There's a reason I say, "Be Prepared, Be Safe, and We’ll See You on the Trail"

 

I always end my Old Ranger’s Backcountry podcasts with, “Be Prepared, Be Safe, and We’ll See You on the Trail.” There is a reason for that, and a reason that I am constantly harping on carrying the “10
Essentials” with you anytime you go into the backcountry, even if it doesn’t seem that remote. I gained my first Red Cross first aid instructor certification in 1972 and have been instructing first-aid ever since. The following semester I got my first EMT certification, and in 1979, My First Wilderness Medical certificate. I’ve been a search and rescue volunteer, worked ambulance for many years, coordinated emergency medical services at numerous special events, and of course was a park ranger for many years. Needless to say, I’ve seen many, too many incidents that could be if not prevented, dealt with more effectively by being prepared.

Over this past weekend a follower/friend of mine on X (Twitter) had a relatively minor incident that could have indeed been much worse. She ended up with a nasty laceration just above her left eye. Less than an inch to the right and it would’ve been much more serious. Fortunately, there were a number of people on hand who could assist her, and she’ll be in good shape and just a few weeks. (It isn’t stopping her from fishing, though.)

Admittedly, I am always a bit of an overkill type when it comes to first-aid kits. Usually in the summertime I have three in the car; one that stays under the driver’s seat unless needed, one in my mountain bike rack pack, and one in whichever daypack I’m using, fishing, trail patrol, snowshoeing, whatever. Each is one is equally designed for the activity I’m involved in, whether it’s mountain biking, cross-country skiing/snowshoeing, fishing, or being responsible for others on trail patrol. They are heavy on trauma supplies, pain relief, allergic reactions, and other discomforts that I have encountered in my years of doing this. It used to be that I had to buy an empty pack and build my own response kit. The one in my snowshoeing/ski pack, dubbed the “football,” is the last of those. In the past decade or so a number of commercial first-aid kit manufacturers have addressed real-world needs, and various party sizes. For instance, the “football” is designed to take care of one or more persons for an extended time frame in a cold environment and also includes splinting material since those activities frequently result in sprains and fractures. The small Adventure Medical Sportsmen’s kit in my fishing pack is more for small injuries, such as in impaled fishhook, cut finger, etc. The old National Mountain Bike Patrol provided kit in my rack pack is designed for cycling related injuries, and the one under the seat of my car for more generalized first-aid needs. Oh, and after an incident several weeks ago, we now have a first-aid kit in the house that also includes Blood Stopper bandages.

Of course, none of this means anything if you don’t know how to use it. There are resources online, both in terms of courses and YouTube videos, but nothing beats the personalized touch of having a certified first-aid instructor, preferably one with experience in the same activities as you will be participating in, showing you how it’s done. If you’re going to spend any time in the backcountry or biking, boating, camping, away from rapid medical care (EMS) take the time to learn first-aid and keep the information current.

My friend will be back in her fishing kayak, none the worse for wear. But what happened to her should serve as a reminder that we need to be prepared and we need to be safe. We’ll see you out there.

 

Stream Fish in Winter? In a MinneSNOWta winter??

(Apologies for no recent posts. I have a "part-time" retirement job that seems to keep morphing into full-time, despite my best efforts to the contrary. When I have the time to hit the water, the weather and other commitments scheme against me, and when everything else should be good, I don't have the time. I'm trying to make that change this year.)

Three of my favorite podcasts, "Dead Drift Outdoors" on YouTube, and "The Backcountry Fly Fishing Podcast" and "Casting Across" have all recently posted on the topic of winter stream fishing. I haven't done that in quite a few years, but I am going to try one of these weekends soon. I am doing my research, and will include equipment lists, safety considerations, and general suggestions about where to go in the snow in a future post and Old Ranger's Backcountry Podcast on YouTube.

