The Filson Journal

Signature Materials

Original Alaska Outfitter Since 1897 | The Filson Story

Since 1897 we've had the same mission: To create best-in-class products that outsmart the elements, outperform expectations, and outlast you. Our Founder, Clinton C. Filson put it best, "Your satisfaction...

History of the Field Watch

Nearly every casual wrist watch has evolved from the classic military field watch. The history of these watches began with WWI pocket watches. During WWI, many countries issued their officers...

The Pack Horses and Mules of White Pass Trail

The journey to the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush was infamously arduous. Many lost their lives, including the overworked and overburdened pack animals. To this day, their loss...

Castner's Cutthroats: Alaskan Scouts

Handpicked by Colonel Castner during WWII, the Alaska Scouts was a rouge’s gallery of tough Alaskan trappers, miners, hunting guides, dog sledders, and many Alaskan Natives. Learn more about one...

Civilian Conservation Corps

During the summer of 1933, while the United States struggled under the grip of the Great Depression, thousands of young men left their hometowns to embark upon a great adventure....

The Black Beauty: A Short History of Cast Iron Cookware

There is something about a cast iron skillet that tugs at the heart of any outdoorsman. It’s almost as if its burley black surface has retained a hint of every...

Storis: The Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast

The Storis began her long career as an ice patrol tender for the United States Coast Guard, commissioned on September 30, 1942. She was to patrol the east coast of...

The Survivors: Alaskan Arctic Musk Oxen

With no reason to fear mankind, the muskox was almost driven to extinction by the advent of guns that ripped through the slow-moving herds. In Alaska and on the rest...

Filson in the Field: Searching for Muskox in the Alaskan Arctic

As a company founded on equipping folks headed into the frozen desolation of the Klondike goldfields in 1897, we knew that we needed to do something that was a bit...

The Evolution of Hockey Gear

When a modern NHL team takes to the ice, players are protected from head to toe, the focal point of which is their large colorful sweater. The need and developments...

George McJunkin's Discovery of a Lifetime

Born sometime between 1851 and 1856, McJunkin originally came from Texas, and as a young man worked his way across Colorado and New Mexico as he pursued the life of...

125 Years of Hockey: A Diverse & Surprising History

Hockey has a diverse history that may surprise even lifelong fans. From the first professional all-Black league formed in Nova Scotia to the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, funded by two...

DOGS WITH JOBS: Labrador Retrievers

Blessed with a perpetual grin and soft floppy ears, Labrador Retrievers have been the most popular breed of dogs in America since 1991. A virtual Swiss Army knife of a...

Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots

The U.S. Army’s first cold weather boots were called “Mickey Mouse Boots” for their oversize appearance. Officially designated the "Type I" & "Type II" footwear model, it was first worn...

Halibut Hooks of the Northwest Coast

Traditionally, a náxw, or “halibut hook” in the Lingít language, was carved out of two pieces of wood attached with cordage (natural fiber) to form a V-shaped hook. A piece...

Lessons from the Darkness: Southeast Alaska's Kóoshdaa Káa

The rugged coastline of Southeast Alaska is full of folklore. The Kóoshdaa Káa, a shape-shifting creature in Tlingit culture, is one such legend. The origin is much more profound than...

Paul Bunyan: Larger Than Life

With his trademark flannel shirt, double-bladed axe, and giant blue ox, Paul Bunyan left an indelible mark on the American consciousness. Though he may have been based in part on...

White's Boots: 168 years of handmade tradition

Bootmaking is one of those occupations that, done properly, wears well over time for both the boot’s owner and the bootmaker. And in nineteenth-century America, this was a handcraft occupation,...

Make Mine “To Go”

Moonshine (often corn liquor from a still) was a prime source of income for many in the southern Appalachian mountains. Its history partly derives from Scots/Irish immigrants to the United...

Airboats: Remote Access Watercraft

Airboats—known also colloquially as swamp boats or bayou boats—are a relatively straightforward design for a watercraft, yet have been employed for a wide variety of transportation uses on rivers, marshlands,...

Anne LaBastille: True to Nature

At the age of 31, after securing a small plot of private land studded with mixed spruce, balsam fir, and hardwood forests, LaBastille embarked on a solitary life in the...

Anacortes Junk Co.

Marine Supply? Hardware? Antiques? Museum and gift shop? It’s a bit of all of these. Wander over wood floors that creak like the deck of a ship to find less...

Signature Materials

Tin Cloth Cruiser History

While the design of the Tin Cloth Cruiser has changed little over the decades, it has undergone some minor variations to meet demands beyond the forests. Over the years, the...

Rum, Sailors, & Pirates: the dark history of booze on the High Seas

The spoils of captured merchantmen vessels often yielded large cargos of rum, wine, and ale, which pirate crews put to good use. Ironically, these periods of mass intoxication would last...

Taking a Closer Look at Kon-Tiki

Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000...

Map Maker of the Pacific Northwest

The Kroll Map Company, Inc., has been a fixture of the downtown business community in Seattle for over a century. Three generations of the Loacker family have continued the work...

