Great Outdoor Blog

Governor Perdue has once again declared October Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month, and we have lots of great
ways for you to celebrate. Thanks to all our sponsors for their support.

Month-Long Activities

• Submit a photograph into our 1st Annual MST Photo Contest sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co. Deadline: October 31st.
• Check out the photos that have already been entered on our Photo Contest Flickr site.
• Buy a raffle ticket to support the MST and gain a chance to win 18 great prizes of gift cards and gear donated by Great Outdoor Provision Co., Jesse Brown’s Outdoors, and Mast General Stores. Tickets cost $5 or $20 for five. E-mail Kate Dixon, FMST Executive Director, at kdixon@ncmst.org to place an order.
• Test your knowledge of the MST in the Trivia Contest sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co. Each day, from October 1 to November 7, they’ll post a new question about the MST. The first person to answer the question correctly that day will win a raffle ticket. Anyone who answers all 38 questions correctly will win five raffle tickets and fame as an “MST Trivia Whiz – 2011!” Thanks to Danny Bernstein, the 21st person to complete the MST, for writing the questions.
• Take the Backpacking NC Challenge and win great prizes by completing at least two of the trips in Joe Miller’s recent book Backpacking North Carolina. Deadline: October 31.

Special Events

• Tuesday, October 4 - World class ultrarunner Diane Van Deren will present an exciting program in downtown Raleigh. Proceeds from VIP ticket sales will be donated to FMST. Sponsored by The North Face and Great Outdoor Provision Co.
• Friday-Sunday, October 7-9 - Campout! Carolina. Pitch a tent over the weekend to show your support for North Carolina’s environment. Campout! Carolina is hosted each year by Earth Share, a partnership of environmental groups including FMST that participate in workplace giving. Last year, more than 8400 people camped out during Campout! Carolina. Register to let Earth Share know you plan to participate this year.
• Sunday, October 9 - Clues on the Neuse. Join us for a family-friendly scavenger hunt along the MST in Smithfield.
• Thursday, October 13 - Trail Grand Opening in Raleigh of the first eight miles of the Neuse River Greenway/MST. 10:00 am at the Falls Lake Dam canoe launch, 12098 Falls of the Neuse Road.
• Saturday, November 5 - Benefit dinner and concert for the MST at Galileo’s in Boone.
• Tuesday, November 8 - MST Month Closing Celebration when we’ll announce the winners of the Backpacking Challenge, the Raffle, and the MST Trivia Whizes. Join us @ 6 pm at the Cameron Village Great Outdoor Provision Co. store, 2017 Cameron Street, Raleigh for fun, fellowship and refreshments.

Trail Workdays

• Saturday, October 1 - Sauratown Trail (north of Winston-Salem)
• Thursday, October 6 - Blue Ridge Parkway (near Boone)
• Saturday, October 8
  • Blue Ridge Parkway (near Boone)
  • Eno State Park (north of Durham). Join this workday to help FMST qualify for a $1000 grant from Prudential YSU Realty.
• Saturday, October 15
  • Blue Ridge Parkway (near Boone)
  • Sauratown Trail (north of Winston-Salem)
• Saturday, October 22
  • Blue Ridge Parkway (near Asheville)
  • Falls Lake (north of Raleigh and Durham). After this workday, the Army Corps of Engineers will thank the volunteers by hosting a cookout!

Back From The Edge: Diane Van Deren’s Spirited Life and Adventures

Tuesday, October 4, 2011
7 PM @ KINGS
14 West Martin St • Raleigh, NC 27601

General Admission tickets are FREE but in order to accommodate guests we ask that you register for the event online

Reserved Seating $8
VIP reception at 6pm $20 (includes reserved seating)

Ultrarunner Diane Van Deren spent ten years racked by epilepsy, but radical brain surgery gifted her with a seizure-free life and a super-human endurance that has driven her to win grueling events like the 2009 Yukon Arctic Ultra, a 430 mile foot race across a frozen wilderness.

In 2010 she turned to mountaineering and climbed South America’s tallest peak, Aconcagua. On this expedition, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester wired her up and monitored her movements to see what sets her apart form other athletes. Medical science is intrigued by Diane Van Deren: a survivor, a peak performer and a wife and mother of three. Her inspirational story will intrigue you and drive you to strive for your personal best.

UPDATE: Follow Up Report

Team Whynot
I’m not sure if it started as a dare or a joke, but when Dave and I decided it was time to sink our teeth into the WaterTribe North Carolina Challenge event there was no turning back. 100 miles of paddling in 2.5 days or less.

We’ve paddled much of the area covered in the race in the past. In fact, in 2008 we set a course to paddle the entire length of the Core Banks in 4 days. We did it in 3. What did we learn? We learned that we could have walked over 75% of our trip as charted due to the ridiculously shallow depth on the sound side. What we took away from that trip will most certainly be applied to our next.

Dave paddling Falls Lake during hurricane Irene.

