Knot tying was the first outdoor skill that I learned on my own. I found an old wilderness survival book and followed the diagrams until I figured out every knot in the book. It was incredibly empowering! I loved that book and carried it with me everyday until it got water damaged, dog eared, ripped, and eventually fell apart. I still carry those knots with me in my mind (although I do occasionally need a refresher on a more obscure knot). After years of using and teaching these knots I decided to make a knot tying guide that wouldn't suffer the same fate as my beloved book. I narrowed it down my top 16 most useful knots and put them on a bandana. The bandana itself serves a thousand uses and, unlike a book, doesn't have any issues with water. It's a powerful tool for teaching (and reminding the old woodsman.) If you have kids that are just starting to learn outdoor skills, this is a great way to give them the assets they need to learn on their own. It's a memory and a skill that will stay with them the rest of their lives. 

The Father of Colter Co.

"John Colter Meets the Crow," John Clymer

As we approach Father’s Day, I’ve been thinking about the inspiration for Colter Co. The Father of Colter Co., if you will, John Colter.

John is widely considered the first mountain man. His story and experience is an incredible inspiration. He was part of the Lewis & Clark expedition, which almost becomes a footnote in his life story compared to fact that he was the first European to explore Yellowstone, the Tetons and much of the wilder parts of the west. Alone. In the dead of winter. He mapped out many of the passable routes that pioneers and trappers alike used to travel west. He traveled light and was reported to say that he slept too hot to use anything more than a wool blanket even on the coldest nights. He had skills. The kind of skills that allowed him to travel light. The kind of skills that allowed him to provide for himself in some of the harshest conditions of the Rockies with only what he could carry.

I admire that man. I admire his spirit of self-sufficiency and love of exploration, and aspire to keep those traditions alive. We may not need to burrow into a snow bank with a wool blanket to get by these days, but I believe that we should know how. The ability to stay alive is a part of being human that we can’t afford to lose to the sands of time.

That has been the goal of Colter Co. To preserve the human legacy of John Colter through skill and love of adventure. We learn these skills and we pass them on to our children and their children. That’s part of being human.

Thank you all who have been a part of this journey with us. We look forward to seeing what the trail ahead holds for us and have enjoyed crossing paths with so many like-minded people out there.

Happy trails!

If you want to learn more about John Colter there is a wonderful in depth article about him over here: https://truewestmagazine.com/the-first-mountain-man/

This is me (on the left) beginning to learn the outdoor skills and feel the call of the wild. Thank you Dad, for taking me outside as much as you did. 

This is me (on the right) teaching my kids the joy and fulfillment that only comes at the summit of a challenging peak. Here's to many more lessons that adventure has to teach.

Yellowstone National Park

This year we made a trip we've been wanting to make for a few years. Yellowstone National Park. First of all, because our kids hadn't seen it yet. The other is because it's a sort of John Colter Mecca journey for me. John Colter was the first European to explore the Yellowstone area. He spent a lot of time alone in that area in search of good trapping streams. He was not alone. There were many others like him, but his finds and his stories of endurance, physical strength and cunning made him a part of history and the subject of many campfire stories. The grand nature of his expeditions were so extraordinary, it becomes difficult to determine truth from overactive imagination. Although few believed his stories of a land where the water boils and sprays in the air, it's still there. And it's an amazing place. 

Living in Washington can sort of spoil a person. It's so rich with pristine old growth rainforest that you start to not notice it any more. It's hard to maintain that sense of awe that nature can provide when you are surrounded by it daily. A trip to Yellowstone will quickly shake you out of any nature indifference you may be experiencing. Between the beautiful winding rivers, the roaming herds of Bison and the boiling mud pots, it all starts to feel like a trip to another place in time. If not another planet. It is easy to find yourself wondering what it would have been like to be John Colter, wandering down into this giant caldera for the first time. It's easy to feel the amazement he must have felt in seeing Old Faithful for the first time. Or finding a massive thundering waterfall carving out a vast yellow canyon. It's the kind of place that makes you feel a new respect for the planet we live on. 

If you have not been to Yellowstone, please go. It will give you a chance to see nature through new eyes. And remember John Colter while you are there.  

New bandana designs

New bandana designs are in! These two new designs family with the Know Your Knots bandana and bring knot based style to the everyday staple. Both designs are available in navy or Red. We are also very glad to tell you that with this print run we have upgraded all of our bandanas to a softer U.S.A. made 100% cotton bandana, and water based inks. We think you'll enjoy the quality upgrade. The next time you pull one out of your back pocket for a quick boogie check your nose will thank you.