Author Archives: Howie Wolke

In my most recent post, I discussed in general terms, backpacking in southern Utah and the unbelievably colorful Canyon Country landscapes that accompany these treks.

Backpacking in Utah, particularly in the southeastern and south-central parts of the state is a unique experience. This is a colorful landscape of canyons, mesas, and vertical buttes framed by snow-capped mountain ranges and broad forested uplands.

From the biggest wild – Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – to the verdant Great Smokies, and from the  red-walled canyons of Utah to the snowy Beartooths of Montana, about one third of the American landscape is public land.

Most of our clients are open to experiencing all kinds of wilderness, from desert to moist forest, from canyon country to alpine peaks and from the Alaskan outback to the far Southwest. Indeed, western North America offers landscape diversity unmatched on planet Earth, and happily, there remain lots of big chunks still in a wilderness […]

So you’re going to go backpacking and you need a new pair of hiking boots. What to do? There are so many styles, so many brands, so many different kinds of soles, so many types of stitching and construction, so many different fits, so many choices! Should boots be Gore-Tex lined or not?

The Yellowstone and central Idaho wolf re-introductions of 1995 turned out to be highly successful, yet now, 18 years later, wolves in the Rockies remain as controversial and polarizing as ever. Pro-wolf sentiment reflects majority opinion, but even here there remain considerable differences regarding hunting and geographic limits to protection.

Big Wild Adventures strives to Leave No Trace of its passage through the wilds. Whether we are backpacking in Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Montana, or hiking in Wyoming mountains such as the Grand Tetons or Absarokas, we strive to leave the wilderness in the same condition — or better — than we found it!

Many folks view clothing such as long underwear, wool or fleece ski hats and gloves to be items that one wears only in cold winter weather. Yet these items are important to have any time of year for backpacking in Wyoming or Montana or for that matter,  any place where we lead treks in the […]