Yesler Way: the history & origin of “skid row”

The term “skid road”—or "skid row"—has its origins in the lumberjack camps of the Pacific Northwest dating back to the earliest pioneer days, where teams of oxen and horses would...

Black Regiments of the Alcan Highway

Seventy-eight years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers completed one of its most ambitious assignments of World War II—the Alaska-Canadian (Alcan) Highway. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Alcan...

Walter Harper: The First to Summit Denali

By the time they established their final high-altitude camp at 17,500 feet both Stuck, and Tatum were struggling. The archdeacon, in particular, was in trouble. A forty-nine-year-old lifelong smoker, each...

The Jackie Robinson of Car Design: McKinley Thompson Jr.

McKinley Thompson Jr., a Ford designer who helped pen the first-generation Bronco, was the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Company after graduating from ArtCenter College of Design...

The History of the Gallatin Valley

Long before Lewis and Clark first set foot into Gallatin Valley in 1805, the area was revered by the indigenous native tribes that roamed its broad-shouldered mountain ranges. Over the...

Signature Materials

History of Buck Knives: Made in America

Buck Knives is a historic American brand with a legacy that spans four generations. For 118 years, they’ve been dedicated to crafting quality, handmade knives, and tools designed for a...

Signature Materials

A Brief Look at the Origin of Denim in North America

The history of denim in America dates back to the 1840s, when the durability of the warp-faced, twill textile was a proven choice for workwear clothing, with pants and overalls...

Maxville: The Town of Oregon’s African American Loggers

Nestled in the dense forests of Northeast Oregon stood Maxville, a former logging town that granted residence to African American loggers during the state’s exclusionary period, which saw Black people...

The People Behind Our National Parks

We've all heard about John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt–two iconic symbols of public lands and our country's National Parks. In this article, we explore some of the lesser-known stories, behind...

Eight, Nine, Ten…He’s Out: The History of Boxing in Logging Camps

Logging camps were rough and tumble enterprises, where loggers often worked from sunup to sundown six days a week in their pursuit of timber harvesting across the forests and mountains...

A Brief History of the Ford Bronco: American Outdoor Icon

When the U.S. Forest Service needed sturdy trail breakers to cover their 193 million acres of wildland, they turned to the Ford Bronco. Excellent ground clearance, superior maneuverability, slope-hugging stability,...

Inspiring Women of the Pacific Northwest & Alaska

We've all heard the stories of historic women like Amelia Earhart and Nellie Bly. Here we're focusing our scope to our backyard in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, shining a...

The Great Cascade Tunnel

Between Seattle and Chicago, a train called the Empire Builder rolls on 2,206 miles of steel track. It leaves daily on a 48-hour trip, gliding past splendid vistas including Glacier...

A Soldier to the Last – Lieutenant Pierce and the Skagit Expedition of 1882

On July 18, 1882, a lieutenant in the US Army named Henry Hubbard Pierce received a letter from Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles, who was commanding the Department of the...

Profiles

North Cascades: Bastion of the Wild

Sitting like stone guardians just below the Canadian border, the North Cascade mountains are keepers of the wildness that once roamed unchecked across North America. Soaring high into the skies,...

Profiles

Climber Fred Beckey: Spirit of the Mountains

If you listen hard enough, you can hear Fred Beckey’s spirit whispering among the towering peaks and hidden valleys of the Northern Cascades. Around campfires, bar tops, or anywhere that...

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard: The Origins of Ballard’s Oldest Working Shipyard

Pacific Fishermen Inc., or “PacFish,” as it is known to the many boat builders, ship crews, employees, family members and stakeholders in the Ballard community, can be traced directly back...

Boots on the Ground: The History of the Combat Boot

“A-ten-hut!” Cue the sound of many warrior feet coming together at once. One of the most important pieces of gear in a soldier’s arsenal today, the U.S. Army’s combat boot...

Food & Recipes

You Take What You Can Get: Or Suffer the Consequences

The stampede for gold into the Klondike of the Yukon territory reached a peak in 1898. In that same year, 1,200 other miners set out for other regions of the...

Profiles

Seattle Maritime Academy - 50 Years of Training Seaworthy Mariners

Long before Seattle was a tech town, or even an aviation town, it was a maritime town. In fact, it still is. And although some brag that Seattle has more...

Coldfoot: More than just another gold camp – a place that defined those who lived in it

The history of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 promised fortune to many who made the journey north to the gold fields of the Yukon Territory, with many of those...

A Day of Celebration: History of the Chittenden Locks

Started on September 1, 1911 and completed in 1916, the Hiram Chittenden Locks, alternatively called Seattle’s “Big Ditch,” or “Ballard Locks,” as they are commonly referred to today, helped make...

The SS Bering

The story of the SS Bering begins with her launching under another name, the Annette Rolph, on July 4, 1918, in Fairhaven, California. The ship was a wood-hulled “tramp” freighter...

Journey to the Yukon: Passage Aboard the Steamships from Puget Sound to the Far North

The month of July 1897 was an exciting time to be living on the West Coast. Steamships with names like Excelsior and Portland were docking in the ports of San...

