Great Outdoor Blog

Mountain Hardwear athlete Kenton Cool tackles the Colton-MacIntyre route on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses

Love In the Tropics, an annual spicy soirée with a tropical theme, will be held on Saturday, February 7 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. This year’s bash marks the 13th year for the party that supports the Friends of the Museum’s Educators of Excellence Fund, which in turn helps provide educational adventures for outstanding teachers across the state.Each year in February, the Museum is transformed into a musical and romantic tropical paradise for adults. Partygoers can dance to the jammin’ music of Saludos Compay and learn the Latin salsa from professional dance instructors of the Mad About Dance studio. New this year, Paso Dance Studios’ Cuban Salsa dance team will give a special performance. Visitors can also indulge in delightful dishes from the Acro Cafe and enjoy festive libations at the cash bar.

In addition, partygoers can participate in the 50/50 Raffle, where winners receive half the winnings and the other half goes to the Educators of Excellence Fund. They can also bid on several one-of-a-kind items at the annual silent auction. Items include a Santee Sport 116 kayak provided by Great Outdoor Provision Co., jewelry, tickets to the ballet and symphony and getaways from the mountains to the sea. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, other hot auction items include a one-night stay at the Umstead Hotel, an interior design consultation with Cameron House Interiors, autographed sports items and tickets to sporting events.

For many people, Love in the Tropics is on their personal calendars year after year or they start calling for tickets in the fall. They love to come dance, socialize, and bid on auction items for their sweetheart. Liz Baird, Director of School Programs says it’s an ideal way to give back to such a worthwhile program while having an exciting evening at the same time.”Partygoers enjoy meeting the teachers who’ve participated in the Educators of Excellence Institutes and supporting a cause that benefits teachers and students across the state,” says Baird. “They also look forward to beating the winter “blahs” by pulling out their favorite tropical attire and joining us for the evening in one of the few adults-only events at the Museum.”

The Museum’s Educators of Excellence program includes teacher institutes in Belize, Ecuador, and Yellowstone National Park. Through the Museum, many outstanding educators get to experience the natural world first-hand. Since it was established in 1987, the Educators of Excellence program has inspired more than 300 teachers from North Carolina, helping them gain new knowledge about the natural world, and discover ways to use outdoor experiences in their teaching. The Educators of Excellence Fund allows the Museum to offer the Institutes at a reasonable cost.

Tickets to Love in the Tropics are $20 for the general public, and $15 for Friends of the Museum. Festive or tropical attire is suggested; must be 21 or older to attend. All proceeds support the Educators of Excellence program. Reservations suggested; for tickets visit the Museum’s website tickets.naturalsciences.org or call Elizabeth Iaquinta at 919.733.7450, ext. 352.

The City of Raleigh is accepting comments on its Comprehensive Plan 2030 until Friday which has implications for the Umstead State Park area.

• The Plan calls for an extension of Lake Boone Trail from Blue Ridge Road to Edwards Mill Road. The Richland Initiative believes that this extension will diminish water quality and pave over valuable farmland.
• It also zones open space between Edwards Mill and Blue Ridge Roads as “Public Facilities.” And it zones land west of Edwards Mill Road as both “Public Facilities” and “Public Parks and Open Space.” The “Public Parks and Open Space” designation better protects undeveloped land than does “Public Facilities.” The Richland Initiative would like to see all open space be classified as “Public Parks and Open Space.”

Visit http://www.saverichland.org/plan2030.html to take action by submitting comments to the City of Raleigh.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Chuck Millsaps  919-834-2916 EXT 201
chuckm@greatoutdoorprovision.com
Paula Harris 919-286-4407
paulah@northgateassociates.com

DURHAM, NC – One Thousand Fifty Eight West Club Blvd. has been the trailhead for adventure in Durham since 1995.  This Northgate Mall location served specialty outfitter Great Outdoor Provision Co. for over a decade but the retailer will close their Durham location on January 28, 2009.

“The decision to close a store is difficult, and sometimes occurs when economic conditions change,” Great Outdoor Provision Co.’s President Tom Valone said in a statement. “The relationship with Northgate Associates has been outstanding  and we have appreciated serving the Durham community at Northgate Mall.”

Great Outdoor Provision Co. and Northgate Mall worked together on several philanthropic efforts including the Annual Coat Swap and Land Trust Day. With customers support the goodwill efforts also included events for Habitat for Humanity, Scouting (both boy’s and girl’s organizations), and the Eno River Association.

“We will continue to serve Durham County residents from our Chapel Hill (Eastgate) and Raleigh (Cameron Village & Falls Village) locations,” said Valone.  “Customers will share our excitement to know that Ann Stuntz, the manager from Durham, will continue to offer her leadership and merchandising expertise as manager of the Falls Village location.”

Founded in 1972, Great Outdoor Provision Co. is a family-owned retailer of clothing and gear for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. The company has eight stores in seven North Carolina cities.

Confluence is making a limited production run for a few  Concept Boats. There will be 4 models and only 50 of each model will be made world wide. These boats will be made of Carbon Fiber and will be offered in the following models. (click to download PDF spec sheet)

• Concept Expedition 18.5 Black – $4000
• Concept Tribute 12.0 Black – $4000
• Concept Zephyr 15.5 Black – $5000
• Concept Project 54 Black – $2500

While we won’t be stocking any of these Concept boats, we will be more than happy to place a special order. Contact your local shop for more info.

