Saturday was supposed to be a mundane day of chores and yard work. It turned into a day of lead & iron, and a long scout into the territory of Northern Ireland. The Finns started it. I awoke at Zero Dark Thirty because Ceili was up and off to open the coffeehouse where she works on Saturdays. Among the first things I spotted in my morning … [Read more...] about The Brutality

I reckon most of us here at Frontier Partisans have, at one time or another, entertained a fantasy of running off into the wilderness to make a life like that of woodsmen and Mountain Men of old. I sure as hell did. Reading The Big Sky in junior high school set my imagination ablaze with such notions. My trail led to considerably tamer versions of … [Read more...] about A Dream Of Yukon Gold

Ol’ Ephraim, as the Mountain Men called the grizzly bear, remains the deadliest of dangers to be encountered in the wilds of the American West — though fatal encounters are much less common than they were in the days of yore. From The Livingston Enterprise: Park County law enforcement officials said a Livingston man who went missing Wednesday … [Read more...] about Ol’ Ephraim

As Frontier Partisans readers know, it’s all too easy to lure me down a sidetrail. Mike Gahagan got me Sunday evening. Mr. Gahagan, a gunsmith by trade, is one of those wonderful people who use Facebook for Good, posting beautiful things. Natural wonders. Old stone fortresses. Muzzleloaders. He shared a pic of a hunting gun presented by Marie … [Read more...] about I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day

There was a Gathering of the Clans on Saturday. Powder burned; clays shattered; steel rang. Ceili’s fiancé Jarod is the director of Bend Adventure Sports, an outreach program of their church. Through March, he’s been leading Saturday snowshoe treks, but the past couple of weeks, the conditions have just not supported snowshoes. So Saturday … [Read more...] about All-Clan Range Day

* Back in 1860, a Scotsman named Donald Dinnie picked up a pair of stones used for counterweights in bridge maintenance on the Potarch Bridge in Aberdeenshire. He carried them across the bridge, a distance of 17-feet-1-1⁄2 inches. Because, well, because.... Ever since, the stones have been called the Dinnie Stones. The stones were lost … [Read more...] about Dominating The Dinnie Stones

“Russian warship: Go fuck yourself.” A salute to the brave. Remember Snake Island. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y2iVHUMZhg UPDATE: The Snake Island defenders apparently survived. On Monday, a statement from the Ukrainian Navy said that the soldiers on the island repelled two attacks by Russian forces but in the end were forced to … [Read more...] about Remember Snake Island

Saturday was quite a day for Clan Cornelius. I busted out at dawn to Zimmerman Butte to get in an early Frontier Partisan Biathlon. And a glorious dawn it was. Temperature at 15 degrees meant the kettlebells felt like frozen fire in the hand, but the still, crystal air resulting from high pressure that has settled over our region made for a … [Read more...] about Dawn Dancing With A Growing Clan

My friend Vernon Stubbs  is a remarkable man — an elite warrior who is passionately dedicated to native grass restoration. He owns a place on the rangeland north of here that was threatened by the Grandview Fire last summer. Fortunately, he was well-prepared, having engaged in significant fuels reduction work on the place. A year ago, he tracked … [Read more...] about The Hard Way

Hail, Slainte, and Happy Thanksgiving, Frontier Partisans! May you feast well — and don’t let the Rhenish go to your head... Speaking of Outlandish things... ’Tis my sacred duty on Thanksgiving to peel a mighty lot of potatoes, which Ceili turns into a delectable dish infused with truffle oil. To make the task more congenial, I shall be … [Read more...] about Feast Well, My Friends