Profiles

Western Flyer: The Vessel of John Steinbeck

On the morning of Monday, March 11, 1940, writer John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts boarded the sardine seiner Western Flyer at a wharf in Monterey, California. Both men...

The History of Ballard: The First 100 Years

Today, the neighborhood of Ballard is well known for its restaurants and atmosphere. However, the history of this Seattle hamlet is a story of industry, community, and entrepeneurship.

The Sinking of the SS Clallam

Hazardous weather conditions. Small craft advisory. Strong wind warning in effect. These are common warnings to mariners who may be considering the Strait of Juan de Fuca—the passage running between...

Rebisoning America's West

As we bounce across the prairie, small groups of bison close to the dirt track watch us roll by, while two bands of elk stare at us from a distance....

The Evolution of Mountaineering Gear

Humans have climbed mountains since they first crossed the Alps or left religious offerings in the highest heights. But it wasn’t until the mid-18th century that Europeans turned their gaze...

The 210th Air Rescue Squadron

The 210th Air Rescue Squadron, nicknamed “The Second 10th,” is an elite peacetime and combat search and rescue (CSAR) unit based in Alaska that’s on call for its citizens 24/7/365....

History of America's Wild Horses

The wild horses of the West have occupied the minds of people here since they were reintroduced to the North American continent by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. These...

The History of the Cowboy Hat

If there is one piece of Western wear that has become the ultimate symbol of the American Cowboy, it’s the cowboy hat. Like all Western wear, hats were made to...

Profiles

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Original Alaska Outfitter Since 1897 | The Filson Story

Featured articles

How to Build and Use a Sling

The Pack Horses and Mules of White Pass Trail

Corey Forrest: Fishermom

Mollie Walsh: The Angel of White Pass

National Forest Elemental Series: The Breath of a Nation

How to Kill, Cook, and eat dungeness crab

A Life on the Water: Brett Fitzgerald and the Angler Action Foundation

Denali Damsels

Filson Food: Surf & Turf Alaskan Style

Discover the world of Filson

Original Alaska Outfitter Since 1897 | The Filson Story

History of the Field Watch

The Pack Horses and Mules of White Pass Trail

Castner's Cutthroats: Alaskan Scouts

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Black Beauty: A Short History of Cast Iron Cookware

Storis: The Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast

The Survivors: Alaskan Arctic Musk Oxen

Filson in the Field: Searching for Muskox in the Alaskan Arctic

The Evolution of Hockey Gear

George McJunkin's Discovery of a Lifetime

125 Years of Hockey: A Diverse & Surprising History

DOGS WITH JOBS: Labrador Retrievers

Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots

Halibut Hooks of the Northwest Coast

Lessons from the Darkness: Southeast Alaska's Kóoshdaa Káa

Paul Bunyan: Larger Than Life

White's Boots: 168 years of handmade tradition

Make Mine “To Go”

Airboats: Remote Access Watercraft

Anne LaBastille: True to Nature

Anacortes Junk Co.

Tin Cloth Cruiser History

Rum, Sailors, & Pirates: the dark history of booze on the High Seas

Taking a Closer Look at Kon-Tiki

Map Maker of the Pacific Northwest

Yesler Way: the history & origin of “skid row”

Black Regiments of the Alcan Highway

Walter Harper: The First to Summit Denali

The Jackie Robinson of Car Design: McKinley Thompson Jr.

The History of the Gallatin Valley

History of Buck Knives: Made in America

A Brief Look at the Origin of Denim in North America

Maxville: The Town of Oregon’s African American Loggers

The People Behind Our National Parks

Eight, Nine, Ten…He’s Out: The History of Boxing in Logging Camps

A Brief History of the Ford Bronco: American Outdoor Icon

Inspiring Women of the Pacific Northwest & Alaska

The Great Cascade Tunnel

A Soldier to the Last – Lieutenant Pierce and the Skagit Expedition of 1882

North Cascades: Bastion of the Wild

Climber Fred Beckey: Spirit of the Mountains

Pacific Fishermen Shipyard: The Origins of Ballard’s Oldest Working Shipyard

Boots on the Ground: The History of the Combat Boot

You Take What You Can Get: Or Suffer the Consequences

Seattle Maritime Academy - 50 Years of Training Seaworthy Mariners

Coldfoot: More than just another gold camp – a place that defined those who lived in it

A Day of Celebration: History of the Chittenden Locks

The SS Bering

Journey to the Yukon: Passage Aboard the Steamships from Puget Sound to the Far North

Western Flyer: The Vessel of John Steinbeck

The History of Ballard: The First 100 Years

The Sinking of the SS Clallam

Rebisoning America's West

The Evolution of Mountaineering Gear

The 210th Air Rescue Squadron

History of America's Wild Horses

The History of the Cowboy Hat

The O'Hair Ranch

Wild Goose Jack

History of the Shotgun for Upland Hunting

The Heist: Canada's Sticky Situation

Filson and The Forest Service

THE CHAINSAW

THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.

The Oldest Continuously Running Sawmill in North America