In the remote Wyoming wilderness, below Pendergraft Peak, a small bronze plaque commemorates slim Pendergraft: “mountain man, game protector, and gentleman.” Outfitter Peter Linn is paying homage to the outdoorsman in another way: he named his new business Pendergraft Outfitters. “My great granddad homesteaded here around 1905, and he outfitted with Slim Pendergraft,” Linn says. “Now I’ll be outfitting up in that same area.”

Linn plans to take guests hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting in remote areas of the Teton Wilderness. This is something he and other family members have done for decades. Linn has been exploring the rugged terrain of the Jackson Hole area since childhood, and he began helping his father with wilderness pack trips at age 12. The newest, most exciting aspect of Linn’s business is that he recently gained access to a specific camp
he is now permitted to use.

“It’s one of the best camps in all of Wyoming,” Linn says. “I’ve been on almost every trail in the Tetons, and the Gros Ventres, and up in the Teton Wilderness, and this camp is legendary. It’s an old, awesome historic camp right under Pendergraft Peak. I have a permit to use the trailhead on Brooks Lake, and from there we ride 17 miles to camp on horseback. There’s a lot of really cool adventures you can do, whether it’s hiking, fishing, riding, or hunting.”

Linn still lives on the ranch where he grew up, but now with his partner, Kim, and daughter, Charlie. His great grandfather originally homesteaded the place, which sits along the west bank of the Snake River. His parents and other family members are active in family-run businesses, including outfitting and running the Linn Canyon Ranch, a guest ranch in Teton Valley, Idaho.

Growing up in the outdoors and guiding guests in the wilderness have been defining aspects of Linn’s life. “Being out in the mountains—it’s everything to me,” he says. Protected wild lands are an integral part of Linn’s lifestyle and livelihood, and he sees his role in protecting open spaces clearly. “It’s about taking people into these remote places, and giving them the appreciation for the wilderness. It needs to be something that the general public cherishes. As outfitters, we show guests that getting into a wild, natural place is priceless.”

It is Linn’s hope that the next generation will experience and appreciate the wilderness as he has. His daughter, Charlie, is nearly 3 years old and already enjoying the outdoors alongside her parents.

“Charlie has been on quite a few pack trips,” Linn says. “She made it 17 miles into camp last year, at 2 years old. She loved it, running around playing in the streams. I can’t wait to take her on more wilderness trips.”