by Chuck Millsaps

Think back with me to that time when being outside changed you. My emancipation from pavement arrived on the back of my 1968 Schwinn Sting-Ray. I pedaled that banana seat bomber to where the side walk ended – Charlotte’s Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant*. An adventure which sparked a wildfire of exploration as we flew down poison ivy’d trails through a wilderness of kudzu, cicadas and creek beds.

Growing up, we poured energy into outdoor play with little regard for who built the trails that provide our access. Time and space seemed abundant. And as for the trail-builder, we assumed it was the boogie man – some sasquatch who might appear at any moment and bring it all to a grizzly end. Such fears served to increase our sense of adventure as we escaped the ordinary world to a land of wonder.

Today our fear is less about sasquatch and more about the rapid decline in youth getting outside. You and I know that people need time in nature for their health, happiness, and well-being. But increasingly, children and families are living their lives indoors.

It is for this reason that the Great Outdoor Provision Co. is working with the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, a statewide land trust, to provide a new and meaningful opportunity for youth to connect with nature, and we need your to establish the North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps (NCYCC).

Merrell Footwear joins us in this effort because YCC programs are proven to be effective at connecting young people to the outdoors while also providing valuable enhancements to our protected lands.

The North Carolina Youth Conservation Corps will meet the needs of older youth in our state. There are multiple nature programs for young children in North Carolina, but very few offered for teenagers and college age youth. It is important to reach this age group while they are developing their environmental ethic and making career decisions.

The NCYCC is a comprehensive youth development program that uses the natural world as a platform for teaching environmental stewardship, job and life skills, leadership, community service, and personal responsibility. This summer, two “crews” of 8 to 10 youth ages 16 to 24 will work together outdoors under the close supervision of two highly trained adult leaders on high priority conservation projects. The crews will work 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 4 to 7 weeks on local, state, federal, and land trust properties. An additional hour is budgeted each day for learning about conservation topics.

Crews usually live together outdoors near the project site, making the experience a unique opportunity to bond together in nature as a community. Crew members will be paid minimum wage, creating a real-life work environment and attracting young people with diverse backgrounds. They will contribute valuable service to their communities and learn the meaning of personal responsibility and hard, rewarding work.

CTNC needs your help to launch this vital program. Shop with us on Saturday, June 1st, and 10% of your purchase goes to local land trusts.

The NCYCC is a win-win for everyone. Crews work on projects such as trail construction and maintenance, habitat restoration, and community gardens that enhance the natural landscape and open up more conservation lands to the public.

This summer, one crew will build a trail in the Croatan National Forest on the Coastal Plain, and another will work at various sites in the Triangle, including projects near Falls Lake and on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. CTNC hopes to expand the program for 2014 so that a number of crews will be operating across North Carolina. One important element will be placing crews on properties that local land trusts own, so that those protected areas can be enhanced for public enjoyment.

Please join me in supporting CTNC and the NC Youth Conservation Corps. You have an opportunity to contribute to a force for positive change. Your financial gift will help us organize and support YCC crews to work on real conservation needs and provide opportunities for North Carolina’s young people to experience a life-changing summer.

* In 2008 the Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant received the Gold Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. Mecklenburg County’s Greenway Master Plan includes an extensive recreational corridor for this area.

For the first 10 days of May, Patagonia will donate $10 to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for every pair of their footwear purchased through Great Outdoor Provision Co.

That’s a generous corporate donation, though not a surprising one from a company that has long abided by a bottom line that differs significantly from that observed by much of the corporate world. Patagonia is a company that in the mid-1990s hired third-party auditors to inspect its suppliers, a practice that’s only become common recently among mainstream retailers. A company that would just as soon you not buy their stuff unless you really, really need it, going so far as to take out ads on Black Friday — the high holy day for retailers — in 2011 proclaiming “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” A company that has gotten uber-retailer Walmart on board to sell environmentally responsible clothing.

If you’ve ever picked up a piece of Patagonia apparel in the store, looked at the price tag and thought, “Hmm …” , remember one thing and do another:

1) The privately-held Patagonia (owned by founder Yvon Chouinard and his wife) has long been a leader in socially responsible business practices — practices that haven’t been widely adapted throughout the retail world because they cost money.

