Great Outdoor Blog

Ready for an upgrade? Been thinking about what to do with that older model kayak or canoe in the garage? Now is the time to make the move. Great Outdoor Provision Co. is offering the great benefits of the “Paddle It Forward” program. In this program, everyone wins!

From April 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009, if you donate your used, but seaworthy, hard shell kayak or canoe to a qualified charity, Great Outdoor Provision Co. will give you an immediate 10-percent off the price of a new kayak from Wilderness Systems, Perception, Dagger or Wave Sport (maximum $200 discount).  But the savings don’t end there. A manufacturer’s mail-in rebate will garner an additional 10-percent off the net price (maximum $200 discount).

Ultimately, you receive nearly 20-percent off the cost of a new boat; and a worthy charity will benefit from your generous donation. By assisting our local outdoor and environmental organizations, those in our community who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to paddle will experience the joy and fun of being on the water.

“This program engages the whole paddling community in supporting local charities, camps and schools that may otherwise be seeing a dip in donations right now,” said Bittu Ali, Paddlesports Product Manager at Great Outdoor Provision Co. “It offers us a unique opportunity to support the re-use of boats and directly influence the growth of the sport at the local level. We’re very excited for the community-wide charitable potential and we also believe consumers will benefit.”

Great Outdoor Provision Co. recommends the following charities for the donated boats, though any outdoor and environmental organization with a 501(c)(3) certificate is eligible for participation. Great Outdoor Provision Co. is unable to accept donated boats but can assist you in selecting a qualified charity for the program. Great Outdoor Provision Co. has already contacted these local organizations: YMCAs of North Carolina, Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of America, among others. It’s time for our community to come together and help each other out. It’s time to paddle it forward!

DONATION DETAILS:   Before donating a kayak or canoe, please contact Great Outdoor Provision Co. for complete details. Donated boats can only be dropped off at charities equipped to receive the used boat. The recipient organizations must be contacted prior to donation and reserve the right to refuse any boat.  A certificate of donation will be required to receive your discount and subsequent rebate.

by Bill Mauney

You’ve been planning this trip for months.  You woke up at O’Dark thirty to drive to the coast with several of your paddling buddies.  The kayaks are on the beach and ready to load (See “Coastal Paddling – Loading a Sea Kayak Parts I and II).  As you are getting your gear out of the vehicle and down to the kayak, you suddenly have that heavy sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.  You sheepishly announce to your buddies, “I forgot my spray skirt and my flashlight!”

You begin to beat yourself up for being so stupid.  Your friends aren’t saying anything, but you know what they are thinking.  Without your spray skirt, you run the risk of taking on water paddling in waves and a possible capsize.  You are not only putting yourself in danger if you decide to proceed without it, but you have now become a liability to the group, should conditions get rough.  They are the ones who are going to have to bail you out (literally) if you capsize. The waterproof flashlight will not only be needed in camp tonight, but it is a federal legal requirement as it serves as a navigation light for a sea kayak.

So what do you do?  Do you send your friends off without you?  Do you try to run and buy these two items locally, delaying the launch with the favorable tide and wind up making your landing at night only to set up camp after dark?  Do you go anyway and become a liability?  Do you risk both your personal safety and the safety of the group as they get you out of a jam caused by the missing spray skirt or flashlight?  That trip through the surf zone into the ocean is now too risky.  You can’t participate in the moonlight paddle or get caught out after dark.  What to do?

All of this could have been easily prevented if you had used a checklist when packing your gear for this trip.  For your future trips, whether an afternoon at the local lake or a three day weekend at the coast camping on the barrier islands, please download & use this kayaker’s checklist to make sure you show up at the beach with everything you need.  You will be happy if you do and so will your paddling companions.

Happy Paddling

Read More in our Coastal Paddling Series

Editor’s Note: Checkout the Backpacker’s Checklist and Eagle Creek Traveler’s Checklist

Kids have a natural talent of voicing their opinion. Any parent knows how well children can complain…er…voice their opinion. So why not put it to good use? The National Park Foundation has launched the 2009 Junior Ranger Essay Contest and wants to hear from your kids (aged 9-12) regarding their concerns about national parks.

The First Prize winner will receive a $1,000 gift card and the opportunity to direct a $5,000 contribution from the National Park Foundation to his or her favorite national park.

