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The Filson Journal

oysters and bread in bowls

How to Open an Oyster without a Shucking Knife

While a shucking knife is always recommended to open oysters, it’s not the only way. If a fresh bivalve opportunity presents itself while you’re without a shucking knife, you might try to break in using one of these alternative methods.

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pickled salmon, carrots and red onions on cutting board

Filson Food: Pickled Wild Salmon

Pickled salmon is a tradition that runs deep in Alaska, preserving the summer’s harvest to last through the cold winter. Wild salmon is a healthy protein and pickled fish makes for a filling bite anytime of day. A staple in the fridge of many PNW chef’s and boat captains.

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salmon filet with herbs and citrus and salt on cutting board

Filson Food: Campfire Grilled Citrus Salmon

During the summer salmon season, I work with my partner Michael onboard a small commercial fishing boat in Southcentral Alaska. Tuned into the tides, weather, and ocean currents that pull the fish back to the rivers, we chase the harvest of abundant wild salmon swimming through Alaska’s cold, clean water. The daylight lasts forever and when there is a moment with a break from fishing, you’ll find us with the boat pulled up on some beach starting a fire with driftwood, a slab of fresh salmon on hand. As the fish slows cooks over the coals, fingers burn sampling bites of the brilliant red fillet. The fish flakes apart and melts on your tongue with a salty, smoky flavor.

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pat cleaning the fishing gear

In Print: Patrick Manary

Patrick Manary is an Oregon native, lanky, with piercing blue eyes and a wild beard. Thoughtful and soft-spoken, he holds himself with the steady confidence that brutal outdoor work can impart. For the past few years he has moved seasonally, splitting his time between Bristol Bay, Alaska and Tillamook Bay, Oregon. He works in Oregon

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portrait, eric jackson with red flannel and big brown beard

In Print: Eric Jackson’s Snow, Surf and Steelhead

Eric Jackson is always ready for a challenge. You may recognize him from the massive hucks in his latest snowboarding film, Alignment. Or perhaps you’ve seen photos of him fly-fishing some of the most pristine rivers in the world as a sponsored fisherman. Either way, “envy” might describe how you feel about it his life.

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Fender guitar and amplifier with filson cover on amplifier

Filson + Fender: Chris Stapleton Brings Two of His Favorite Brands Together

Filson NYC’s marketing manager, Joey Holman, recounts the beginning of Filson’s relationship with country artist and songwriter, Chris Stapleton. “Joey, it’s Clay. I’m gonna be in Seattle on Wednesday and was wondering what you’re up to after work. I’m working with an artist named Chris Stapleton and we’re doing a show at the Showbox.” “Hey dude!

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claire portrait in black raincoat with orange hat

In Print: Claire Jenck’s Road to the Ocean

Winter brings the best northwest waves. When friends find out I surf in Washington, they are usually incredulous. “No, what? In winter? But it’s so cold” they say. I should try to persuade them otherwise. I should tell them how wild the peninsula is, how uncrowded and pristine, about how last year I surfed with

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Keya portrait in white wool hooded jacket falling snow

In Print: Keya Clairmont

Earlier this winter, we traveled to the snowcovered Canadian Rockies to develop our latest print catalog. We invited fancy shawl dancer, Keya Clairmont, to join. The 24 year old is grounded in the mountains, yet spends a lot of her time in the air; fancy shawl is an energetic style of dance full of jumps

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vintage image of pontoon boat

A Day of Celebration: History of the Chittenden Locks

Started on September 1, 1911 and completed in 1916, the Hiram Chittenden Locks, alternatively called Seattle’s “Big Ditch,” or “Ballard Locks,” as they are commonly referred to today, helped make possible a new era in maritime commerce and shipping business for Salmon Bay, Lake Washington and all points in between.

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jessie with horses drinking from river in grassy field with pine trees

Jessie Allen: More Than Miss Wyoming

“Jessie manages her family’s guest ranch and outfitting business in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. She guides pack trips for fly fishermen, rock climbers, backpackers, yogis and big game hunters, both archery and rifle. At 9,200 feet with no electricity, cell service or internet, the Diamond 4 Ranch is Wyoming’s highest elevation guest ranch.

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man looking out of a duck blind

Duck Band: Friendship, Music, and Hunting

Friendships tend to be tribal in their origins – shared interests, hobbies, and lifestyles attract and keep folks together. For this group of friends, their love of music and duck hunting are the ties that bind. “Would you have any interest in going on a duck hunt in Louisiana with us?” That seems like an

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boat running upriver in limestone canyon toward snowcapped mountain

A Day on the Hell’s Canyon Mail Boat

“The U.S. Postal Service will deliver mail to anywhere in the United States with a mailing address,” says Jill Koch, part owner and operator of Beamers Hells Canyon Tours. Jill and her husband Jim hold the mail delivery contract for what may be one of the most remote mail routes in the lower 48. Once

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john working at his desk in log cabin with antler chandelier

John Finley: Wyoming’s Cowboy Artist

The Wind River Range rises from the river itself, fall shifting into winter as my truck reaches the outskirts of the town of Dubois. I slow at the town museum, looking at the life-sized bronze cowboy sculpture, one of many of John Finley’s fixtures in town. I stop for a coffee at the Perch, a

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archival photo of seattle mountain rescue descending a mountain carrying an injured person

70 Years of Seattle Mountain Rescue

Imagine for a moment you’re miles deep into your favorite backcountry and you’re unable to get out. It’s 1936. You’re using gear that today sits in vintage displays– leather boots, knickers, wooden ice axes. You don’t have a cell phone or locator beacon. There’s no SOS button, no 911. Back then, there was Ome Daiber.

