Great Outdoor Blog

Nearly a year after our film premier in downtown Wilmington, NC, Redfish Can’t Jump is finally coming to TV. Showing for the first time in High Definition, WILM channel 10 (the CBS affiliate in Wilmington), will air the film in its entirety with never before seen interviews and footage. We’re excited about the opportunity to have a brand new audience for RFCJ. Please mark your calendars for the shows. There will be two airings: January 1st (7pm-8pm) and January 29th (12n-1pm).
- Luke Pearson / Lift Films

CONTEST: Find Trusty and win a $50 gift card!

Watch the extra content during the broadcast of RFCJ and Find Trusty in the form of GOPC logo. Identify his location and post as comment at facebook.com/TrustyGOPC. Hint – He’s likely to show up on some sort of cool outdoor gear! Just simply tell us where you saw him. For example: “On a vest” or “On a duffle.” We’ll draw a winner and have consolation prizes from Patagonia as well. Enjoy the show!

Thanks for the support during Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month. You helped raise over $15,000 to support our State Trail!

Raffle Winners:

Grand Prize Winner
$500 Great Outdoor Provision Co. Gift Card
Barry Myers, Raleigh

First Prize Winners
$300 Great Outdoor Provision Co. Gift Card
Bill Bass, Raleigh
Robert Hunt, Raleigh
Nick Lauretta, Wilmington
Bill & Pam Lemmons, Stokesdale
Kel Normann, Sanford
John Preyer, Chapel Hill
Elizabeth Strater, Durham
Sarah Wolfe, Durham

Second Prize Winner
$150 Patagonia Gift Certificate
Joe Boyle, Asheboro

Third Prize Winner
$100 Vasque Gift Certificate
Steve Bower, Lewisville

Fourth Prize Winners

$50 Columbia Gift Certificate
Aurelia Monk, Greenville

$50 Merrell Gift Certificate
Holly Williams, Raleigh

$50 Woolrich Gift Certificate
Jeff Brewer, Raleigh

>> More Info

Come help us extend the MST on Saturday, October 23, 2010 at Falls Lake in Durham County! We will meet at 9:00 AM at Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve.  At 5:00 PM we will celebrate October MST month with a cookout.  The food will be provided by the Army Corps of Engineers.

We have two projects for this workday.  We are teaming up with the Sierra Club to help remove trash from the trail corridor at Rolling View.  We are looking for 25 people to help assist in this trash removal.  NC Wildlife will bring in a dump truck for us to use for our clean up effort.  Please let me know with your RSVP if you would like to assist in the trash removal to help improve our trail and water quality or dig new trail as we complete the last two miles at Falls Lake.

Please RSVP to jdbrewer@bellsouth.net or 919-868-6274

NEW Meeting Spot – All interested should meet at Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve at the corner of Old Oxford Highway and Snow Hill Road in Durham County.  Please use google maps so you don’t get lost!  Look for the MST signs.

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.

>> MST Workday INFO

October is a great time to explore North Carolina on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Whether you like to hike, paddle, bike or go on a scavenger hunt, North Carolina’s 3rd annual Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month in October offers those opportunities and more to outdoor enthusiasts. Wilderness areas, waterfalls and wonderful fall color are all on the agenda this year.

Peruse the list of MST Month events by location and by date and find one or more that works for you.

Some of the highlights this year include:

Trail Dedication & Covered Dish Luncheon — Be among the first to explore 25 new miles of the MST on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone – Saturday, October 2.

Clues on the Neuse – This scavenger hunt will be a fun and educational way for families to explore the Buffalo Creek Greenway, a brand new section of the MST in Smithfield — Sunday, October 10.

Famed Alpinist Conrad Anker – Hear Anker’s gripping tale, illustrated with photos and videos, of his ascent up Mount Meru in the Himalayas, the adventure of his lifetime. Sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co. and The North Face, with proceeds to benefit FMST — Tuesday, October 19.

Paddle the Neuse River – Join the Lower Neuse Riverkeeper on a 10+ mile leisurely paddle in the Kinston area where the trail is planned for the future — Friday, October 1.

125-Mile Bike Ride – Calling all experienced bikers: you can complete half the coastal plain section of the MST in one day on this out-and-back ride from Raleigh to Black Creek – Saturday, October 23.

Hike the MST to Bald Knob – This strenuous 8-mile hike is a great way to to explore one of the most beautiful and remote sections of the MST with a trail leader who knows the area well – Saturday, October 9.

Trail Workday & Cookout at Falls Lake – Want to help build the final sections of the MST at Falls Lake? Work starts at 9:00 AM. The cookout to reward the volunteers starts at 5:00 PM — Saturday, October 23

MST Month is made possible through the support of many friends and corporate sponsors.  You can help the trail too by buying a raffle ticket this October with all proceeds going to our efforts to extend and maintain the trail across North Carolina.