2) Go home to your gear closet, fetch something with a Patagonia label and try to remember how long you’ve had it. (“Holy cow! I remember wearing this fleece on a road trip to the mountains driving my new Gremlin!”)

Patagonia, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, began when a California rock-climber decided he wanted better climbing equipment than was currently available. Yvon Chouinard bought a coal-fired forge, taught himself to blacksmith and soon was producing top-notch pitons and carabiners. But it wasn’t until he started importing apparel — first rugby shirts and corduroy knickers for his climbing buds, later fleece vests that became the rage among New York fashion models — that Patagonia took off as a company. A company Chouinard didn’t really want in the first place.

“I never even wanted to be in business,” Chouinard told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. And, at age 74, he still doesn’t. “… I hang on to Patagonia because it’s my resource to do something good. It’s a way to demonstrate that corporations can lead examined lives.”

No U.S. company examines itself like Patagonia.

That approach dates back to at least 1988, when Patagonia opened a retail outlet in Boston. Within the first few days, all the employees at the store became sick. Engineers discovered the ventilation system was recycling the same air over-and-over. But what was in the air that was making everyone sick? Patagonia wanted to know.

Formaldehyde, it turned out, sprayed on the cotton used in its apparel.

“This lead us to commission a study of conventional cotton, and the discovery that cotton grown with pesticides is one of the most destructive crops in the agricultural world,” Patagonia writes on its website. “Knowing what we knew, we could not continue to use conventional cotton for our sportswear. We went organic in 1996.”

Organic Cotton – Grown in the USA from Patagonia on Vimeo.

Examining one’s corporate self isn’t always easy — “Living the examined life is a pain in the ass,” says Chouinard — but it does put the customer’s mind at ease. Among Patagonia’s other efforts toward corporate responsibility:

• Creation, with Walmart, of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, encouraging major brands and retailers to adapt clear, quantifiable standards for producing environmentally responsible clothing. In addition to organic cotton, Patagonia uses recycled and recyclable polyster and hemp in its products.

• Donating, since 1985, more than $41.5 million — 1 percent of annual revenue — in grants and in-kind donations to grassroots environmental organizations. During that time it has convinced more than 1,400 other companies to join its “1% for the Planet” initiative.

• Created, with eBay, Common Threads, the aforementioned program designed to get people to buy and sell used gear rather than buy new. It’s part of their 5Rs pledge: to Reduce consumption, Reuse old gear, Recycle gear, Repair gear rather than toss it, and Reimagine a world that places less of a burden on the planet through consumption.

• Adopted a comprehensive program to ensure that its products are produced fairly and under humane conditions. To this end, Patagonia began contracting with third-party auditors nearly 20 years ago to inspect the factories that produce its apparel and gear, and was a founding member of the Fair Labor Association.

• In 2002, created a Manager of Social Responsibility position, which in 2010 was elevated to a director post — Director of Social/Environmental Responsibility.

• Toward the goal of being socially and environmentally responsible, created The Footprint Chronicles http://www.patagonia.com/us/footprint/ on its website, which lets consumers track the origin and creation of each Patagonia product.

Patagonia’s offer to donate $10 for every pair of its shoes purchased expires May 14.

By Becky France

Pack light: I want gear that performs well, is durable and whenever possible, dual purpose.
Quick drying long sleeve shirts: offers sun protection, anti-chaff, easy wash and dry, bug protection and warmth for damp nights.

Head lamp: durable, water proof, strong light beam and long battery life. Necessary for caves, camp duties, journal writing at day’s end and for a safe night trip down a dark jungle path to the loo.

Water shoes with toe protection: quick on but a full shoe, quick drying and cushioned sole. Good for kayaking, swimming, camp shoe, short hikes and once back in town, go to dinner.

