31. January 2025 · Comments Off on Public Lands: Meet the Heroes of the Forest Pack String · Categories: Public Lands, Tips, Tricks and Tid Bits

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Follow our horses and mules, Rory, Duke and Carla from the Shoshone Specialty Pack String as they complete work in wilderness areas throughout the Shoshone National Forest. U.S. Forest Service pack strings consist of horses and mules, lead packer and assistant packer and accomplish vital projects throughout the Rocky Mountain Region and beyond. They are critical for compliance with the Wilderness Act.

“On all these national forests that have wilderness areas, you can get some work done bringing material in on your back,” said Crosby Davidson, Natural Resource Specialist – Trails, “but there’s some management that would be very difficult for us to do unless we used helicopters or other things that are prohibited by the Wilderness Act. That is why a pack string is generally the best bet.”

(USDA Forest Service video by Travis Weger)

31. January 2025 · Comments Off on Education: Best Camping Axes of 2025, Tested and Reviewed · Categories: Education, Tips, Tricks and Tid Bits

Camping axes are all designed to do one thing: make wood smaller. Whether they do it by felling a tree, delimbing, splitting, or shaping, an ax needs to efficiently break down wood. As someone who cuts and splits wood to heat my house all winter and enjoys practicing bushcraft, camping, and hunting, I’ve spent some time behind an ax. The issue I’ve found is that not every ax you grab at the local hardware store will cut it. But fear not, I’ve made choosing your next camp ax a little easier by putting the best camping axes through a series of rigorous tests and making my top picks for different applications.

The Best Camping Axes of 2025

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