Great Outdoor Blog

GOPC Greenville employees Brad (Baldo) and Corey Welcome Customers on an Icy Saturday 1/30/10

Greenville received a nasty winter mix last night, and there are a couple of inches of snow and ice on the ground today as the snow continues to fall. Travel is somewhat hazardous, but responsible drivers seem to be doing okay on city roadways.

Because we’re a provider of emergency supplies like flashlights, stoves, and cold weather gear, we feel an obligation to our customers to remain open even in inclement winter weather, but we’re certainly not willing to sacrifice the personal safety of our employees to do so. We opened at 10am today, but it’s likely that we’ll be closing early if conditions warrant.

We hope you’re all coping with this winter weather well. Be safe!

Chad Pickens
Greenville Shop Manager

>> UPDATE: Workday moved to Feb 27 due to snow

The Carteret County Wildlife Club seeks volunteers to improve and repair one of the major bridges on the Neusiok Hiking Trail in the Croatan National Forest near Havelock, on Saturday February 13, 2010. Work will begin at 8:30 am but participants may come later if necessary. Workers should meet at the Neusiok Trail parking area on NC Hwy 306, approximately 2 miles north of the junction of NC 306 and NC101, which is about five miles east of Havelock, 16 miles west of Beaufort.

We welcome volunteers of every skill level. If you can carry a board, drive a nail, operate a post-hole digger, or are a master at drinking coffee, your presence will be appreciated. Hammers, crowbars, chainsaws, tape measures, and post-hole diggers will be useful. Wear mud-resistant footwear (or plan on wet feet).

A free lunch will be prepared on site. Work is expected to be complete by 4pm, but workers can leave at their pleasure. For more information contact Gene or Sue Huntsman: (252) 447-4061, feeshdr@embarqmail.com, or Roger Mays at (252) 222-0434, mays52@yahoo.com.

The Carolina Climbers’ Coalition started 2010 off with the purchase of the West Side Boulders at Rumbling Bald. This purchase serves as the fourth project of the Access Fund’s Land Conservation Campaign, a revolving loan program that provides local climbing organizations the funds and expertise needed to act quickly to save threatened climbing areas. This project marks the CCCs second major land acquisition project and conserve 6 acres of high-quality bouldering and recreational land for future transfer to Chimney Rock State Park. Support the Carolina Climberss Coalition at carolinaclimbers.org. For more information on the Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign, visit http://accessfund.org/aflccprojects

Film showings this weekend at the Charlotte Fly Fishing Show:

The Park (formerly Merchandise Mart)
Friday, Jan 29 @ 3 pm
Saturday, Jan 30 @ 2 pm

** Free sticker if you mention this blog post**

Watch the trailer and learn more about the project here.

On August 12th, 2009 the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company in Kirkuk City lost 25% its members to a vehicle borne IED (Improvised Explosive Device aka-Roadside bomb).  That was a Wednesday.  WUNC’s NPR News mentioned the casualties as we returned from a trail run at Umstead State Park where the worst injury suffered that day was a twisted ankle.  Difficult to comprehend the courage and devotion of EOD members who perform EOD duties.

We wanted to honor the men and women who serve our country in this manner and afford us the freedom for adventure.  This fall we were given that chance.  An officer from Seymour Johnson told us about the 506 EOD Memorial Run to be held in Iraq.  We were able to provide CoolMax T-Shirts for the runners.  Below is are pictures as well as comments from one of our heros

Here is a picture of some of the guys.  Some of the shirts have been pushed out to the rest of our unit at forward operating bases near here so that’s why we don’t have everyone in the picture.  We here greatly appreciate how thoughtful and how amazing that your company is.  Some people continue to workout in the t shirts.  We thank you for all you do and just wanted to let you know that we raised nearly $2,000 for the mural and the rest of the money is being donated to the Iraqi EOD techs families.  Also attached is a picture of me and another EOD tech running the 5k in the Bomb Suit to commemorate the Fallen EOD warriors.  From all of us here at 506 EOD, Iraq we are wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Thank You for your support.

2009 Trip report from Josh Eddings (Greenville Staff):

Just got back from my first of two weeks on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua working with Manna Project International. The bonefishing was tough. Winds were kind of strong and the moon was full at mid-week so that made things weird. I did catch some bones though and found a lot more sight fishing than I had expected. I also caught 2 nice triggerfish on the fly and that was a ton of fun. They tail on the coral in about 6 inches of water and they are really fun to cast to.

I caught some jacks and yellowtails as well. I consider it a scouting trip and feel that I did really well considering I fished by myself. It is a beautiful place and there was only one other person on the whole island with a fly rod. Here are a few pictures:

Josh is also a part of the “Redfish Can’t Jump” film project.

Do you have a fishing/outdoor story to share? Send it to us & we’ll post.