Pelican Case: My SLR camera in the Pelican Case was the only thing that stayed completely dry the entire trip. I used a waterproof point and shoot on the water, but was so happy to have my SLR on land.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Oboz Firebrand II BDry day hiker
Great handling in sloppy conditions

My wife thinks I’m nuts because I love hiking in the rain.
“As long as I’ve got the gear to stay dry,” I say in my defense. And as long as I’m not slipping and sliding all over the place.
Staying dry, especially in a cool rain, hasn’t been an issue for years, thanks to layering and advances in rain shells with waterproof membranes. The slip-sliding-away, though, has been a challenge, especially on North Carolina’s rocky, rooty, icerink-slick-wet-red-clay trails.
Which is why I was intrigued when I picked up the Oboz Firebrand II … read more of Joe’s review at www.getgoingnc.com

Oboz Footwear talks about what makes the Firebrand. special

It is the epitome of competition, yet it eschews the very notion.
Thursday night, the Ramblin’ Rose triathlon series held an informational meeting at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. store in Cameron Village in advance of its two local triathlons, the Raleigh Triathlon May 20 and the Chapel Hill Tri Oct. 7. The hugely popular races sponsored by Endurance Magazine are women-only and geared toward beginners. They play down the competitive aspect of a tri, play up the comradery and supportiveness of the event. If you’ve participated in one of the races or just watched one, you know this isn’t mere marketing mumbo-jumbo. Ditto the Ramblin’ Rose’s motto: “Celebrating the empowerment of women.”

Empowerment: that’s where the competitiveness comes in.
During a presentation by athlete trainer Sage Rountree (who’s credentials are too numerous to list, so we’ll send you here http://sagerountree.com/ for an introduction), the 70 or so women who crammed into the store (between boats and women’s apparel) were focused. Rountree’s mission was to demystify the race by discussing training, equipment, transitions.
“Do you need a $4,000 carbon fiber bike?” she asked rhetorically. “Not yet,” she answered after a beat.

And none of the women present likely went out and bought one afterward. A fancy bike might give you an edge over others, but for this group, the only competition they were concerned with was with themselves.

Karen Friedlander of Cary came with her friend, Patty Harrison. Both had heard about the Ramblin’ Rose from a friend. Friedlander, who is 54, said she was looking for a challenge, to get herself back in shape after putting her needs aside for 20 years of work and kid-raising. She was looking for a better use of her time.
“I’m tired of the sedentary lifestyle,” she said.
Friedlander cited the Ramblin’ Rose’s reputation for being a supportive, non-competitive event. Then she exposed her internally competitive self.
“We joined a group called Tri It For Life, which helps train women for their first triathlon,” says Friedlander. The group originated in Charlotte; this spring’s session is their first in the Triangle. (Read more about Tri It For Life here.) http://getgoingnc.com/2012/06/tri-it-you-may-like-it/
Like Ramblin’ Rose, Tri It For Life encourages — and challenges. Friedlander says they do four organized workouts a week: a bike ride one day, a run the next, a swim and then a combination of two disciplines.
“It’s hard,” she says of her first three weeks of training. “It’s also enlightening. It’s done a lot to build my confidence. Even at my age, I’ve discovered I can do anything I want my body to do.”

Jackie Sinicrope of Cary is not a beginner: she’s got four races under her running shoes (five if you include last fall’s Chapel Hill Ramblin’ Rose that was called because of an electrical storm as she stood in line at the start). In a sense, she takes the events seriously by going into them prepared. She runs (she’s entered to do next weekend’s Quintiles Half-Marathon in Wrightsville Beach), she bikes regularly and she swims. Her tris to date have been the short-distance events, but she’s signed up for the longer international distance White Lake Triathlon http://www.whitelakeholidayresort.com/triathletes.html on May 4. “I like the motivation it gives me,” says Sinicrope, who is 42. “I like the routine and having a program, of knowing, ‘Hey, I’ve got a race coming up.’”

With so much experience and training, you might expect Sinicrope to be thinking about an age group podium finish.“No,” she says. “My goal is to just finish a little better than I did the last time.”Sinicrope’s friend, Susan Brown of Apex, did her first tri last fall, the women-only Dash for Divas, http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/directory/link-detail.asp?linkid=22724 and was hooked.

“I loved it,” says Brown, 45. “I loved how supportive it was. There was a great feeling of comradery. Everyone was cheering for one another — the spectators, the people running the race, the runners.”
When the opportunity to do a similar race, the Ramblin’ Rose, came up, she jumped. She said she might even train for this one.
Brown sees an extra mission — two, actually — in the Ramblin’ Rose.
“I have rheumatoid arthritis,” says Brown. “While I’m on meds and feel no pain, it’s important for me to stay active.”
It’s also important to be a good role model. Brown’s and Sinicrope’s 12-year-old daughters will be joining them in October’s Chapel Hill Ramblin’ Rose.
“It’s important to set a good example for our children, to show our kids a different, healthier way,” says Brown, a Montessori school teacher. “It’s part of my role as a parent.”

