The dog in question belongs to Luke Buckingham, a 15 year veteran of renowned backpack manufacturer Mystery Ranch, who until just two years ago held the title of Ranch Hand, having done just about every job under the humble company's roof. Luke is the third longest running employee at Mystery Ranch, bested only by the brand's founders Dana Gleason and Renee Sippel-Baker. Luke is a sturdy man of admirable composition—and his beard isn’t half bad either. He's one hell of an ambassador, for both the region and the brand. But endless books have been written about about characters like Luke: genuine men that take little bullshit and dish out even less. No, there’s no need to dig further there. Rather, it’s his best friend that’s on the mind.
The Dingo. A spritely little dog of unknown breed (an Australian heeler mix?), The Dingo has a favorite human, sure, that is as true a truth as there ever was, but he has no owner. The Dingo is beholden to no one and no thing, save for the single job that he was put on this earth to fulfill: to seek out the perfect stick and perform the sacred act of fetch. The job is tiresome, as any worth doing is. Not any stick will do. Selection is crucial, though just a part of the process. And as far as The Dingo sees it, Humans are merely oversized assistants, put on this earth to take up the stick (once selected), and propel it down range, so it can be retrieved again, completing the cycle. The seemingly small series of actions keeps the world spinning. After all, there is no guarantee that big bright bird in the sky will rise tomorrow.
Out There
It was nearing noon and our party had crested the trail’s main ascent. Beyond laid two beautiful alpine lakes and somewhere in between our campsite. It was all downhill from here. And unbeknownst to us, for some time after this moment, the saying would ring true in more ways than one.
We had spent the previous day touring the Mystery Ranch factory floor, R&D department and design office, and now three days of backpacking were ahead of us—an opportunity to test the legendary bag-maker Dana Gleasen’s new 2016 packs for ourselves. The plan was simple: hike a handful of miles up a series of switchbacks and over a saddle, breeze through three more miles on a meandering lakeside trail, cross a bottle neck between two lakes by log bridge, and sure enough, we'd be at the campsite by late afternoon with plenty of time left for a leisurely swim under the watchful eye of Granite Peak, Montana's highest point. Though rain was in the forecast, all involved were confident that luck was on our side. It’s a funny thing though, luck.