Guilford County Public Meeting on the Morton/Richardson Open Space Tract and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Tuesday, February 16
7:00pm-8:30pm
Location:
Northern High School – Media Center
7101 Spencer Dixon Road
Greensboro, NC 27455
More Information:
Alex Ashton of Guilford County
(336) 641-3762 rashton@co.guilford.nc.us

The public is invited to hear a brief presentation, view maps and ask questions regarding properties in northern Guilford County recently acquired by the State of NC and Guilford County. This land is a wonderful new addition to the county’s Open Space Program and will help connect the Mountains-to-Sea trail to Haw River State Park. Representatives from the State, County, and City will be available to address questions, comments or concerns of the public. This is a preliminary meeting to solicit information and input before developing a formal plan.

Other MST Events:

MST Workdays across the state

FMST’s Annual Meeting
Saturday, February 6, 2010
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Haw River State Park, Brown Summit
Learn more about the trail and how to get involved
Cost: $10 for lunch
To RSVP or learn more, contact Kate Dixon, Executive Director
kdixon@ncmst.org

Just in: The perfect toys for nighttime games and the people (and pets) who like to play them.

• Nite Ize Meteorlight K-9 LED Ball
• Nite Ize Flashflight Dog Discuit
• Nite Ize Meteorlight LED Ball
• Nite Ize Flashflight Flying Disc

(Santa Cruz, CA) – The 14 foot Bark Expedition was named “Best Stand Up Paddleboard” in the Dec 2009/Jan 2010 issue of the Men’s Journal. The “Gear of the Year” issue awards top honors to the best outdoor products of 2009. Other “Gear of the Year” honorees included notable brands such as Oakley, Canon, Rolex, BMW, Mountain Hardware and GoPro among other prestigious brands. “We couldn’t be happier with this honor.” said the board’s designer Joe Bark. “I worked with my top team guys here in California and in Hawaii testing out countless 14 foot boards over the course of more than a year until we found the magic formula. We were designing boards that would paddle well in flat, calm water and in rough, choppy seas. We had our guys test the boards in oily glass conditions as well as open ocean wind swells. This board far exceeded expectations in both conditions.”

“An Everest size pile of new products materializes every year, each one claiming to be the next big thing. The majority are unremarkably satisfactory; a few are laughably pathetic. Rarest of all are the 25 superlative objects on these six pages.” stated the Mens Journal article. In honoring the 14 foot Bark, the article went on to say, “As stand up paddleboarding grows from niche to mainstream, the gear only gets better. Case in point: the new Joe Bark 14 foot Expedition from the legendary South Bay shaper, made by Surftech. The sleek silhouette makes quick work of multi-mile trips, yet still feels stable in choppy seas.”

To get your hands (or feet) on our Standup Paddle board selection, stop by one of our SUP shops in Greenville, Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. The Bark Expedition is expected to arrive in Raleigh early this spring.

>> More about Stand Up Paddleboards

January 23, 2010
February 27, 2010
March 20, 2010
April 17, 2010

MST – Durham and Orange Counties – Eno River State Park
Location: Cabe Lands Trail Head off of Howe Street

Work is currently progressing on getting approval for the construction of the MST along the Eno River. We now have approval to construct a new section of the MST in Eno River State Park. The work involves constructing new natural surface hiking trail, and will involve clearing brush, moving logs, picking up debris, and constructing the trail surface. Tools will be provided. The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail (FMST) will be hosting the above work day from 9AM to 4PM. Please RSVP to Fred Dietrich at fred.dietrich@duke.edu. Please wear appropriate work cloths, and bring a bag lunch, plenty of water, hiking boots, work gloves, sunscreen, and insect repellent.

All volunteers under the age of 18 will need a signed permission slip, and will need to be accompanied by an adult volunteer. Individuals and groups welcome.

Meeting location: Eno River State Park – Cabe Lands Parking Lot off Howe Street. Please car pool when possible. See info above where the dates are listed.

How we build trail at Eno River

Stage 1 – By the time you arrive at the worksite the approve flag line is done with surveys tape (pink or orange) tied to trees. Small “stake flags” are placed in the ground about every 8 to 10 feet to show where the trail tread is to be placed. All of the chainsaw work of major trees is complete as well.

Stage 2 – A team of people with fire rakes or garden rakes come along and remove the leafs and duff from the ground by following the small stake flags.

Stage 3 – A team of people with cutter mattocks come along and hand dig the trail tread into place at a width of two feet wide. The overall goal is to have a nice flat trail (with a small degree of slope to allow for waterrunoff) to hike on that is root and rock free.

Stage 4 – A team of people with fire rakes come along and do the fine detail work to remove any small roots or correct any tread issues that were accidentally left out from Stage 3.

Stage 5 – A team of two or four people remove the stake flags to be used further down the trail. At the same time white blazes are painted on the trees to guide a hiker on the final trail route.

Trail Quotes at Eno River:

“Water is the number 1 trail enemy” – Bad water erosion problems lead to huge trail issues. If the trail tread is constructed properly water erosion will not be an issue.

“Quality is better than Quantity” – Great quality trail means that we will not have so many future trail maintenance issues in the long term. We must build quality trail instead of seeing how far we can accomplish in one day.