Great Outdoor Blog

New gear and events in the shop this week:

Backpacker Magazine’s GET OUT MORE TOUR:

• Greensboro shop - Wed, Apr 25
• Winston-Salem shop - Thu, Apr 26

Walkstool

Incredible High-quality, lightweight, folding stools made in Sweden. Four stools held a Volvo up (do not attempt)!! I’m taking one to Merlefest for a test run. They are in the shops now, stop by and take a load off.

• Comfort 45 L - $79
• Comfort 55 XL - $89
• Comfort 65 XXL - $99

Lafuma Loungers

Super Comfortable, Multi-position folding recliners. Compact, easy to fold up and store. Lafuma has designed its furniture for maximum ease in transport and handling. These are the original high-end quality chairs many have tried to duplicate.

• FUTURA - $175
• FUTURA XL - $199

by Bill Hoffman (Greensboro Shop)

At times I feel really silly while kayaking slow moving rivers. I begin to sing and Robert Goulet I am not. Murky, muddy waters prompt a few lines of the Doobie Brothers. Oh black water keep on shinin’ on me. Wider waterways have me belting out the lyrics to Proud Mary, screaming out the words with gusto like Tina Turner does, scatting full orchestration. Rolling, rolling on the river. On my Class I river trips there is no humming the death metal, industrial and acid punk songs preferred by the Class V Narrows of the Green whitewater paddlers. (more…)

Backpacker’s Get Out More tour provides the information and inspiration you need to get out and enjoy the outdoors, whatever your skill level. Come meet Randy and Sheri Propster, Backpacker’s traveling ambassadors, for a presentation filled with tips to get the most out of your next outdoor excursion.

• Greensboro shop - Wed, Apr 25
• Winston-Salem shop - Thu, Apr 26

MORE INFO

Beginning at the Green Acres Family Campground, the 5 brave souls trusted me to lead them down the mighty Roanoke from Williamston, NC to Jamesville, NC with an overnighter on the Conine Platform on the Roanoke.

Preston, Dave, and Darrell arrived first, at the campground, and
got us signed in and paid up. Mimi, Andrew, and I arrived around 9:00 PM or so to a blazing fire and the most warm greeting and introductions of one to another.
After setting up our respective tents on the ground we settled down around the table to wine and conversation, so we thought. Mimi produced a homemade pound cake which has no rival in my recent or long term memory of ever being of the fine quality of this one. After we all sampled the cake, Mimi became Queen Mimi as a salutation to one whose talents include making cakes to die for. All the wine disappeared and the remains of the cake were put away as we retired for the evening, but not before being warned to hold it down. (I can’t help it if paddlers are rowdy) (more…)

Short Season is here! Time to trade the knee-highs for lightweight, breathable ankle socks. Stop by the shop and check out our great selection of Wigwam socks.

Wigwam Ingenius Rebel Qtr.
Lt Grey, Khaki - $11.00

Wigwam Ingenius Rebel No-Show
Lt. Grey, Pink, Khaki - $10.00

Wigwam Ingenius Rebel Crew
Black - $13.00

Events are going on all over the state in celebration of Earth Day (Sunday, April 22). Great Outdoor will present at these great events, stop by for cool new MULE stickers

• Piedmont Earth Day Fair - 4/21
  
• Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead - 4/21
  
• Neuse River Festival - 4/21
  
• Duke Earth Day Festival - 4/20
  

Our shops are selling organic cotton “Green Build” T-shirts. ALL Proceeds from sales of this T shirt benefit Habitat for Humanity. $20

W’s Continental Divide Grey/Sapphire** $95
W’s Highlander Lime/Aqua** $85
W’s Namche Sage $100
M’s Hardrock Black/Red $95
M’s Highlander Black/Red** $95
M’s Odyssey Grey/Leaf $95
M’s Namche Bombay Brown $100

** Greenville, Charlotte, Raleigh (Cameron Village), Greensboro & Winston-Salem shops only

Wilmington shop employee, Robin Wood, who also leads bird walks for Audubon, discovered a Snowy Plover last Wednesday, at the North End of Wrightsville Beach. He was showing folks the rare and endangered Piping Plovers that winter here and among those birds, was the even rarer Snowy Plover, who should have been somewhere out near Utah. This is only the third confirmed sighting of the Snowy Plover, EVER, in North Carolina

PRESS RELEASE:

Audubon Biologist Discovers Unusual Bird in North Carolina

While observing a group of rare Piping Plovers near Mason Inlet, Robin Wood, Biological Technician for Audubon North Carolina discovered an even rarer bird for North Carolina: the Snowy Plover, also called the Kentish Plover. The unusual bird was found at the Mason Inlet Waterbird Management Area located at the north end of Wrightsville Beach near the Shell Island Resort. According to Harry LeGrand, Vertebrate Zoologist with the NC Natural Heritage Program, the agency that tracks such information, “Snowy Plovers have only been seen twice before in North Carolina and this sighting is the earliest in the year.”
(more…)

Feed the Need is a new community service project established by The News & Observer, as an outgrowth of our commitment to making our region a better place for us all to live. Our goal is to help feed people in the Triangle and surrounding counties who would otherwise go hungry.

The money and food donated through Feed the Need will go to The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, a highly regarded nonprofit organization dedicated to making sure that no one goes hungry.

Feed the Need invites companies and private citizens to join in our efforts. Find out more by exploring this website or contacting us directly. In addition, we encourage you to look for our Sunday, April 15, special section in The N&O to find out more about hunger, the Food Bank and how you can make a difference.

Donating food is easy. Food collection bins will be in our Triangle Shops between April 14 and 22.

Cameron Village | Falls Village | Northgate Mall | Eastgate Shopping Center

» MORE INFO

by Lin Peterson (Ad/web guy)

Despite the recent cold snap, spring fever has me itching for a trip outdoors. I’m joining good friends Billy & Whitney for a trip down the Cashie River tomorrow. We are putting in down river from Windsor, NC (Johnson Mill Rd) then paddling 5 miles to spend our 1st night at Lost Boat Camping Platform. Our 2nd night we’ll be staying at the Otter One platform on the upper branch of the Cashie River’s Broad Creek.

I’m very excited about my first trip using these platforms. We’ll be writing a gear review for the new Prospector 16 SP3 by Nova Craft. Check back for trip notes, pictures & videos from the trip! (more…)