Field Notes | Page 6 of 10 | The Filson Journal

Field Notes

Filson Adventure Comic

Filson Adventures, an original comic series based in Alaska circa 1933.

28 Min

old farmer with tan flat billed hat in grassland on farm vehicle and mountain backdrop

Field Notes

Ranchlands: Six Generations of Stewardship

Conservation isn’t abstract and ranching doesn’t reward those who disconnect themselves from nature. I learned these truths from Duke Phillips, or Big Duke, to his friends. For Big Duke and his family, ranching is a way of life.

5 Min

man shaping horseshoe outside in mobile shop

Field Notes

The Balance of Trust

Farriers spend years mastering the ancient craft of horseshoeing. It requires many hours of standing next to a hot forge, swinging a hammer, bending in uncomfortable positions, all within striking distance of a horse’s kick. “Ferrarius” is Latin for “of iron” or “blacksmith,” and farriering, in addition to skilled manipulation of hot metal, requires a

3 Min

Field Notes

History of the de Havilland Beaver

This work-horse of an aircraft has earned a reputation as one of the most capable bush planes ever built, and it was easy to see why as we flew out over the ocean and through island valleys in the remote stretches of the Kodiak archipelago. Willy’s grin crept out from behind his distinctively Alaskan mustache

4 Min

whid isle inn nestled among old growth firs on shore of whidby island

Field Notes

Captain Whidbey Inn

The Captain Whidbey was built in 1907 from logs and stone found on site by Chris Fisher and his son Edward. In the years since, it has served as a private residence, a boarding house, post office, girl’s school, and a general store. It has recently been restored and is now open to the public as an inn that features a Filson cabin.

American Bison standing in rolling hills

Field Notes

The Need for Wild Places

Founded in 2004, BHA is a nonpartisan group of sportsmen and -women who “seek to ensure North America’s outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands and waters.”

4 Min

Field Notes

History of the Field Watch

Nearly every casual wrist watch has evolved from the classic military field watch. The history of these watches began with WWI pocket watches. During WWI, many countries issued their officers pocket watches, but many of them complained about the inconvenience of having to operate the watch with two hands during combat. This led to officers innovating a way to strap their pocket watches onto their wrists.

3 Min

Wind River bends through canyon with sheer white rocks

Field Notes

What Is The Land and Water Conservation Fund

For more than 50 years, LWCF has been called America’s most important tool in conservation. But all that was subject to change last September when authorization for the fund faced the legislative chopping block

5 Min

Field Notes

With The Flow: WA Winter Steelheading

When you picture father and son fishing trips in a metal row boat, you might picture a pristine lake with a bobber and worms, goofy hats with oversized boots and dozing off in the warm sun. For my dad and I, we picture something different entirely. Basalt boulders the size of Volkswagens, yesterday clearly exposed, are now lurking millimeters beneath the surface. On days like this, there’s about a 5% margin for navigation error as you’re flying through white water, oars digging hard, unable to change trajectory more than a few crucial inches. It sounds reckless (maybe it is), but the payoff is worth every risk.

3 Min

Field Notes

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.

5 Min

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

Field Notes

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.

8 Min

Field Notes

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,

5 Min

Field Notes

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

Field Notes

Filson x Smokey: Campfire Safety

According to the USFS, 63,546 human-caused wildfires burned nearly 5 million acres across the U.S. in 2017. It is important to remember that no precaution is too small when it comes to fire safety. Here at Filson, we encourage everyone to practice Smokey Bear’s campfire safety best practices on their adventures this summer.

fisherman holding large fish kneeling in river wearing red and white flannel and green trucker hat

Field Notes

Brown Trout of New Zealand

Jack Kos is a self-described Kiwi trout bum. What began as a passion for fishing soon developed into a desire to know more about the fish he sought. That pursuit led Jack to dive deep into the rivers and the history books as he wrote his dissertation and earned a PhD in history on the

andrew miller steelhead man in river with rocky riverbed

Field Notes

Solitude and Steelhead

Many a man has felt the pace and stress of life wash from his soul while standing mid-river, fly rod in hand. Solitude is perhaps the thing most often sought by the seasoned fly-fishermen; the thrill of landing a fish is a welcome addition to an already fine experience. Read along as we follow once

Field Notes

Soul of a Boat

Over the past four decades, Port Townsend, WA has become an important hub for the building and maintenance of wooden boats on the West Coast. It is there that the history and skills of wooden boatbuilding are still taught, shaping the souls of those that go to sea. Video by Brother for Filson.

3 Min

susie jenkins brito salmon parts and two filets held by blue gloved hands on top of butchering station

Field Notes

Salmon Centric: at the Core of a Life Purposefully Cast

Early in the long days of summer here in Bristol Bay, I constantly feel as if I am holding my breath. Our family’s 32-foot drift boat has sat on blocks all winter, and the anxiety for the moment when my husband will turn the engine over for the first time each spring is incomparable. Commercial

Two hunters with rifles point and look into the distance in a snowy field

Field Notes

Alaska Chronicles Part 1: North of Wild

Brothers John and James were born and raised in Alaska. Both now in their 30s, John and James are now teachers of the great Alaskan pioneer tradition to their young children. Today is a perfect day to take John’s daughter out for practice and a lesson on how to survive off the wild in the northern tundra.

man walks toward barn door from outside with shotgun and stetson hat

Field Notes

Season Reflection: The Winter Hunt

Nashville-based photographer Yve Assad and writer Will Fulford reflect on the past seasons hunt in anticipation for the next.

two men in orange vests and hardhats and a black dog survey lush green forest

Field Notes

If They Ain’t Wavin’

“There are those who love to get dirty and fix things. They drink coffee at dawn, beer after work. And those who stay clean, just appreciate things. At breakfast they have milk and juice at night. There are those who do both, they drink tea.” ― Gary Snyder There have always been lumberjack poets, dock-worker

Man rides white horse in plaid coat and white chaps

Field Notes

Ranchlands: Conservation. Stewardship. Cattle.