Brown, Sinicrope and Friedlander all appreciate that some potential female triathletes may be reluctant, because of weight, because of age, or for whatever reason. “You don’t feel like you stand out,” says Brown. “Everyone is in the same boat, it’s a supportive environment.” “In another setting,” adds Friedlander, “if you’re overweight, you might not want to be in a bathing suit.”
For a moment, Sinicrope exhibits a hint of outward competitiveness, joking it’s always nice to pass women half her age. Then she puts her thought in a Ramblin’ Rose perspective: “I like the challenge of getting older and getting better.”

* * *

For more about the Ramblin Rose race series, which includes triathlons and races this year un Chapel Hill (Oct. 7), Charlotte (Sept. 23 & 29), Durham (Oct. 21), Raleigh (May 20), Rock Hill, S.C. (July 15) and Winston-Salem (Aug. 19) visit their website here. http://www.endurancemag.com/index.php/ramblinrose

Umstead Trail Marathoners show that there’s more than one way to prepare for a 26.2-mile day

About five miles into Saturday’s Umstead Trail Marathon three vanguard Baby Boomers were running in single file. “This will be more miles today than I’ve run all month,” the guy in the lead said. His colleagues grunted in agreement.
Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad about my own preparation for the race.

During the running boom of the mid-1970s, you wouldn’t think of signing up for a marathon unless you’d been consistently logging a minimum of 45 miles a week. That, according to the website Training Science was considered the minimum mileage for not “hitting the wall” during a marathon’s final miles. That thinking demanded multiple “long” runs in a week, an approach that led to the notion of “junk miles,” or miles run simply for the sake of logging miles. In order to log the requisite miles, a marathoner typically had to follow a rigid schedule of daily workouts, which could take some of the joy out of running. As the three gentlemen on the Sycamore Trail illustrated, the thinking on marathon training has changed considerably since the days of Jim Fixx and Joan Benoit.

One of the more popular marathon training approaches is the Hal Higdon method. Since Higdon introduced his graduated training approach in 1993, he estimates he’s helped more than a half million people prepare for half or full marathons.
David Mackie of Cary embraced Higdon’s novice approach, an 18-week program that calls for gradually building up to 40 miles a week, logging one training run of 20 miles, and running only four times a week.
“I did it for two or three months,” Mackie said at packet pickup the day before the race. “In the second month, I had one bad run” — the kind that makes one question the wisdom of running 26.2 miles in one sitting — “but that was it. I feel prepared.”
And apparently he was. This was Mackie’s first Umstead Trail Marathon and he estimated he would finish in about four and a half hours. “Probably somewhere between 4 and 4:30,” he offered.
The 42-year-old Cary resident finished in 4 hours, 28 minutes and 47 seconds.
Despite running no more than 40 miles in one week, Mackie did not hit the wall at mile 20, as was the general belief in the ‘70s and ‘80s. If his approach is anathema to traditional thinking, it’s hard to imagine what the waffle trainer crowd would make of the latest, even more minimalist approach to marathon training.

CrossFit Endurance was created by cyclist Doug Katona and Brian MacKenzie, a former power lifter turned endurance athlete. It aims to make up in intensity what it lacks in longevity. The longest run prescribed in its training program is 90 minutes; the weekly training regimen is peppered with uber-intense CrossFit workouts. Weight and interval training are stressed, and workouts typically last between 10 and 20 minutes. That’s an attractive alternative to someone interested in training for a marathon, but who doesn’t have unlimited hours to invest on the trail.
Of course, those hours on the trail are the allure for many trail runners.
At first, Mark Manz appears the antithesis of the dedicated marathoner.
“The less structure I follow, the better I do with things,” says the 27-year-old Cary resident.
But as he elaborates on his training approach, it’s apparent that structure doesn’t necessarily equate to commitment.
“I get done with work at 3 o’clock, so then I may run for an hour and a half or two hours,” says Manz, who won the 2012 Umstead Trail Marathon in a time of 3 hours, 36 seconds — a 6:54 per mile pace. “I do my long runs on the weekend.”
He averages 140 to 150 miles a week, and notes that “every time I try to do less but make my workouts more intense, I get injured.”

