81-Year-Old Montana Wrangler Smoke Elser Teaches Cowboy Skills to Navy SEALs, FBI

Dubbed Smoke by his mentor, a locally famous outfitter named Tom Edwards, Elser had landed in Montana, the cradle of the wilderness movement, at a critical time in history: Post-World War II expansion and consumerism were poised to irreparably change the West’s backcountry. Elser was swept along in the excitement and joined in the fight to pass the Wilderness Act http://wilderness.nps.gov/faqnew.cfm , even testifying before the Montana Senate.

Sixty years later, at the age of 81, Smoke is still working as an outfitter and horse packer in the same places he once fought to save, and he’s shared his favorite Montana wilderness areas with a who’s-who client list of politicians and businessmen. Along the way, he’s also trained the FBI, the Border Patrol, and Navy SEALs.

Smoke Elser’s knowledge of pack mules and crosscut saws proves priceless in machine-free wilderness areas.

By Molly Loomis, National Geographic

Full Story: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150703-cowboy-montana-west-wilderness-backcountry-united-states/#.Vd1MWNBKPN0.facebook