% of participants are underserved and a majority are first time snowshoers! WWA works year-round with organizational partners nationwide to establish new SnowSchool sites each year and help bring this important experience to the communities and students that need it most.  Please explore the menu above to find out how to get involved.  Questions?  Contact Kerry McClay- [email protected]