Buy your ticket at any Great Outdoor Provision Co. store, located in seven cities across North Carolina. Prizes include a chance to win more than $3000 in gift certificates from Great Outdoor Provision Co, Patagonia, Vasque, Merrell, Columbia and Woolrich.

**Tickets are SOLD OUT**

Conrad Anker, Alpinist Presents
MOUNT MERU: THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
Brought to you by The North Face & Great Outdoor Provision Co.

Conrad Anker has found fame for trail blazing film and research work on Everest, where he investigated the mystery of the lost 1924 expeditioners, Mallory and Irvine, and climbed the mountain a couple of times, to boot. But never before has he had to dig so deep into his soul to keep going as on a peak in the Indian Himalaya, called Mount Meru. Meru was the ultimate test to Conrad and his partners, as storm and cold battered them throughout their eighteen-day ascent. In the end, teamwork and trust was the key to their survival. Conrad illustrates his gripping tale with photographs and video that captures the adventure of his lifetime.

Official Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month Event – Proceeds benefit FMST

**Tickets are SOLD OUT**

Kings (MAP)
14 West Martin Street – Raleigh, NC US 27601

>> Learn more about alpinist Conrad Anker

Under the direction of Tom and Becca Valone, Great Outdoor Provision Co. has provided Friends of State Parks with a significant grant designed to establish the Junior Ranger Program here in our State. You can download the Jr. Ranger Activity Guide here. (Great for Labor Day weekend excursions!)

Because of these funds our State Parks have been able to reach hundreds of children to encourage environmental awareness. We hope and expect that, as future citizens, these young people will retain their interest in environmental matters and grow up as outdoor enthusiasts.

The primary goals of this group are to encourage the necessary steps to make the Winston-Salem area more bicycle and pedestrian friendly and to encourage the community to embrace active transportation options. We will focus heavily on commuting and transportation on bike and foot.

We will have our very first meeting next Wednesday, July 7th at 7:30 pm.
Location: 492 West end Blvd. Winston Salem. (on the porch above Mock Orange Bikes)

Format: Pot Luck/BYOB if you so desire. Round table discussions/brainstorming session.

>> Facebook group

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Matthew Burczyk
Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
City of Winston-Salem Department of Transportation
mattbk@cityofws.org

Customers of Great Outdoor Provision Co. got more than a great deal on outdoor gear this month – they helped select the winner of the 2010 Vote For Land conservation project. Congratulations to Airlie Gardens and the North Carolina Coast Land Trust – this year’s winner.  A $3000 grant will be awarded to help protect Airlie Gardens forever with a conservation easement that will allow the gardens to flourish for centuries to come.

The contest is part of Great Outdoor Provision Co.’s celebration of Land Trust Day, an annual celebration in which local businesses and the state’s land trusts work together to save natural areas in the community.

“Land Trust Day helps to highlight the rapid rate at which North Carolina is losing – and will continue to lose – its beautiful open spaces to development,” said Tom Valone, Great Outdoor Provision Co. owner. “This contest is a way for us to make our customers aware of the work land trusts are doing to save the places we all love.”

The Conservation Trust of North Carolina nominated four places across the state for protection. This year’s nominees included farms, forested riverbanks, an educational nature preserve, and a century old garden by the sea. Once they’re permanently protected, the lands will offer new places to hike, bike, paddle, and enjoy nature for generations to come. The projects will also preserve habitat for endangered plants and animals, provide a buffer for rivers from pollution, and maintain the state’s scenic beauty.

Chaco, Columbia, Merrell and Patagonia helped in the underwriting for a $3,000 grant to help protect the chosen site. Great Outdoor Provision Co. highlighted the projects on its Web site and invited customers to vote online for their favorite.

Voting ended at noon on June 3, and the winner, Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, NC was announced on Saturday, June 5, Land Trust Day.

Land Trust Day was founded by Great Outdoor Provision Co. in 1992 as a way to celebrate National Trails Day, which is always the first Saturday in June.

In addition to sponsoring the contest, Great Outdoor Provision Co. donates a percentage of sales on Land Trust Day from each of its seven stores to land trusts that serve the stores’ regions.

“We see Land Trust Day as a way for businesses to participate in a self-imposed ‘earth tax’,” said Valone. “Many people do not realize the important work land trusts are doing in their communities. We hope by supporting land trusts we are calling attention to their good work and contributing to it.”

Protecting Land & Preserving Adventure!
Shop at your local Great Outdoor Provision Co. Saturday, June 5 when a portion of sales will be donated to these local land trusts.

• Catawba Lands Conservancy
• Piedmont Land Conservancy
• Triangle Land Conservancy
• NC Coastal Land Trust

Join a Local Land Trust in the shop on Sat, June 5 and receive your choice of $20 Gift Card or GOPC T-Shirt! while supplies last

What is a Land Trust?

A land trust/conservancy is a nonprofit organization that actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in direct land transactions. Primarily the purchase or acceptance of donations of land or conservation easements. There are 25 land trusts in North Carolina working to save the places you love by protecting our ecological diversity, water quality and open space.

>> More Info