The question? In 500 words explain, Why are our national parks important to you and what is your best idea to protect our parks for the future? Entries must be submitted by May 1, 2009. Submit online or by sending to:

National Park Foundation
ATTN: 2009 National Park Foundation Junior Ranger Essay Contest
1201 Eye Street N.W.
Suite 550-B
Washington, D.C. 20005

The Independent Weekly is holding its annual Best Of The Triangle voting through April 15. One of the categories is favorite Outdoor Outfitters.

>> Click here to VOTE for your local outdoor shop!

Stone Mountain might be the most accurately named peak of them all: it is a white stone the size of a mountain. And it makes for a great day hike.

Emily and I (Winston Staff) are halfway to the summit of North Carolina’s premier dome, a granite structure popular for its breathtaking views, cascading waterfalls, and challenging “friction climbing.” We reach the first overlook, prefaced by a winding “stairway to heaven,” guardrails included, that almost seems to take something from this pure landform, but is surely in place for our safety. From our perch, we gaze west towards Wolf and Cedar Rocks, other notable landmarks in Stone Mountain State Park. Located in Elkin County, just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the park is host to several hiking trails, three major waterfalls, and trout streams for those who hike with a fly rod. With opportunities for backpacking, as well, it is a prime mountain getaway.

After a bite to eat, we continue up the aptly named, Stone Mountain Trail, and soon reach the summit. At 2,297 feet, this exposed slope offers quite a view of the surrounding landscape. Shallow indentions follow the gradual and seemingly smooth curvature of the mountain, undoubtedly left behind by countless rain slides. While it may appear, at a distance, smooth like a marble, Stone Mountain is scarred by fissures, grooves, and protrusions. Yet, for all erosion has done to this mountain, it has also made it the natural marvel it is today.

Emily, a trained photographer, captures some shots of roaming hawks and “the Hero Tree,” a lone, wind-swept piece of bark jutting out of the rock face, before we head down the other side of the mountain.

After a steep descent we come across a sign warning of death near the 200 foot “Upper Falls,” and we can hear rushing water plummeting over the mountainside. Like backyard explorers, we exchange excited glances and rush towards the source. An impressive, labyrinthine staircase zigzags down the peak, taking hikers to the collecting pool at the bottom of the falls.

Emily and I stand within two yards of the pounding, frothy drink. A light spray tickles my face. If only it was summer… I would be swimming!

Later, we hike past the Hutchinson Homestead – a plot of land straight out of history – not to mention a spectacular view of Stone Mountain in its entirety. In the far distance, we see a rock climber ascending the Great Arch, a long, serpentine crack up the side of the dome, and testament to nature’s eroding effects on the mountain.

As we return to the “lower” parking area and complete the Stone Mountain Loop, we are both impressed by what we’ve encountered and eager to come back, since we’ve really only scratched the surface. But something tells us we won’t have to rush back. Like the Hero Tree, this mountain knows how to endure.

There are less than three weeks remaining in Mountain Hardwear’s Send a Kid to Camp drive. You can help make this program a success!

Each day, between now and April 15th, simply visit Mountain Hardwear’s Send a Kid to Camp webpage and click the donate button. For every visitor who clicks the donate button, Mountain Hardwear will donate $1 towards this program. It takes two seconds and your contribution helps youth programs across the country!

Brooks has introduced the first-ever biodegradable running shoe midsole: BioMoGo. Yes, they’ve taken the long-lasting cushioning of the original MoGo midsole and made it more environmentally friendly.

How, you ask? they’ve added a non-toxic, natural additive to the MoGo compound that encourages anaerobic microbes to munch away once it hits the landfill. Traditional Ethylene Vinyl Acetate™ (EVA) midsoles can last up to 1,000 years in a landfill. BioMoGo’s microbial munch rate is a staggering 50 times faster, biodegrading nutrients into reusable byproducts within 20 years! That means that within 20 years time, Brooks alone will save 29.9 million pounds of landfill waste. For you pigskin fans out there, that equals 1,277 football fields covered one shoe deep!