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horses pulling logs in forest

Horse-Logging Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom

When Neil Fromm was twenty-five years old he drove his Volkswagen van from the Florida Keys up to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Known to Vermonters simply as “The Kingdom,” this mountainous, sparsely populated area is situated between the Connecticut River and the Green Mountains. That’s when Fromm got into horses.

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fly fisher casts into lake with pine trees and low lying clouds

Cooper River Trail

Some of us like hiking and some of us like fishing; a lot of us like both. The Cooper River Trail is the perfect trail for those who like both. Just outside of Cle Elum, WA, the Cooper River Trail is just that, a trail that follows along the Cooper River.

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people hiking toward waterfall on forest path

Franklin Falls Trail

Looking for a quick hike before work or an afternoon trek through the forest, Franklin Falls is a great option for those based in the Seattle area. This short two-mile trail has numerous features for its brief length.

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two people hiking up the side of a glacier

Heliotrope Ridge Trail

The Heliotrope Ridge trail is a roughly 6 mile roundtrip trail that features a trek through an old growth forest, several creek crossings, and an up close and personal look at the Coleman Glacier.

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lindsay fishing with her dog on the river

Crossing Community Lines

When it comes to the outdoors, Lindsey Elliott does it all- climbing, mountain biking, hunting, fly fishing, raising chickens, growing food, practicing citizen science, and running a business, Wylder Goods. Because she has perspective from multiple and oftentimes separate communities, we asked Lindsey to share her thoughts from the cross-section. Photos and words by Lindsey

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running water cascades through rocky river waterfall in green mossy old growth forest

Celebrating the Rivers of America

When I need to brighten my day, I go to the river. I walk along the shore or sit for awhile at the water’s edge and listen to the swish, or the babble, or the exciting bubbly rush of flow. Always moving when the rest of the landscape is still, the river holds me rapt, and

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biking near the river

After Wildfire

A bike-pack fishing trip through a scorched landscape was not the trip that Ashlee thought she was going to take – but the things she saw and the experience she had left an impression about how we interact with the landscape after wildfire. “Lucky for you, all the goat’s head burned too,” someone said, smiling,

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Becca using a draw knife on a log

Working With the Earth

In the summer and early fall, my fiance, Eduardo Garcia and I wake early at our home in Bozeman, Montana. Between running our own businesses, we manage our ½ acre food forest, a permaculture garden that feeds us for eight months of the year. During the warm seasons, work days don’t stop at 5pm and

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two labs, a portrait

Mossy Oak Gamekeeper Kennels

Words are wasted on trying to describe the relationship between bird dog and owner. From the euphoria of lifting a mallard out of your retriever’s trained mouth for the first time, to the grief that comes with their inevitable passing years later, the journey must be experienced to be known. The first few years of

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portrait of Jim in flannel shirt and black vest

The Democracy of The Wild with Jim Posewitz

\ In August of 1953, 18-year-old Jim Posewitz stepped off an overnight train onto the platform in Bozeman, Montana. He’d come west for the first time on a scholarship to play football for the Montana State College Bobcats. Over the next few years, Jim, known as “Poz”, would prove to be a pretty darn good

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national_forests

Plant a Tree, Grow a Forest

Greg Peters is the Communications Director for the National Forest Foundation. This year they have launched an initiative to replant 50 million trees in areas that have been burned or affected by insect infestations, disease or other natural causes. Here, he shares a story of a recent trip into the hills and a first-hand encounter

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Robertson working on a bow

Robertson Stykbow: Traditional Archery with Dick Robertson

Dick Robertson is the owner and founder of Robertson Stykbow in Forest Grove, MT. Dick has been designing and crafting some of the most beautiful and high-performance traditional bows for the last twenty-five years. We sent Joel Caldwell to spend a few days on the Robertson ranch to discover the passions of the man behind

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finished dish in cast iron skillet on glowing grill grates

Filson Food: Venison and Licorice Pie

Connor Gabbott spent the first 20 years of his career in various restaurant kitchens across British Columbia. Since picking up a rifle and harvesting his first deer in 2010, Connor has set out to combine his love for food and wild places by sharing the stories of his adventures and how they provide meals for

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two pieces of meat in broth in cast iron skillet

Filson Food: Pheasant Saltimbocca

Like the act of pheasant hunting itself, pheasant meat is also very approachable to non-game eaters and a great way to introduce them to wild game. Saltimbocca is best eaten out of the pan family style. Using crusty bread or crispy potatoes to soak up all the extra butter sauce.

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steak pieces in sauce with knife

Filson Food: New Age Peppercorn Venison Steak

Connor Gabbott spent the first 20 years of his career in various restaurant kitchens across British Columbia. Since picking up a rifle & harvesting his first deer in 2010, Connor has set out to combine his love for food & wild places by sharing the stories of his adventures and how they provide meals for the table.

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woman butchering hanging piece of meat as man watches

Searching for Connection: Learning to Hunt with Erin Kiley

Erin Kiley is a grazier and grassland manager. For years she has found her connection to land and food through her work with cattle.

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