Ross at "Backcountry FFP" is based in Colorado, and his casts (pardon the pun) reflect that. He hits the water at altitudes over a mile regularly, and therefore his approach is different than that of Matthew at "Casting Across," who is a pastor in Vermont, the "Green Mountain State." Both of them are different than mine here in the Lake Superior watershed. Jon at Dead Drift Outdoors lives in the Southern Tier of Upstate New York, where I grew up and, with the addition of the western Adirondack Mountains, where I learned to fish. Those streams, some of which I'm fairly sure I recognize from back in the day, are very similar to the ones I fish today in Northwest Wisconsin and Minnesota's Arrowhead region.

Earlier this week, Jon posted a video of fishing a stream in the Southern Tier, his first this year, and I really enjoyed it. I am (hopefully) re-posting it here, and I would encourage you to check it out, like it, and subscribe to his YouTube channel. His podcasts are top-notch, filmed beautifully, and highly informative as well as entertaining. I am also posting links to "The Backcountry Fly Fishing Podcast" and "Casting Across." You should check those out as well. You'll be glad you did.

Dead Drift Outdoors:

The Backcountry Fly Fishing Podcast

Casting Across

Wilderness Waters: A Book That Touched My Heart

 

The final line of Norman Maclean’s epic short story, A River Runs Through It, is, “I am haunted by waters.” I turned 71 last week, and more and more I find that is the case with me as well. If you look at my bookshelf there are books that confirm this, with names like Calling After Water, Healing Waters, The Voice of Rivers, Ernest Hemingway’s Big Two Hearted River, John N. Maclean’s Home Waters, (which I love) and my most recent, Wilderness Waters by Steve Osterholzer, which I also quickly grew to love.

Wilderness Waters is a deeply introspective look at the author’s long-standing love for and exploration of northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I was drawn to the book by its description in a book review I read in one of the flyfishing magazines I receive every quarter, and also by the comments on the cover by John Eldredge, a Christian pastor, best-selling author, and leader whom I respect. The book is subtitled, “adventures paddling & fishing the wilderness.” That also drew me in, right there. It took me a while, due to work and other obligations, to get around to reading the book, but over Labor Day weekend, faced with my third surgery on my left foot in four years the following Wednesday, my wife and I went camping on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. My happy place. I almost couldn’t put the book down. It didn't just draw me in, it grabbed hold of me, and didn’t let go until the last page. Now, I am haunted by Wilderness Waters.

There are many, many quotable lines in Steve’s book. Probably the first one I made note of is in the chapter explaining the what and the why of the Boundary Waters. He says, “You’ll find quiet here. But not just quiet surrounding you – you’ll find quiet within you. You’ll discover needs you may not even know you had. A need for adventure. Exploration. To minimize.. To think. Listen. To discover what’s truly essential in your life.” That’s deep, and some of the chapters are deep like that. Some of them are quite funny, like his adventures with his wife he calls the “perfect paddling partner,” or his wilderness latrine rating system. Others describe the gamut of emotions he experiences in the wilderness, particularly during solo expeditions. He talks about fear, courage, and the awakening of his senses to the natural world that he’s paddling through.

I could go on and on about this book. But suffice it to say, it touched my heart. It touched my spirit. There are parts I could identify strongly with, and others that caused me to sit back and think how I would approach the situation he describes. But the best thing I can tell you about Wilderness Waters is, buy it, read it. Meditate on it. I think you’ll love it. I do. I am haunted by waters, Wilderness Waters.

Conundrum: Caught in the Horns of a Dilemma

I admit to being caught in the horns of a dilemma. What do you do when a politician that you don’t care for makes a good proposal that would greatly benefit persons with disabilities and their ability to access the backcountry for sport and recreation? Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act which would enable and empower persons with physical limitations access to our vast backcountry and wilderness areas using the mobility assistive equipment that helps them in their daily activities. If you’ve seen my previous posts, you know that I am no big fan of Senator Lee, however this does seem to be a step in the right direction. And, if you have followed this blog for any period of time, you know that I have advocated for allowing e-bikes to utilize the same trails as their non-electric counterparts, even though I do not own one. Yet.