Of course, how you define marathon runner also enters into the equation. In 1980, 166,741 people participated in marathons worldwide, according to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Last year, that number had swelled to more than 1.6 million. Similarly, the number of events during that time grew from 678 to 3,586.
At least part of that rise can be attributed to a psychological shift in how we approach 26.2 miles. In 1980, walking a portion of the race was considered a last resort, a concession to poor preparation. Today, it’s not unusual to see people walking from the start (although cutoffs in most races — it was 6 hours Saturday at Umstead — encourage at least fast walking). The topic of marathon walkers is hot fodder on online running forums. (Walking is also key to a training program pioneered by Jeff Galloway that gradually shifts participants from walkers to runners.)

Umstead, however, is not a typical marathon course. It takes place entirely on natural surface trail, some of which is rocky, rooty singletrack, and whereas some marathons go out of their way to create a fast (flat) course to draw PR-minded runners, Umstead seems to go out of its way in the opposite direction. At Mile 22, a point where runners are typically begging for mercy, Umstead throws in an out-and-back that involves the hardest climb of the day. Advises the race Website: “This is a challenging race with many hills and some single-track sections consisting of narrow trails with rocks and roots… . Some people love this sort of thing, but it is not for everyone.” Thus, the race tends to attract fewer walkers — at least intentional ones.
Scott Salger may epitomize the typical Umstead marathoner. An avid member and organizer of the Triangle Trail Runners Meetup group, Salger ran his first marathon in 2010 and has a 3:23 PR. He started training for Umstead in November, averaged 30 to 40 miles a week, peaking in the 50 to 60 neighborhood. He had a couple training runs in the 22-24 range. His preparation, in the loose parlance of marathon training, was enough to enjoy the run, not simply survive it.
“I’m going out for fun,” he said before the race. “To finish.”

By Joe Miller. When not running, biking, camping, hiking, paddling Joe writes extensively about the active lifestyle at GetGoingNC.

After Diane Van Deren finished her record-breaking run across North Carolina on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail last June 1, she did something she’d never done as a professional athlete.

She took a break.

Not because of her severely blistered feet, which were nearly devoid of skin, or because of the flexor tendon in her left foot, which “nearly wore through.” Not because her calorie-starved body had dug into its reserves and was consuming muscle, or because she averaged about three hours sleep a night during her three-week MST Endurance Run. And not because her entire 52-year-old body was simply worn out from more than three weeks covering nearly 1,000 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, from 6,643-foot Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border to Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks.

“With every event I’d ever done, as soon as I finished it was like, ‘OK, what’s next? What’s next on the schedule?” Van Deren said from her home outside Denver as she prepared to return to North Carolina in early February. The MST was something altogether different.

“With this,” she said, “I just wanted to take time to appreciate what I’d been through.”

During her 22 days, 5 hours and 3 minutes on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Van Deren had been through a lot. The cold and wet of the Southern Appalachians, the heat and humidity of the Piedmont, and the violent weather of the coast (on her 20th day she had to outrun a tropical storm and a tornado), The North Face-sponsored elite athlete faced about every physical and mental challenge imaginable. But those challenges are a dime a dozen in Van Deren’s world, a world that includes everything from multiple finishes in the Hard Rock 100, arguably the toughest 100-mile ultra run in the country, to the 430-mile Yukon Arctic Ultra, a race in which Van Deren and her 50-pound sled broke through thin ice on a lake a day from the finish.

“It was just life-changing,” Van Deren said of her MST Endurance Run. “The people I met on this race, we developed a real trust in sharing stuff. We were very vulnerable with each other. I’ve never had an experience like this and I don’t know that I ever will.”

Van Deren returns to North Carolina the first week of February for a series of statewide appearances, starting with her Feb. 2 address to the annual meeting of the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the non-profit spearheading completion of the trail. At present, just over half of the estimated 1,000-mile trail is complete, much of that in the mountains and Piedmont. The rest follows temporary routes, mostly along country roads. Van Deren’s run, sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co., was intended to accelerate the trail’s completion by raising awareness — and money.

