Recent adventuring

and blog posts

Courses

Off-trail trip planning (January, 2022) and swiftwater courses (May, 2022) are posted!Continue reading “Courses”

24Sep 202124 Sep 2021

South Fork Matanuska Loop

This has got to be a candidate for the best true packraft loop around, especially during the autumn. The loop…

24Sep 202124 Sep 2021

The American Whitewater Accident Database

In September of 2021, American Whitewater (AW) updated their accident database to include “packraft” as an available boat type. Why…

16Sep 202116 Sep 2021

If my book was a playlist…

I have a very early memory (as a 6-year-old? 8?) of my mom using lyrics from a Beatles song to…

Self-publishing an Instructional Book: Part I (Everything up to Printing)

29 Mar 202130 Mar 2021

I just spent a year writing The Packraft Handbook (pre-order it!). I’ve been producing bite-sized outreach content on my website for many years, but decided to quit my job and pour…

Risk Assessment for Rivers and Avalanches

15 Jan 202116 Jan 2021

Disclaimer: This discussion is based on my personal experience, collaborators' feedback on The Packraft Handbook, and publications (see references at bottom). This discussion benefited from the feedback of Trip Kinney,…

blog

Putting the Shoulder in Shoulder Season

29 Nov 202013 Dec 2020

A recent fall on the ice gave "shoulder season" new meaning for me. This post is about shoulder dislocations and a reduction technique that you can teach yourself. Based on…

Packraft Field Repair Kit

28 Aug 202015 Oct 2021

Product links below go to an Amazon affiliate account. Please try to support local shops first!Any profits made through this page will support conservation or safety outreach efforts. Let's talk…

Route-Planning with ESRI Worldview

14 May 202018 Jan 2021

Whenever possible, I do route planning with Google Earth. Google Earth's 3D imagery allows me to fine-tune a route and identify features I might otherwise miss in two dimensions. But…

blog

For Sale or Trade, One Reverse-Averse Van

I wrote this Craigslist advertisement in 2018 and am belatedly giving it a home here.I think the advertisement is the most popular thing I've written; it even reached a friend…

blog

The Adventurer’s Son

11 Feb 20209 Mar 2020

The Adventurer's Son, by Roman Dial, will be available February 18th, 2020. Anchorage friends can join Roman Wednesday, February 19th, for a book release event at Bear Tooth Theater.You can…

satellite imagery…

Transferring Satellite Imagery to Gaia GPS

8 Feb 20203 Jun 2020

In November of 2019 Greg Mills and I pulled off an incredible trip. We flew to the Inupiaq village of Selawik, then ice skated 125 miles to Kotzebue. Our route…

DIY Ski Binding Inserts

9 Jan 20209 Jan 2020

Binding inserts allow you to swap bindings between skis, so that you don't need to buy additional bindings. Anyone can install inserts at home, but it requires a few specialty…