Journal

The Drift

Notes on the water we keep going back to. Sailing, the places we want next, a break that has more cars than spaces, and the rivers that require a permit before they require a boat.

• September 17, 2026

  Rivers for next spring

  The Gallatin, Madison, and Bitterroot next spring, and how Montana FWP’s Smith River permit lottery actually works.

• August 20, 2026

  Grayling at Emerald Lake

  A high-lake walk south of Bozeman: Emerald Lake, Arctic grayling, and what the Forest Service and FWP actually say about getting there.

• June 18, 2026

  The drive to the water

  The parking lot is part of the day: U.S. 191 along the Gallatin, a tailgate, and the right to turn around.

• April 16, 2026

  When a surf break gets attention

  Two 2026 stories about crowded water: a beach park on Kaua‘i’s North Shore, and a lifted surfer cap in the Mentawai Islands.

• December 18, 2025

  Where we want to go next

  Three places on our map: a catamaran week in the British Virgin Islands, the Pacific lagoons of Baja, and the Gulf of California.

• October 16, 2025

  Why we love sailing

  What we actually like about a day under sail: the reach, the reef tied in early, and a boat that will not be hurried.