According to Kate Dixon, executive director the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Van Deren was successful on both counts.

“I think there were two big things to come from the run,” said Dixon. “We got a lot of new members, people in the state who were not aware of the trail, and we got a lot of national recognition.” National Geographic, for instance, included the MST in its Ultimate Adventure Bucket List for 2013.

“As an internationally competitive athlete, Diane elevated the MST to its rightful place among the world’s best trails,” said Chuck Millsaps, Minister of Culture with Great Outdoor Provision Co. and the expedition’s leader. “Diane’s expedition revealed this grand traverse as a transforming trek through our state’s rich beauty, history and culture welcoming others to come and discover.”

The run also exceeded its fundraising goal of $40,000.

While Van Deren did bow out of the Hard Rock 100, which took place a month and a half after she completed the MST Endurance Run, she didn’t sit around reflecting for long. In September, she competed in a 50-mile endurance run in Chile and in December logged one of her best 50-mile times ever, completing the San Francisco edition of the 50-mile North Face Endurance Challenge in 9 hours, 25 minutes, 1 second, a pace of 11 minutes 18 seconds per mile. She’s currently planning her race schedule for 2013. (One thing she says she won’t be doing again is another 1,000-mile run.)

An elite athlete learns from experience and uses that experience to battle through perceived obstacles. Van Deren’s experience on the MST helped her blow off what many of her San Francisco competitors found to be intimidating conditions.

“There was horrific rainfall, a downpour, there were flash-flood warnings, and they had to alter the course,” Van Deren recalled with a laugh. “I was the only runner going, ‘Huh. No problem.’ My attitude was, ‘Hey, I ran through a hurricane, this is nothing.’”

While there were other lessons from the MST run that will benefit Van Deren in future events, it’s the magic of a team effort that continues to leave the biggest impression. A competitor in one of sport’s loneliest endeavors, ultra distance running, Van Deren found herself handing over her fate to her GOPC team, from support crew chief Joel Fleming, who woke her in the morning and tucked her in at night, to logistics guru Amy Hamm, whose duties included tracking down baked salmon dinners in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, to her team of daily trail guides, to expedition leader Millsaps.

At times that support came in the form of helping Van Deren get her shoes off and her feet patched. At times it involved telling stories, cracking jokes and otherwise helping her pass the long hours on the trail. And at times it simply came to recognizing when Van Deren was in the zone and needed to be left alone.

“I just had to keep moving forward,” Van Deren says of the run. “To have someone who could look me in the eye and say, ‘Here’s the game plan,’ was huge.”

Said Millsaps, “Diane reminded us that it is not about being super human as much as it is about becoming a human being. As a team we discovered how adversity reveals the best gifts: endurance, creativity and gratitude.”

And, Van Deren is quick to add, unity. Though it’s just her name in the record book, she says the entry should read like the credits to a Hollywood blockbuster.

“I still feel it’s a ‘we’ thing, not a ‘me’ thing.”

* * *

Where to catch Diane

Diane Van Deren returns to North Carolina, the site of her record-breaking Mountains-to-Sea Trail Endurance Run, the first week of February. There are several opportunities to see her and hear her talk about the run, what she’s been up to since, and what’s in store for 2013.

Saturday, Feb. 2: Keynote speaker at the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Annual Meeting in Saxapahaw. Details here.

Monday, Feb. 4: The Summit School in Winston-Salem, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 5: Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Greensboro, 7:30 p.m.

Wedesday, Feb 6: Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

Great Outdoor Provision Co., the southeast’s largest independent specialty outdoor retailer since 1972 has been acquired by local staff. Raleigh, NC native and founder Tom Valone announced that four longtime employees have taken a major equity investment in the company.

The new ownership team is made up of veterans Molly Cherry, Travis Zarins, Bill Mauney and Chuck Millsaps, the company’s Minister of Culture who will serve as the company’s new president. Valone remains on as chairman of the board and added “Each of these individuals do a better job than I ever did when I was in their shoes. They’ve been outfitting folks with quality gear for a long time and they love the outdoors and our customers as much as I do.”

