Backcountry Chronicles

Spotting Scopes Comparison: 22 Scopes Priced under $650

Below you will find a spotting scopes comparison chart of 22 scopes under $500. As I mentioned in the post about Choosing Outdoor Optics, I found myself without a spotting scope with the hunting season

A Personal Water Filter (Life Straw) Lightens the Load

I live in the high, dry Inter-mountain West. In warm weather, I carry at least four liters of water each day when hiking, scouting, hunting or fishing. On several occasions, I drank all four liters of water before noon and had to

Is Garmin/Delorme InReach a Good Alternative for PLBs?

When we bought our first PLB, we also I looked at the Spot Satellite Messengers as a possibility for sending messages home when were were out of cell phone coverage. The reviews for Spot were so bad we decided not to buy one. Since then, Delorme brought two-way satellite messaging to the market and then […]

What’s Does it Take To Eat a Good Elk Burger?

Do you know what it takes? I was enjoying an elk burger a couple of days ago (shared this same pic on Instagram @backcountrychroniclesdotcom) and was thinking about everything involved with putting that delicious burger on my plate.

Western State Elk Harvest Comparisons for 2022 Elk Hunt

Page currently being updated… Every year when I rank Western States by the total number of elk harvested at the state level, Colorado always wins. When I rank harvest data by hunter success or by fewest hunters, Wyoming always wins. I used to rank data from the last year harvest data were available, but have […]

OTC and General Elk Tags 5 Western States 2022

This is how you can go on a DIY elk hunt without drawing a tag through lottery system.

Nevada Family Found Alive, but People Still Don’t Know about PLBs

The family that has been missing in the Nevada mountains were found alive Tuesday afternoon. Two adults and four children were taken to the hospital for mild hypothermia and dehydration and are expected to be released today. They were lucky. They did things wrong that put them at risk and

Lee Loader Reloading Kits are Perfect for Beginners and Survival Kits

Lee Loader reloading kits are great for anyone that wants to try reloading without spending a lot of money for equipment because each kit only costs about $30. I bought the 45 auto

Survival Tips: Tell Someone Before You Go

The mountains, canyons and deserts of the Western U.S. are amazing places to live. With over 360 million acres of public land in eleven states, people come from all over the world to enjoy outdoor activities here. But like all mountainous areas, they can also be

What’s Does it Take To Eat a Good Elk Burger?

Changes at BackcountryChronicles Fly Fishing and an overdue Fishing Report

When the Corona Virus Pandemic started Jim and I shut down our fly fishing instruction because we didn’t know if we could give proper instruction and stay

BackcoutryChronicles is Guest on Sizzlin Arrow Outdoors Podcast

I was first introduced to Paul Rhoades several months ago by a mutual friend. Paul owns a company called Sizzlin Arrow Outdoors which currently has a Pod Cast

Don’t Spray Dandelions, Eat Them – A Recipe You Will Actually Like

Too many homeowners today freak out and unleash chemical warfare at the first sign of a weed or bug in their lawn or garden. Why do we do that? Because that is all we know.

North American Development and Wildlife Conservation Timeline

We constantly hear that many species are threatened with extinction. Extinction is a fact of life for every species as much as death is for every individual. More species (99%) have gone extinct in the past than exist on our planet today and most of those extinctions were due to

The Real Problem with Nature-Deficit Disorder

Several years ago, I heard of the term Nature-Deficit Disorder and was learning what it was all about. I found a story, from Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv about an organization