BioMoGo is currently available in the M’s & W’s Cascadia 4. What about the rest of their performance running shoes? All Brooks performance running shoes with MoGo midsoles will feature groundbreaking BioMoGo by the end of 2009. And because they believe in being agents of positive change, they willl release this technology to all other footwear brands. And so on we move—all of us—to greener pastures.

• Read more about BioMoGo
• Watch the BioMoGo video
• Check out our BioMoGo FAQs
• View images of biodegrading MoGo and BioMoGo
• Consider The Life Cycle of a Running Shoe

by Bill Mauney

Just as a pilot files a Flight Plan before every flight with the FAA, so too, it is a good idea for touring kayakers to do the same thing.  For example, when I paddle out to Cape Lookout or Shackelford Banks from the National Seashore Headquarters on Harkers Island, I file a Float Plan with the Ranger on duty.  They have made it a habit to ask all sea kayakers to do this before departing the nearby launch site on Shell Point.  Before Float Plans, Rangers spent unnecessary energy and expense, sometimes risking their own lives to follow-up on a phone call from a loved one who was worried about an overdue kayaker.  Sometimes these kayakers have been in serious trouble.  Other times, they just changed their plans without telling anyone.

There are two keys to properly using a Float Plan.  The first is to file it with a responsible person/ emergency contact at home and, if possible, with a local agency near the paddling site.  You want to choose folks who will not panic, but will act prudently and wisely if you are overdue.  The information you supply on the Float Plan will give them the resources they need to systematically begin the process of looking for you, starting with seeing if your vehicle is still parked at the return site.  The information is detailed enough to aid in a full blown SAR (Search And Rescue) should that be needed.

The second step is to notify the person and organization you filed the Float Plan with as soon as you are safely off of the water.  You don’t want them launching a SAR if you returned early and are leisurely sampling seafood and BBQ on the road trip home. Yum!

I have put together a blank Float Plan Form (PDF) that you can print and fill out for each touring trip.  The more details you include, the better the information authorities will have if it might be needed.

Paddling safely on the water requires that you use the most important single piece of safety gear you have.  You will find it located between your ears.  The Float Plan allows you to use that gear to think through and talk through each trip with your paddling companions and your loved ones who may find themselves unnecessarily worried because of lack of information.

Happy Paddling!

Read More in our Coastal Paddling Series

Patagonia Rain Shadow Jacket – Staying inside isn’t the only way to stay dry – enjoy the trails in all conditions with fully seam-sealed waterproof/breathable protection. The Rain Shadow Jacket, now with an improved fit, is made from a packable and lightweight 2.5-layer tear-resistant nylon fabric with a waterproof/breathable H2No® barrier and Deluge® DWR (durable water repellent) finish. On the inside, a raised pattern diffuses and channels moisture away from the skin, aids in hassle-free layering, and enhances long-term durability. Men’s & Women’s specific fits. All that for only $150 at your local shop.

Come help us extend the MST on SUNDAY, April 5, 2009 at Falls Lake in Wake and Durham Counties.  We will meet at 9:00 AM and then move the project sites.

Your RSVP is a must by April 1, 2009 to plan the workday.  Please RSVP to jdbrewer@bellsouth.net or 919-868-6274.

NEW Meeting Spot – All interested should meet at Hickory Hill Boat Ramp at 9:00AM.  Come up I-85 north to Redwood Road – Exit 183 and turn left at the end of the exit ramp and travel 2 miles to the boat ramp on the left.

Thanks to Great Outdoor Provision Co. for sponsoring our breakfast from Chick-Fli-A at our workdays.  Thanks also to Starbucks off Falls of Neuse Road and Durant Road for the coffee.

We support other non-profits because they support us as well!  Are you free Saturday, April 4th rather than Sunday the 5th?  Help the Neuse River Foundation with its spring clean-up on Saturday, April 4th from 8 am to 2 pm.  FMST volunteers will be helping at the Milburnie Dam (RaleighBeach) site near where the river crosses under US-64.  The clean-up at that site is being coordinated by Restoration Systems, the company that donates office space to FMST.  For more information contact Barrett Jenkins at Restoration Systems at bjenkins@restorationsystem.com or 919-334-9118.

April 18, 2009 – Falls Lake Festival at the Falls Lake Dam and Tailrace parking area – Save the Date!  More details to follow soon.

- Jeff Brewer