For Duke Phillips, it’s not about getting the most beef in a year. It’s about conservation, working in harmony with nature to raise healthy land for a strong herd. For generations. At Ranchlands, his Colorado-based, family-run ranching and land management company, Phillips oversees 300,000 acres of land. Phillips, known as Big Duke, would be a

Smokejumper s enter red and white plane in full gear

Field Notes

The Life of a Smokejumper: Wait. Jump. Fight. Repeat

When it’s fire season, you don’t buy concert tickets. You don’t make dates. You miss your kid’s birthday. When you’re at the top of the jump list, you don’t go out of range of the alarm. You stay on the base. Send friends to pick up your family at the airport. You don’t take your

7 Min

Field Notes

USFS: Fighting Fire With Fire

There’s a wall of fire 12 feet away. Ponderosa pines burn to a roar. Like a jet engine ramping up for takeoff. Flames ignite branches & tufts of needles on their way up the trunks. Hotshots, smokejumpers and other Forest Service employees stand nearby. They’re not here to put the fire out. They started it.

5 Min

fly fisherman standing on river bank wearing filson coat smoking pipe

Field Notes

Region 6: Fly Fishing’s Unlikely Benefit to Children in Need

The Fly Fishing Collaborative may be the new model for social change. Based in Portland, Oregon, the organization uses donated guided trips to build sustainable fish-and-produce farms in developing countries. This Filson Life is part of Filson’s celebration of the Forest Service and the people of the Pacific Northwest Region of the USFS, Region 6. Three

man holds gun while sitting on porch of cabin

Field Notes

Region 6: Understanding the Land Through Hunting

Last fall, Bruce McGlenn started his hunting school in Central Washington. It’s exactly what the sport is in need of: a modern, holistic approach to harvesting wild meat.

5 Min

Field Notes

Region 6: Planting Beavers, Raising Waters

Beaver ponds store a lot of water. Millions of gallons. And scientists are now realizing that reintroducing the animals to struggling streams is a way to buck a drying trend. This Filson Life is part of Filson’s celebration of the Forest Service and the people of the Pacific Northwest Region of the USFS, Region 6.

Pine forest with bisecting river and mountain backdrop

Field Notes

Region 6: Giving Rivers Back to Fish

Traditional Yakama beliefs say the Creator put salmon in the rivers so that humans could live. Today, the tribe is returning the favor with a restoration program that is on the global forefront of salmon recovery. This Filson Life is part of Filson’s celebration of the Forest Service and the people of the Pacific Northwest Region

snow capped peaks with pine trees framed by supports of a firetower

Field Notes

Region 6: The Last of the Fire Watchers

Bill Austin is one of the lucky few to have the job of manning a fire lookout tower. And as a veteran of more than 25 seasons of scanning the horizon, he’s not about to give up his post. This Filson Life is part of Filson’s celebration of the Forest Service and the people of the

waterfall cascades down through pine forest

Field Notes

Region 6: Our Home Since 1897

Mountains, rivers, lakes, streams. Five active volcanoes. Nineteen National Forests. This is Region 6, our home since the day Filson was founded. The U.S. Forest Service oversees 193 million acres of public lands: 36.6 million acres of wilderness, 158,000 miles of trails, and 154 national forests. It divides its charge into nine regions. The Pacific

Grit: Marc Warnke’s Pack Goats

Filson Adventure Comic

Ranchlands: Six Generations of Stewardship

The Balance of Trust

History of the de Havilland Beaver

Captain Whidbey Inn

The Need for Wild Places

Sign up to receive the latest news about Filson products, events & stories.

History of the Field Watch

What Is The Land and Water Conservation Fund

With The Flow: WA Winter Steelheading

A Day of Celebration: History of the Chittenden Locks

70 Years of Seattle Mountain Rescue

After Wildfire

Plant a Tree, Grow a Forest

Filson x Smokey: Campfire Safety

Brown Trout of New Zealand

Solitude and Steelhead

Soul of a Boat

Salmon Centric: at the Core of a Life Purposefully Cast

Alaska Chronicles Part 1: North of Wild

Season Reflection: The Winter Hunt

If They Ain’t Wavin’

Ranchlands: Conservation. Stewardship. Cattle.

The Life of a Smokejumper: Wait. Jump. Fight. Repeat

USFS: Fighting Fire With Fire

Region 6: Fly Fishing’s Unlikely Benefit to Children in Need

Region 6: Understanding the Land Through Hunting

Region 6: Planting Beavers, Raising Waters

Region 6: Giving Rivers Back to Fish

Region 6: The Last of the Fire Watchers

Region 6: Our Home Since 1897