Videos

First Jump at Skydive Missoula…what a rush

Jumped out of a perfectly good airplane today with Skydive Missoula… and not my last one. First skydive. Tandem with Kai (aka the calmest human alive while I’m free-falling over the Bitterroot like a feral bassett hound on espresso). One second you’re in the plane door looking at that “nope” distance to the ground, the…

Don’t Backslide: The Endangered Species Act Changes That Put Species at Risk – Episode 1

Have you ever watched a species — or a whole habitat — bounce back? In this hike-and-talk along Bass Creek, I revive the Mountain Misfits Podcast with a no-fluff breakdown of what’s happening to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) right now—and why these proposed shifts are a backslide for species, wild places, and recovery. We…

Trump, the Orange Menace, will be on the 2026 Interagency Pass. Dear Leader staring at you.

Alpine Survivor – Jones’ Columbine on Siyeh Pass, Glacier National Park #botany #mountainmisfits

Up on Siyeh Pass in Glacier National Park, the alpine feels like the edge of the world — wind, rock, thin air, and then you find this, Jones’ Columbine (Aquilegia jonesii). Tiny, tough, and ridiculously beautiful, thriving where almost nothing else can. If you’re into wildflowers, alpine ecology, Glacier NP, and that “how is this…

Western Montana turns electric gold every October/November, and it’s not aspens doing the heavy lifting. It’s Western larch (Larix occidentalis), a deciduous conifer that cranks out high-performance needles, drops them like golden confetti, shrugs off fire, teams up with fungi, battles parasites, and lives for centuries. This video is a deep dive for forest nerds,…

A Flash of Gold – Prothonotary Warbler #birding #Montana

A flash of gold—how about that? Prothonotary Warbler in Montana, only the fourth time on record, and 29 years later it’s my second encounter with this stunner.

I usually take you on scenic hikes. Today isn’t that. I’m standing on the bed of Lolo Creek—quiet rock where there should be riffles. A few weeks ago I filmed crayfish, trout, and whitefish here. Now: decay on the air, shells and carcasses underfoot, herons picking off the last stranded fry. This isn’t just fish…

Marsilea oligospora—an aquatic fern that ditched the classic fronds for clover cosplay. #botanizing

Hiking in Montana for Idaho Goldthread #botanizing #hiking

Finding flowering Coptis occidentalis (Idaho Goldthread) is a highlight of the Montana spring.

Meet Vorticella from my microscopic adventures (that's right, this nature nerd has a micropscope). One second it’s stretched out on a stalk, filter-feeding with its cilia spinning like microscopic lawn mower blades. The next—it snaps back like a coiled spring, faster than your eye can follow. This tiny aquatic protozoan lives attached to submerged surfaces…

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