Let the training begin
Paddle paddle paddle. Paddling the lakes. Paddling at the coast. If we could put our boat in it, we paddled it. I mean, how else do you train for something like this? Collectively we have paddled this race many times over. We have paddled Falls Lake so many times the local bass fisherman may actually know us by name. We’ve hit the waters around Harker’s Island at the peak of the tide change, paddling with everything we have against a 15 mph wind and tide and barely making forward movement. We even paddled Falls Lake during hurricane Irene’s visit and practiced our assisted rescue skills. And still we paddle. But, to some there should be more. Well, Dave (WaterTribe name: R4) stepped it up even moreso with trail races individually and with his daughter. He is a machine. He is a trail running machine that runs on dedication. Me, well, I stuck with the paddling. And less exciting exercise means such as carpentry, landscaping, and writing a dissertation. As it turns out, my wife and I have decided to put our years of hard work earning our doctorates to use and take a new job, sell our house, and move to New Orleans. In 6 months or less. In a way, the NCC is my last NC paddling hurrah for a while. But, the show must go on! We are now in the final stages of readying ourselves for this race. And it’s going to be an adventure.

Gearing up
Of course, with any organized event there is a list of required items. We’ve got it. But, it’s been a while since either of us have been on a self-supported adventure. So we needed to get some new gear and update our existing stuff. And for that, Great Outdoor Provision Company has been our source for almost everything we needed. Now, the trick is fitting it all into the kayaks. Let the practice packing begin. It begins with a huge pile of gear. You turn it into manageable bundles. You then add it to the numerous, different colored dry bags. Then you figure out where everything fits best, and where it makes sense to stuff or keep things accessible. Then you try to remember where you put everything in your boat and in which bag.

What’s next?
As of right now, we have just over a week to go until the race begins. There is little to do at this point other than paddle to maintain the calluses on our hands and get our last minute items in order. I have a solar panel I am thinking about using to recharge my GPS. Dave and I both are fretting about where and how to attach our self-rescue gear to our boats in an accessible place. We still need to set up our SPOTs for tracking purposes (required by the race organizers). And there is still the question of weather, where (and *if*) to stop and camp, and determining the best routes. The planning never ends. This is an adventure.

Follow their adventure using SPOT GPS links below

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Todd Guerdat (aka fishpoo)
I’ve been paddling for 15+ years. I’ve been sea kayaking ever since I realized that it was too much effort to bring two cars to a river. I have a wonderfully supportive wife, Kate, and a 2 year old daughter, Cadence, that tells me how it is every chance she gets. I work at the Raleigh Great Outdoor Provision Co. to feed “the habit”. I am soon to have a PhD in fish poop courtesy of NC State. >> Find Me on SPOT

David Woodard (aka R4)
Compared to Todd, I’m a relative newcomer to the kayaking world, having been sea kayaking for about 7 years. I grew up on the coast and have been boating most of my life. It just took me a while to figure out that it’s a lot more fun and rewarding in a human powered craft. I’m an employment attorney in Raleigh, currently living my second childhood with my two kids of 7 and 9, both of whom are obsessed backpackers and campers and make sure I never forget how much fun it is to sleep on the ground and get really dirty. I have an extremely indulgent wife who is amused by the whole thing, but sometimes wonders how she ended up with three kids. >> Find Me on SPOT

This Wednesday night we are showcasing a collection of vintage Patagonia clothing which dates back to the company’s founding. Great Pacific Iron Works, short sleeve rugby shirts, original “original” stand up shorts. These items will eventually be on sale to benefit our good friend, the late Paul Marsh. Stop by the Cameron Village shop for the party on Wednesday night.

>> More on the event

Saturday, September 24
Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Cameron Village
11am – 4pm

Customers who purchase a pair of TOMS can have them personalized in a custom design by a local artist.

Matt Butler • Nina Wu • Paul Friedrich • Chris Williams • Julie Pitts • AdAm Peele

The personalization is completely free with the purchase of a classic pair of canvas TOMS slip-ons ($44) and as always, TOMS will provide a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold.

“Style Your Sole as a way for people to express themselves creatively with any art medium they find appropriate on a pair of TOMS Shoes.” The events, which have been going on throughout the country since 2006, are a fun way to express your individual style while supporting a cause to benefit children in developing countries.

>> Pre-Register Here

Come help with trail work on the NC Mountain-to Sea Trail on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at Falls Lake in Durham County! September 24 is National Public Lands Day across America! We will meet at 9:00 AM and move to the project sites.

NEW Meeting Spot – All interested should meet at Food Lion parking lot at Ravenstone Commons at the corner of Sherron Road and Highway 98. Please use google maps for your driving directions.

Please RSVP to jdbrewer@bellsouth.net or 919-900-0483 for our workday by September 21, 2011. Your RSVP is a huge help in a successful workday.

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.

Make sure you bring plenty of water, bag lunch, and gloves.

Thanks for your service.
Jeff Brewer