At the same time, the Trump administration and the Department of Agriculture have proposed rescinding the “roadless area rule” which places serious restrictions on roadways in our national forests, parks, and BLM land. The rule has served a valid purpose, and continues to do so, but when viewed through the viewpoint of the above-mentioned legislation, it gives me pause, and it should give you pause also. Probably the best response to this proposal that I have seen comes from the website of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, and access advocacy organization based in Colorado. They quote the leader of the veterans organization, and said:

"Without motorized access, those with special needs and disabilities - including many veterans - will not have access to public lands because they do not have the ability to hike, jump on a bike, or ride a horse. Motorized vehicles are essentially an extension of their body; it’s their legs to enjoy the same great outdoors that able-bodied citizens can enjoy. If you eliminate motorize access to public lands then you take out two user groups that have zero chance to ever experience these public lands. These user groups are not asking to forge new trails, they just want to keep existing routes and trails open so that they can get the same therapeutic experience from nature that able-bodied citizens have access to. At Trail Hero we have had over 5000 veterans and over 1000 people with special needs join us on trails….” - Rich Klein - President/Founder, Trail Hero (Emphasis by myself.)

Organizations that I belong to and support such as Trout Unlimited and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers are actively campaigning against the rescission of the roadless rule, joined by a vast number of advocacy and wilderness organizations. On the other hand, there are groups like the Blue Ribbon Coalition, Outdoor Access Initiative, and a myriad of off-road vehicle organizations that feel the other way. I have openly disagreed with BHA’s position on e-bikes since it was first published several years ago, and with the US Forest Service policy that decided that e-bikes are motorized vehicles. The BRC’s position on roadless areas is much more in line with my own position that Type I (pedal assisted) electric mountain bikes are bicycles first, with the electric motor simply assisting in peddling, and should therefore be allowed on all trails which are open to mountain bikes.

Any time a trail is shut down or restricted for any reason, somebody’s access is going to be cut off. Admittedly, some of these restrictions are necessary for safety, habitat protection, or administrative purposes. However, public lands are supposed to be accessible to all Americans, including those with disabilities, impairments, or mobility issues. As a seventy-one-year-old who’s next bike will very likely be an E-bike, and who has endured three foot and leg surgeries over the past four years (the most recent of which was only last week) I see the need for open trails, logging roads, and other pathways (where safe, of course) that will provide access for me and people like myself to continue to enjoy our Public Lands unimpaired. So, I will continue to ride my Cogburn fat-bike as long as I physically can, or until the land managers change their policy and my yet to be purchased e-bike can be ridden legally on the same trails the Cogburn is. Therefore, I give qualified support to the rescission of the roadless rule, hoping that the land managers will be judicious and careful in their application of their new authority if and when it occurs.

 

 

This Land was Saved for You and Me!

This land was saved for you and me! Thank you, @backcountryhunters @troutunlimited @thetrcp @outdoor_life @outdooralliance @fieldandstream @outdoorindustry and all the other non-profits, all the businesses that stepped up to stand alongside us, and everyone who called, wrote, emailed, showed up. A special shoutout to @quietkat_ebike for taking a stand when none of your competitors would. It won't be forgotten. Keep vigilant, my friends. The battle may be over, but the war goes on.

CALL to Action!

Call YOUR Senators on June 25, 2025!

The Senate wants to sell off up to 3.2 million acres of OUR public lands—lands that belong to the American people. This isn’t a housing solution. It’s a land grab. And on June 25, we’re standing united to stop it. 

As part of our United We Stand for Public Lands campaign, BHA is calling on 25,000 public land owners to take action in a single day. 

We’ve already mobilized more than 66,000 messages and calls since this campaign launched—and we’ve seen as many as 10,000 actions taken in one day. With your help, we’ll flood Senate offices with a message they can’t ignore: Our public lands are not for sale. 

 

WHO: Public land owners (that’s you!) 

WHAT: 📞 Call. Email. Raise hell.  