“A lot has changed in 40 years but much remains the same,” remarked Molly Cherry, VP of Retail Support. “Our mule-team has over 90 years of cumulative experience. We will continue our legacy to save the wild places in North Carolina.” A significant amount of company profits are given away each year to support local environmental efforts. Not your typical corporate behavior. But Valone is not your typical executive.

“Equity groups kept pitching me to expand like wildfire and then sell-out.” Valone shakes his head. “But that’s not the adventure we intended. This transaction maintains our environmental legacy, protects our employees, and guarantees our loyal customers that Great Outdoor Provision Co. will remain the same great experience they have always enjoyed.

Travis Zarins, VP of Merchandise explained, “Our hand-picked product selection and friendly staff make us different from big-box retailers in the area.” Located in neighborhood shopping centers from Charlotte to Wilmington, the company’s seven stores total more than 65,000 square feet and feature brands like Patagonia, The North Face and Hobie Kayak.

“Without question, the greatest asset at Great Outdoor Provision Co. is our people,” responded Bill Mauney, VP of Retail Management. “We will always be a place to not only purchase great outdoor brands, but a friendly place to get information and meet others who are excited about getting outside. We are looking forward to growing this company over the next 40 years.”

You wanted to take a whitewater kayaking course last year — but didn’t. You swore you’d finally spend that week on the AT you’ve been promising yourself since college — but didn’t. You also didn’t train for an ultramarathon, take a weekend canoe camping trip or climb Looking Glass Rock.

2012 — where did you go?

Disappointed with last year’s adventure resume? Don’t let 2013 be a repeat of 2012. Vow to make this your Year of Adventure. And start now by making a plan.

Now, a true year of adventure consists of numerous small adventures and maybe one or two big ones. (It is called a Year of Adventure, after all, not a Long Weekend of Adventure.) Say your goal is that epic backpack trip, a week — at least — on the Appalachian Trail. You just don’t go out and hike 15 miles a day, seven days in a row, with 35 pounds on your back. You lead up to it, with a series of smaller adventures in the form of training hikes.

But all the good places to hike are in the mountains, you grump.

Au contraire, mon adventurer-in-training.

Go to our Hiking Page and you’ll discover five hikes near each of our seven markets. Say you’re in Greensboro and your goal is to get in at least two hikes a month. On our Greensboro Hiking Trips you’ll discover five of our favorite hikes. Only got a couple hours? The Lake Brandt/Palmetto Trail and the Piedmont Environmental Center are good options. If you’ve got time for a day hike check out nearby Hanging Rock State Park or Mayo River State Park or the Birkhead Wilderness of the Uwharrie National Forest.

You start exploring our recommended trails and begin to feel good about your hiking. Time to add camping to the mix. Before committing to a backpack trip you’ll want to field test your equipment, not to mention your camping skills, in a more controlled setting. Check out our Camping page and you’ll find find five places to car camp near where you live.

Next step: a short backpack trip. Come by the shop to explore our map section and scout potential trips, or meander over to books and pick up a copy of “Backpacking North Carolina,” where you’ll find good warm-up trips of two, three and four days. Finally, you’re ready for your epic on the AT. Start planning with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s maps and guidebooks, which cover everything you need to know — from shelter and campsite locations to water sources — to plan and execute a trip capping your 2013 Year of Adventure.

Plotting an epic year is just as easy for other adventures, from flatwater paddling to whitewater, trail running to climbing.

Maybe you’re flummoxed by all the options in the adventure world and aren’t sure where to start? A good source of inspiration is your local Great Outdoor Provision Co. shop. Spend half an hour wandering the aisles and chances are you will find motivation in the most curious of places. Pick up some maps at random; A region you thought you were familiar with may reveal a valley or ridgeline you don’t know at all. Maybe you pick up a copy of the “Shining Rock/Middle Prong Wilderness Map”; you’re as comfortable at Shining Rock as you are in a 0-degree down bag on a January night. But Middle Prong? What’s over there? Or perhaps the quirky “The Linville Gorge Hiker’s Guide,” a grassroots effort with homemade maps, mimeograph (Google it, kids) quality and grainy pictures catches your eye. Start thumbing through and you quickly discover a ton of insidery information about one of the wildest places on the East Coast. Intrigued? You bet.

