The long weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. As the Labor Day weekend approaches, we’d like to take a moment to wish you all a great long weekend, and also offer our thanks for continuing to read along with us each and every day.
Your patronage makes all of our labor worth it, so thank you. 🇺🇸
Now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s grab that coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours.
Here's what's worth reading about today:
C’mon, man - Alaska outfitter sued for defrauding clients 💰
We lost a good one - The outdoors community mourns the loss of Flip Pallot 🙏
Body found - The Minnesota man who vanished in the Bighorns has been located 🗻
Early bucks - Arkansas kicks off buck-only season 🦌
Year-round ‘yotes - Delaware is contemplating changes 🐺
Expanded opportunities - Dept. of Interior opens up additional access 🏞️
Wrong pond, buddy - The chances of being attacked by a swan are low, but never zero 🦢
Miss something this week?
GIVING HONEST GUIDES A BAD NAME
ALASKA HUNTING GUIDE SUED FOR DEFRAUDING CLIENTS OF OVER $660,000
The State of Alaska has filed a lawsuit against Clint Miller, a 48-year-old Wasilla man operating Alaska Wilderness Outfitter in Holy Cross, a remote village 117 miles northeast of Bethel. The Alaska Department of Law accuses Miller of defrauding clients out of more than $660,000 between 2019 and 2024 by accepting payments for backcountry moose hunting trips that he frequently canceled at the last moment without issuing refunds. The lawsuit, filed by the Department’s Consumer Protection Unit, also alleges that the few clients who went on hunts faced unsafe conditions, including insufficient fuel and inadequate guide services.
According to the complaint, Miller charged clients between $12,500 and $24,500 per trip, targeting those eager for a once-in-a-lifetime big game hunting experience in Alaska’s rugged wilderness. However, of the 32 customers who paid for hunts in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, only two set foot on legal hunting lands, and none have successfully killed a moose since 2021…
HEADLINES // DIGESTIBLE SNIPPETS
“More to come, bye for now” - Flip Pallot
🙏 Influential angler and conservationist Flip Pallot dies at 82 years of age. There was always a distant horizon for him. Always a next adventure. It was ever this way, and so it remains. Now the task will be to hold the lessons close to heart, and stay the course he set, and navigate the way without our North Star.
The family and friends of Philip “Flip” Pallot are terribly saddened to share the news that Flip passed away on August 26, 2025, in Thomasville, Georgia, due to complications from surgery. This was unexpected and unmooring for us all.
Flip was a searing light that streaked across the sporting world for more than half a century, illuminating the possibilities of wild places and the pursuit of adventure, and leaving a comet’s tail of stories and insights and life lessons that will never dim. He was an inspiration to 18-year-olds and 80-year-olds. His passing leaves a gaping hole in our hearts, but one we will fill by living forward in the many ways we have been changed through his presence.
For now—“Heads up,” Flip would say, “and shoulders back, and don’t start your backcast until the line is straight and the fly is moving.” Read the full story on Fly Fisherman.
🗻 Body of Missing Minnesota Hiker Found and Recovered from Bighorn Mountains' Cloud Peak. The body of Grant Gardner, a 38-year-old hiker from Minnesota, was found and recovered from Cloud Peak in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains after a 20-day search. Gardner, an experienced hiker, summited the 13,166-foot peak on July 29th, and texted his wife that evening, indicating the climb was more taxing than expected. That was his last communication. A group of mountaineers from North Carolina discovered a piece of fabric from Gardner’s backpack on Tuesday evening at over 11,000 feet, leading to the recovery of his body by Big Horn County Search and Rescue on Wednesday. The sheriff’s office believes Gardner died in a tragic accident, and his body was flown out for further investigation by the county coroner before being returned to his family.
The search for Gardner was extensive, involving helicopters, airplanes, electronic tracking, and personnel from Teton County SAR and the Wyoming Army National Guard. Despite challenging weather and terrain, the effort continued until it was suspended on August 20 due to diminishing survival odds. Gardner’s body was found in a hard-to-spot location between rocks, camouflaged by terrain, and credited to the keen observation of the North Carolina mountaineers, who aborted their own climb to assist in the recovery. Sheriff Ken Blackburn expressed gratitude for the support from multiple agencies and the community, noting that while the outcome was tragic, it would hopefully bring closure to Gardner’s family.
Miss something this week?
QUICK HITS // FROM AROUND THE WEB
Early buck-only hunt offers head start to deer hunting season in Arkansas: The brief respite from triple-digit temperatures has many hunters breaking out their bows for the first time in a few months and checking their equipment to get back to the woods. The first of those opportunities will be Sept. 6-8, when Arkansas’s early buck-only hunt will kick off for the second year. Read the full story.
Delaware considers extending coyote hunting season to year-round: The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is considering multiple changes to the First State’s wildlife regulations, including making coyote hunting season year-round. Read the full story.
Dove hunting season begins Sept. 1, Missouri officials remind hunters to be prepared: The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) were reminding hunters to be prepared for dove season. Dove hunting season begins September 1 and ends November 29. Read the full story.
Maryland’s 2025 Archery Deer Season Opens September 5: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will open the archery hunting season for white-tailed and sika deer on Sept. 5. The season runs through Jan. 31, 2026 with several breaks for muzzleloader and firearms season. Read the full story.
Dialed in.
Want more elk and hunting opportunities in Montana? Keep the ‘roadless rule’: The management of about 38% of Montana’s national forest lands is guided by the 2001 Roadless Rule, which generally prevents new road construction while allowing for a multitude of other uses, including Off Highway Vehicle riding on motorized trails, firewood cutting, grazing, habitat improvements, camping, and of course, hunting and fishing. Read the full story.
Interior Expands Hunting and Fishing Access at Refuges and Hatcheries: The Department of the Interior today announced 42 new hunting and sport fishing opportunities across more than 87,000 acres within the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This final update more than triples the number of opportunities and quintuples the number of units opened or expanded compared to the previous administration, underscoring a strong national commitment to outdoor recreation and conservation. Read the full story.
VIDEO // SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN
🦢 You’re swimming in the wrong pond, pal. Watch as this swan gets a wee bit territorial when this fella tries to encroach on his swimming hole.
The chances of being attacked by a swan are low, but never zero…
Miss something this week?
WEEKEND MEME // SORRY, BILLY
WANDERINGS // A SFW GLIMPSE OF OUR BROWSER HISTORY
Are phones/cameras ruining the view? That’s an odd conundrum. We love to browse rad photos (see below), but there is something to be said for not filling up your phone’s memory with 500 images you’ll never need again and just enjoying the moment. You came, you saw and you didn’t use a damn filter. Avoiding scavengers, the smell and the ‘ick’ of it all. What it’s like to watch bodies decompose - you know, for science. An ode to the 1950s beach bums who spent their summers on the ocean and winters on the mountains. The few, the proud and the totally chill. I read something recently about men’s mental health and how it is struggling due to the lack of what researchers called “third spaces”. You know, those spots where men can gather and gently carouse outside of work/family hours. These are places like boxing gyms (or regular gyms), delicatessen’s or coffee shops and bars. And since it’s the long weekend and we’re already getting thirsty, let’s take a deeper dive on the art of becoming a regular at your local/favorite watering hole.
EYE CANDY // PICTURES > WORDS
The pull of the long weekend.
📸 : @down.to.fly
Oh, and one more thing…
