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Matt Pretzel Mason

@firexneck

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Long distance hiker, connoisseur of women's running shorts & seasonal worker. AT '12, LT '13, CT '14, PCT '15, LSHT '16, TRT '17, CDT '19.

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A long term customer(15+ years!) recently contacted us about making him a modified Catalyst for a upcoming traverse across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Here's what Matt had to say about the trip and pack:

I've been lucky enough to put over 9,000 miles on ULA packs over the years. So when I needed a high volume pack to traverse 200 miles across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on skis it was an obvious choice, the ULA Catalyst. I was grateful to work with Owen to get my back of the envelopes pack features sewn into reality. While they are relatively simply changes to the proven Catalyst design they make all the different in the context of a ski traverse. The shovel pocket allows for secure shovel blade storage and keeps snow out. While I hope to not have do much boot packing on this travers, I will end up having to walk over bare ground, fording rivers, and boot packing up steep faces. Having a simple, fast and secure way to attach my skis to my pack is critical. The anchor points allow me to use my skis straps that I'm already carry to do exactly that. The final customization was extending the volume of the roll top. While I have a minimal kit a -20F sleep system, parka, down booties, and extra food can only get so small. This trip is a great use case for the waterproof UltraX fabric!

Happy Adventuring! by @firexneck

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9 months ago

In September I got the ultimate hitch, a ride in @andrewskurka 's Beans and Rice van. Thank you for your kindness and conversation Skurka. I'm sure I said at least three dumb things, sorry about that. #ultralightjerk #ulj #yellowstonenationalpark #certifiedlatergram #beansandrice #skurkabeansandrice #skurkabeans2028 taken in Yellowstone National Park by @firexneck

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a year ago

"Songwriters aren't any different than Lifetime movie writers....'what do we do next?! Happy ending!' These next ones are about Love and home." -- paraphrasing @margocilker

Thanks for the great banter, and songwriting.

#songwriter #sadmusicmakesmehappy #notlatergram #margocilker #livefromthedivide @livefromthedivide taken in Live From The Divide by @firexneck

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4 years ago

Headed north, y'all! taken in Superior Hiking Trail Southern Terminus by @firexneck

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4 years ago

Aaaaaand just like that my fire season is over. Learned a lot this season, and so damn grateful for all the front seat flights across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. See y'all next season! 🤙

#lategram #postingasareelsoidonthavetocrop #yellowcollarworker #wildlandfirefighter #yellowstonenationalpark #yell #astar #benjamintod #hmgb #unskilledlabor #helitack #hecm #yellatack taken in Yellowstone National Park by @firexneck

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4 years ago

This winter I visited the site of the 1913 Massacre. Christmas Eve 1913 striking Western Federation of Miners and their families were having a party. 73 people lost their lives trying to escape Italian Hall thru this arch. Company thugs yelled, "FIRE!" creating a stampede down the stairs to the only exit. 59 of the dead were children under 10. They can't murder union organizers and their families like they use to. They would if they could get away with it in 2022, now they just resort to other more "civilized" union busting tactics.

Don't take my word for it listen to @woodyguthriecenter 's song 1913 Massacre.

"Take a trip with me in 1913,
To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country.
I will take you to a place called Italian Hall,
Where the miners are having their big Christmas ball."

xxx

"You ask about work and you ask about pay,
They'll tell you they make less than a dollar a day,
Working the copper claims, risking their lives,
So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives."

xxx

"Well a little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights,
To play the piano so you gotta keep quiet,
To hear all this fun you would not realize,
That the copper boss' thug men are milling outside."

xxx

"Such a terrible sight I never did see,
We carried our children back up to their tree,
The scabs outside still laughed at their spree,
And the children that died there were seventy-three.

The piano played a slow funeral tune,
And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon,
The parents they cried and the miners they moaned,
"See what your greed for money has done." taken in Calumet, Michigan by @firexneck

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4 years ago

I've been lucky enough to have been a fan of @jeffreyfoucault 's songwriting and banter between said songs for 22 years. #jeffreyfoucault #missingbilly taken in The Attic by @firexneck

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4 years ago

I've always supported camping in all states and countries. taken in Freedom Isn't Free by @firexneck

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4 years ago

First time in Moab and this was the only park I went to. No regrets! #masstourismindustrialcomplex #springbreak2022 #nolines #nocrowds #nopermits #nosprintervans #march202022 #whatwouldabbeydo taken in Moab, Utah by @firexneck

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5 years ago

"We put Mexican beer, French wine, hot black coffee, and tap water on the rider. Those things are hard to fuck up."-- @jeffreyfoucault

Beautiful tribute to the late @billyconwaymusic.

Great running into @shakyrule
and @haywardwilliams!

#march312022 #jeffreyfoucault #singersongwriter #songwriter #wisconsin #opethatsmidwest taken in Stoughton Opera House by @firexneck

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5 years ago

Abbey Country. taken in Utah by @firexneck

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5 years ago

They're all great lakes, but only one is Superior. #unsalted #greatlakes #minnesota #ope #lakesuperior #roadtrip #hikeminnesota #gichigami taken in Split Rock Lighthouse by @firexneck

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5 years ago