Due to work constraints, I was unable to join my wife and children on an extended trip to visit grandparents in Tennessee.  MLK day was a paid holiday, so I planned a long weekend trip to Washington state to visit some friends, with hopes of skiing powder on Mt. Baker.  In contrast to the cold snap that was experienced by my family and friends in NC and TN, I enjoyed 60 degree high temperatures on the summit of Mt. Baker!  I learned that they have temperature inversions, when the base of the mountain is cooler than the summit.  It was awesome feeling a warm breeze on the chair lift and seeing skiers and riders wearing no sleeves and shorts, while my home was frozen solid.  The ski lift ticket stated “Welcome to Juneuary,  enjoy the weather”.

Walt Duncan, Charlotte, NC

The “River Rats” from Carrboro, NC and around gathered for our 22nd annual winter trip. We go and camp in early January to a swamp in eastern NC and explore in small boats the many rivers and swamps. We pick a landing to put in and travel usually up river, until we find a suitable spot to tent sleep and camp for a long weekend. This year we had 21 campers, 8 boats and 3 dogs. It was a blast. One of our crew brought a thermometer to check the cold temperature, only to find it was “stuck” on 5 degrees! We had to peel our eggs before we could scramble them….We saw hawks, king fishers, egrets, swans, ducks geese, and even an eagle! The Trent River in Pollocksville, NC is not to be missed!

“Cold Play Tale” from Don Basnight

Chuck Millsaps, Minister of Culture

The faster I ran the more lost I felt.  Not that panic lost feeling that causes you to measure gorp and ration water.  Just that nagging sense that my destination was somewhere other than straight ahead.  This was my first outing with the Backwoods Orienteering Klub (BOK) and the exhilaration of adventure distracted me from sticking close to the map.  The BOK was founded in 1978 and has been venturing thru the woods for over 30 years. Fortunately I was only “momentarily confused” for a few hours.

This particular event was held at the Reedy Creek entrance of Umstead State Park where BOK volunteers welcomed all and even offered a beginner’s class to newcomers.  Everyone is welcome to join the BOK.  Registration for a course is free for members and only $5 for non-members.   Compass, whistle, map are among the essentials and can be rented at the event.   Each of the klub’s regularly scheduled events offers a range of courses of varying difficulty.  My son & I teamed up with an experienced friend, Ryan Stagner, from here at the shop to take on a 5.7km course that wound up delivering at least 12km of exercise.

Ryan and his wife Beth showed us the ropes before we set off.  Using the “finger stick” we clocked in at the start control and took off for Control # 1 which lay somewhere to the northwest of the picnic shelter.  The entire course covered beautiful never-before-seen sections of Umstead.  The cold, bleak winter conditions framed the beauty like an Ansel Adams negative.  Running through the ruins of Camp Craggy felt like a page from James Fenimore Cooper’s account of Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans.   The map came to life as we reconciled the details of the map topography with the landscape around us.

At the end of the event my 11 year old son summed it up perfectly.  “Dad, that was really fun.  Can we do this again?” Absolutely.    If you are interested in getting lost for an afternoon and experiencing the fun of becoming found then check out backwoodsok.org  for the schedule of events.

Exclusive Charlotte Premiere of Teton Gravity Research’s Newest Ski & Snowboard Film ‘Under the Influence‘.  Tons of Giveaways and Live Music.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Visulite Theatre – CHARLOTTE, NC

SHOWTIME: 8pm – Doors 7pm

Tickets: $10
Tix Available at: Alpine Ski Center 704.332.2824 & Visulite Online & Box Office

John Flowers

No exotic tales here of trips far away places with life hanging by a thread, just a tale of the drive to work on the 19th, the day of the snow.

Peaking out, upon waking up, revealed a fresh, undisturbed blanket of snow in my yard, my driveway, and the road in front of my house. Snow was still falling at 7:30 AM so that added to the charm of the morning whiteness. We don’t get a lot of snow around here, so you tend to marvel at the beauty of snow regardless of the amount which is, usually, for us, not much, compared to more northern locales.

After taking a few photos out the window, I breakfasted, dressed, and went out to the car. A broom was all it took to clear the fresh powder from the windows to afford decent vision. I cranked the little white Scion and we ventured out to the white road where no lines where visable. After checking to see that the Trac-on was engaged, I headed east to Greensboro.

Highway 70 is the main route to Greensboro from Gibsonville, however, Highway 61 and McLeansville Road are much nicer drive with little or no traffic, a rural, scenic drive which avoids the hassles of the more traveled Highway 70.  The drive was the same “snow” drive I’ve always done over the years with no surprises, however, this time, I was able to get a picture, as I drove (carefully) with my cell phone camera. The photo tells the intrigue, the joy, and the potential bit of apprehension one has when driving on something slippery, white, cold, and with no lines.

There is something about being one of the first to drive down a road in the snow that never fails to fascinate me. After a few minutes, I found the safe cruising speed, and had a nice drive on into cleared roads in Greensboro with all the slush and salt. The drive took all of 5 minutes extra compared to a normal drive but I always love to remember those drives on fresh snow.