Profiles | Page 7 of 12 | The Filson Journal

ERNESTO ALVARADO – FIRE SCIENTIST

Ernesto Alvarado is a biologist and Research Associate Professor at the University of Washington. With over 27 years in the field, his current research covers a variety of topics, from fire management to tropical forestry, to the nature of forest fires in response to climate change.

1 Min

Hotshots getting their gear ready from truck

Profiles

Q&A WITH A HOTSHOT

We sit down with Jeremiah Coke, Squad Leader with a hotshot crew in the Pacific Northwest, to learn a thing or two about his 17 years in fire.

3 Min

Profiles

PHOENIX CREW 1

Meet one of the most unique teams partnering with the USFS – an Arizona Fire Crew made primarily of post-release inmates.

10 Min

kyle miller wildland firefighter photographer

Profiles

KYLE MILLER – PHOTOGRAPHER

A wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service and Wyoming Hotshots crew member, Kyle Miller is not a photographer — just a guy who is drawn to fighting wildfire on the front line, who happens to have a camera.

2 Min

fire lab test in progress while scientist takes notes

Field Notes

INSIDE THE FIRE LAB

The U.S. Forest Service’s Fire Sciences Laboratory, Fire Lab for short, is the only facility on earth dedicated to studying wildfire through experiments in a chamber. The public rarely gets to witness the science and technology happening inside. I was giddy for the demonstrations, for the chance to experience fire without fear. I would come away with so much more.

5 Min

Profiles

JIGGER JOHNSON – USFS PIONEER

Profiles

Mike Blais of Auburn Stove Foundry Company

Some of Mike Blais’ earliest memories are from the inside of his grandfather’s foundry in Maine. He spent his youth shadowing the older man, learning to mix sand and clay, ram patterns, heat metal, and pour it, creating something from nothing in a series of precise steps. He cast his first piece on his own, under his grandfather’s watchful eye, before he reached the age of ten: a grate for a small coal stove.

6 Min

Profiles

Maine Guides

Maine Guides are an institution just as iconic in the Northeast as lobster fishermen. They’re stitched into Maine’s landscape—a mythical place of famous coastline and rivers, as well as vast swaths of undeveloped woods (a rarity in the crowded East) that teem with wildlife.

5 Min

man in black coat smiling while driving with friend

Profiles

Banking on Bailey: Introducing the Filson x Merrell Sandall

Head an hour north of Boise, and you’ll find a stretch of the Payette river that contains some of the world’s most notorious class five rapids. Not many people dare to try their hand at kayaking this part of the river, but there are a few who dedicate their lives to running it daily.

4 Min

sandy landscape with green plant life and clouds

Profiles

What is White Sands?

Great white dunes march across the New Mexico desert. From the tallest dune, some 60 ft tall, it’s hard to fathom the world around you. Climb skyward, and your eyes would meet a sea of white; 275 square miles to be precise – where corduroy ribs of pure gypsum rise and fall like an ocean

man standing in dirt road near classic cars on grass and woods

Profiles

Broken Down and Saved by Saints

Photographer Joe Haeberle travels the west in a rambling fashion, documenting small town Americana. A few summers ago, he found himself broken down in rural Montana and in need of a hand; what he found was new friends. “uh, shit.” I murmured to myself. I put the truck in first gear and tried to get

5 Min

woman in black filson jacket sits in pilot seat of small aircraft touching switches

Profiles

In Print: Alaska Aviation with Sarah Russell

For Sarah Russell, Alaska has been the answer at the end of a long search for freedom. We spent time with Sarah last summer as part of our Above Alaska trip where she let us into her world and shared a bit of her story with us. Where did you grow up? I’m a military

3 Min

Profiles

Above Alaska: Bush Pilots of the Last Frontier

Covering 663,268 square miles, Alaska is larger than Texas, California, and Montana, combined. With only 20% of that land mass accessible by road, aviation is not a luxury in Alaska. It is a necessity. Watch Now

Profiles

In Print: Branson Wallace

Last summer while in Kodiak, AK we went crabbing with Branson Wallace and his buddy Aaron Thompson. We recently reconnected with Branson to ask him about life on Kodiak, his duties in the USCG, and how both of those things have shaped his life and effected his journey to becoming an outdoorsman. Tell me about

8 Min

man standing in trough of trackhoe cuts branches off tree

Profiles

Mother’s Day in the Mountains with Terry Myers

Terry Myers is perhaps one of the more adventurous women we’ve ever met, seen here trimming the spring shoots on her favorite apricot tree from the bucket of a front end loader. We went to her home, a pristine mountain ranch in the Idaho hills to hear the story of her favorite Mother’s Day. Once

Profiles

Q+A With Fly Designer Brita Fordice

Atop Brita Fordice’s desk lays a bag of eyeballs. Next to the eyeballs are a variety of feathers – some that look real, some that are real, and some that look like they might have been picked up on the floor of a costume closet. Next to the feathers are resins to hold things together and tools to pull things apart. It looks a bit like a kindergarten art class, save for the cauterizer.