Motivation can come in unlikely places. A trip to the camping department reveals a titanium spork that suddenly makes you want to spend the evening huddled in the dark and cold over a can of beans. In boats you realize it’s been way too long since you’ve had yours out on a winter paddle, while a trip through outerwear makes you realize it’s rarely too cold in North Carolina to get out and explore. Maybe you discover something entirely new, maybe something you’ve thought about, but never pursued until you pick up a flier for a day-long fly fishing class on a nearby lake. A one day lesson, a handful of day trips to local hotspots and who knows, you could be fly fishing for cutthroat trout in the Rockies come July. Does a river run through you? You won’t know until you put a fly rod in your hand.

We’ve got the resources to help make sure 2013 doesn’t disappoint. Let’s get started on your Year of Adventure!

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curated by Joe Miller

Jameson Redding, GOPC Kayak Fishing Team member
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I have paddled the Jackson Coosa for several years now and love it. Last year I picked up the Jackson Cuda 14. I have used this kayak for almost a year and feel the same way about it. I use the Cuda for my flat water, lake and salt, excursions and like the speed it has over the Coosa. Don’t get me wrong, in my opinion the Coosa is the perfect river kayak. When I started looking into the Jackson Big Tuna for a tandem solution for me and my wife I quickly realized it had great solo potential as well. I believe it is the single most versatile platform on the market with all of the seat configurations and the Tuna Tank. I got my Big Tuna just in time to take it on my annual trip to Pensacola, Florida for the holidays. I loaded it up on my new Malone trailer, which I love, and headed down to the Gulf Coast. Excited to try it, I planned a trip for that night to a spot that was known to hold big reds. The bait of choice is white trout that can be caught in the same location as the bull redfish using a Gulp! shrimp and a jig head. I wasted no time saying hello to everyone and getting my gear ready upon arrival in Pensacola. Once on the water the trout began to come to the boat, this is where my review starts.

1. THE TUNA TANK
I drilled some holes in the Tuna Tank and could not wait to see how it would work. I placed several trout in the tank with it in the upper position. I checked on them periodically and noticed that they were alive and kicking every time. As the tank filled I decided to drop it into the low position. I eventually had 20 white or sand trout, whichever you prefer, ranging from 10-14 inches. Me and my friend used these throughout the night and all of the fish stayed healthy and frisky. We caught several nice reds. The following days were spent between this night spot and a flat that we fished for speckled trout and slot reds. Again, while fishing the flats I employed the use of the Tuna Tank. I usually carry a stringer with me that I put the keeper fish on, which can slow your paddle down and attract unwanted friends such as sharks and dolphins. I don’t like carrying a cooler with me either, due to it taking up space for my tackle. I would rather leave it in the car. I managed several nice specks 17-20+ inches and since you are allowed 5 with one being over 20, I filled the tank. I kept my keepers alive all day and was able to cull fish since they stayed healthy and active. I would never have had this luck with the stringer. I plan to order the replacement tank soon for those days where I will not be using live bait or keeping fish.

2. SPEED
I would have assumed that the Tuna would be slow compared to my Cuda 14. If it is slower, however, I could not tell on the water. I was more impressed by how well it paddles as a solo kayak than any other feature of the boat. It is fast and yet still turns well. I do have the rudder on mine, but only because I am used to it on my Cuda 14. The only way I might could see it being harder to handle is if the wind was up a lot. The boat is bulkier and sits higher on the water.

3. STABILITY
Even the most stable kayak takes a little getting used to, however the Tuna would be a quick learn. I stand and fish from all my Jacksons and have no problem fighting even 42 inch reds while doing so. This kayak is the most stable Jackson I have paddled as of yet. I have wanted to try and stand in the seat of my Cuda for extra sight fishing height all year. Many times I have started to attempt doing this and chickened out due to it becoming a little rocky. I again pursued this dream in the Big Tuna. I was able to accomplish it with ease. I am no little guy either at 215 pounds and 6 feet tall. I was impressed to say the least. (Now, I am not saying that I recommend this, but I did it anyway.) The boat also rides through choppy waters well. With the wind blowing on several of our outings the waves were up. The Big Tuna road over them keeping me dry, yet still maintained its stable feel even with the seat in the high position.

These are the things that impressed me the most. I could go on, but I promised to keep it short.