WHEN: 🗓️ Wednesday, June 25, 2025

 

HOW To Participate: 

✅ Visit the BHA Action Center: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/take_action#/487 

✅ Provide your zipcode to call and email your Senators direct from our site

✅ Share the Action Alert URL and event day graphic on social 

✅ Post with #UnitedWeStandForPublicLands #PublicLandOwner and tag @backcountryhunters 

 

The math is simple: 60 seconds. One message. 25,000 voices. 

Phone the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.

 

For public lands. 

WHEN

June 25, 2025 at 9:00am - 11:59pm

 

Our National Forests Are Under Attack, and Nobody is Even Talking About It!

 

You read that headline correctly. Our National Forests are under attack by forces that seek to dissolve the US Forest Service that manages them, and sell off our precious Public Lands to private interests that would seek to pillage them for their valuable resources, and/or limit access to those who can afford to pay their access fees. If you think I am deluded, pay attention, because while social media is full of pleas to save our national parks, nobody is paying attention to the National Forests. Although it has escaped media attention that the Park Service has regained multiple thousands of positions, the US Forest Service has lost 10,000 jobs, and is being told to eliminate another 7000 with little or no regard for its effects on families, homes, and the  economy or the communities and states they live in. Make no mistake about it, a cabal of primarily Western state senators and representatives, emboldened by the election of President Trump and his DOGE program under Elon Musk, are quietly clearcutting the caretakers of over one hundred and eighty-eight million acres of Public Land. OUR Public Lands.

Nobody is arguing that our national parks, the sanctuaries of our most unique natural, cultural, and historical lands, aren’t important, however it takes a lot more to shut down a national park than to do so with National Forest lands. To eliminate as much as thirty percent of the Forest Service workforce will place Irreparable harm on an agency that was already short-staffed before they were ordered to eliminate 7500 primarily seasonal positions last fall, followed by a 3000-employee cut on Valentine’s Day. This is being done behind our backs, folks. While your attention is being focused justifiably and intentionally on things like USAID, Social Security, DEI, and National Parks, the Forest Service is being reduced to a force that cannot possibly keep up with the demands of managing the Public Lands in their care. Those trying to destroy the agency will seize this opportunity to say, “Look, we told you so! They can’t manage it so let’s transfer it to the states.” Then, when the states can’t afford to manage it, they’ll be forced to sell the lands off to the highest bidder. That is the endgame. If you don’t think this threat is real, witness that in January the Supreme Court ruled against a Utah-based attempt to seize federal lands in that state, just one in a string of attempts to wrest control of federal lands managed for us under the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in primarily, but not exclusively Western states.

While I certainly agree that government at all levels, but particularly at the federal level, has become bloated and rift with corruption and special interests that need to be eliminated, and a budget and massive deficit that need to be reduced, the US Forest Service is one of the best managers of both the taxpayer’s dollars entrusted to them and the land that it is their mission to manage. Selling off our Public Lands at fire sale prices will not effectively reduce the budget or the deficit. Selling off the timber on those lands while laying off the trained, educated, professional employees whose job it is to manage sustainable forests is both shortsighted and ultimately counterproductive. One of the Forest Service’s biggest problems is its historic inability to promote and lobby for itself. Many people in this country don’t even recognize the difference between a National Park and a National Forest, or that they are under two different, separate departments of the federal government with vastly different missions.

Unfortunately, the days of representative government are receding rapidly in our rearview mirrors. Party leaders on both sides of the aisle demand that senators and representatives vote their party line whether or not it is what the people who elected those representatives want or believe in. Both sides believe we, who sent them to Washington in the first place, are not smart enough to know what’s best for us. There needs to be a new way to reinforce the fact that the people we elect are there to represent us and our interests, not those of their biggest donors. Because of this, contacting your legislators may be only partially effective. But letter writing, emails, and phone calls have worked to restore over 3000 positions with the National Park Service. There is more to be done, but we need to get at it because there is the deadline of March 13th for the Forest Service to produce 7000 more cuts. Write, call, post, email. Make a ruckus. Let your and my elected representatives know that this has to stop. Tell them to end the attack on OUR Public Lands, OUR National Forests, before it’s too late to save them!