6 Min

Ed's art of fish and mountain scenes in his journals

Profiles

In Print: Making Art with Ed Anderson

Ed Anderson is an Idaho-based artist known for his iconic scenes using bold colors and lines to present subjects from bush pilots to bull trout and bugling bull elk. We sat down with Ed to learn more about how he got into art, developed his style, and what has influenced him along his journey.

5 Min

Profiles

Seven Star Marine: Newport, Rhode Island’s Source for Marine Engineering

I had the great good fortune of growing up on the waterfront in my father’s marine business. It was an immersive, hands-on experience that captured my imagination from the start. What more could a boy want than to be surrounded by boats, engines, and an endless stream of fascinating characters? Dad and his partner started

barge with trucking containers seen through porthole of another ship

Profiles

Trade Stories: Three Generations In the Wheelhouse of a Tugboat

The blue-and-yellow tugs of Western Towboat are fixtures in the Seattle area. But harbor work on the West Coast is only a fraction of the company’s business. Its biggest job is freighting more than a billion pounds of goods each year to Alaska. By Will Grant The lifeline for Southeast Alaska begins in the Lower

10 Min

portrait of corey on fishing boat in filson hat and orange overalls

Profiles

Corey Forrest: Fishing Rhode Island

As a little girl, I didn’t know I was going to grow up to be a fisherman, or follow in my father’s footsteps, and his father’s footsteps. It was a man’s world at the dock of Sakonnet Point, no women working in sight. The faces of fishing, as I recall, were a blue-collar gang of

7 Min

portrait of Matthew in black coat and yellow flannel

Profiles

In Print: Matthew Nienow and Good Story Paddleboards

I reeked of the sea and had nothing to show for it. Darkling saltwater for a dream and no other place to be (29-31) Excerpt from “In the Year of No Work” by Matthew Nienow To enter into Matthew Nienow’s workshop is to walk back in time. Wood shavings lie coiled in heaps on the

Profiles

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

5 Min

portrait, eric jackson with red flannel and big brown beard

Profiles

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.

5 Min

Fender guitar and amplifier with filson cover on amplifier

Profiles

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!

10 Min

claire portrait in black raincoat with orange hat

Profiles

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

5 Min

Keya portrait in white wool hooded jacket falling snow

Profiles

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

4 Min

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

Profiles

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.

8 Min

Profiles

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

5 Min

boat running upriver in limestone canyon toward snowcapped mountain

Profiles

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

6 Min

john working at his desk in log cabin with antler chandelier

Profiles

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

6 Min

Between Hell & Heaven: Burley Mountain Fire Lookout Restoration

ERNESTO ALVARADO – FIRE SCIENTIST

Q&A WITH A HOTSHOT

PHOENIX CREW 1

KYLE MILLER – PHOTOGRAPHER

INSIDE THE FIRE LAB

JIGGER JOHNSON – USFS PIONEER

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Mike Blais of Auburn Stove Foundry Company

Maine Guides

Banking on Bailey: Introducing the Filson x Merrell Sandall

What is White Sands?

Broken Down and Saved by Saints

In Print: Alaska Aviation with Sarah Russell

Above Alaska: Bush Pilots of the Last Frontier

In Print: Branson Wallace

Mother’s Day in the Mountains with Terry Myers

Q+A With Fly Designer Brita Fordice

In Print: Making Art with Ed Anderson

Seven Star Marine: Newport, Rhode Island’s Source for Marine Engineering

Trade Stories: Three Generations In the Wheelhouse of a Tugboat

Corey Forrest: Fishing Rhode Island

In Print: Matthew Nienow and Good Story Paddleboards

In Print: Patrick Manary

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

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

In Print: Claire Jenck’s Road to the Ocean

In Print: Keya Clairmont

Jessie Allen: More Than Miss Wyoming

Duck Band: Friendship, Music, and Hunting

A Day on the Hell’s Canyon Mail Boat

John Finley: Wyoming’s Cowboy Artist

Between Hell & Heaven: Burley Mountain Fire Lookout Restoration  