Great Outdoor Blog

Late this afternoon, we received the following video dispatch from Lin Peterson at Great Outdoor Provision Co. Marketing. He was on the summit of Middle Teton with Chad Baird (Footwear Product Manager), and took time out to enjoy some of the Trail Mix Crunch that samples that Grassroots retailers passed out this summer.

In June, Grassroots Retailers worked with Post Cereal to promote Trail Mix Crunch to benefit the environment. Grassroots Outdoor Alliance and Post Cereal partnered to benefit American Forests’ Global ReLeaf Program. In a joint effort, Post Cereals donated $50,000 to American Forests-enough to plant 50,000 trees in 2008. The partnership brings together the effort of 34 independent retailers across 22 states to lend support to the program.

The effort is highlighted in Grassroots’ member stores across the country in conjunction with the launch of Post’s new Cranberry Vanilla cereal. Customers will receive samples of the new cereal and learn more about getting involved with the American Forests restoration program in each location. American Forests is a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and forests. The joint effort is kicking off this weekend with National Trails Day and Land Trust events at Grassroots’ retailers throughout the U.S.

Grassroots President, Dave Matz says of the partnership, “We were approached by Post to help them develop a conservation program in all of our member locations, and we are excited for the opportunity.” About the restoration initiative, Matz says, “We are committed to supporting conservation efforts, and helping companies do their part for the environment. Post has pledged to donate $50,000 to plant trees via Global ReLeaf, and we are happy to be the leaders helping them coordinate this outreach.”

For more information on the Global ReLeaf Program and to support local Grassroots’ members, please visit, www.americanforests.org

Some “Personal” Notes:
T. Fielder Valone

I don’t really enjoy “tooting my own horn,” but I do enjoy writing and consequently this piece will likely run several sentences longer than necessary…  But let’s see if I can make this entertaining.  Perhaps I can manage to shed light on some of the more quirky “dynamics” of life as a “GOPC kid”…

Growing-up in the GOPC “family” often bestowed upon me the distinct displeasure of enduring awkward situations with both my friends and, more often, their parents.  By the time I was seven years old, I had practically memorized the following spiel: “Yes, I go camping — a lot.  No, I don’t get personalized discounts (really?  Did you just ask a seven year old about money???).  And no, I can’t help you get a discount, either…”

But life in the GOPC community also tended to be a fun and spontaneous affair.  No lazy weekends for me – every Friday, we’d pile into Pop’s rusty jalopy bound for some remote corner of the state, only to return Monday morning with an assortment of bee stings, nicks, bruises and bumps, and a hell of a lot of great storytelling material (as Dad has told me, time and again, in that Southern bass-tenor of his, “son, you have been blessed with a gift for lying.”  To which Mom always interjects in a voice so thick with irony it might just clog your arteries: “with no help from your Father, of course…”).  Growing up, the Good Lord always seemed to relish transforming our little family outings into harrowing odysseys filled with driving rainstorms, swarms of angry yellow jackets and even the occasional masked gunman (but that’s another story for another day!).  By the time I hit puberty, my conception of God was more akin to that of Zeus: a powerful, bearded figure (appropriately “ripped” and naked, of course) sprawled across a heap of billowing clouds, casually hurling bolts of lightning my way.  *For the record, I blame my dance moves – an amalgamation of flailing limbs and off-beat snapping — on this period of my life.*  When I first encountered Jonathan Edwards’ eighteenth century sermon “sinners in the hands of an angry God,” I felt a strange sense of connection to the man’s words (especially that bit about God suspending us over the pit of hell, “much as one hold a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire”…)  Now, I think I know why.

Fielder &  Sam Valone - circa 1998

The majority of my time today is spent indoors studying.  My evenings are rarely spent under the heavens – no, the majority of my nightlife consists of squinting at computer screens, bleary-eyed, well into the early morning hours.  Life as a student of History at the University of North Carolina has certainly taken a toll on my time spent in the great outdoors. Just toss a ball in my direction – any sized ball will do – and my total lack of coordination or athleticism becomes mercilessly apparent.
But even now, my “wild side” occasionally resurfaces.  Afternoon thunderstorms still possess a strangely transformative power over me (some of my friends have described such moments as “that rare opportunity to glimpse into the soul of a primordial being”).  And Jonathan Edwards’ sermon?  Oh, my…  

BlogSpot # 1: Canoe Demo, 6/5/08
T. Fielder Valone

“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,” the River Rat observed in The Wind in the Willows. On the afternoon and early evening of Thursday, June 5, Great Outdoor Provision Co. staff and customers were in agreement.
Paddling is, by its very nature, a fun affair. But to suggest that this demo, held on the first Thursday of each month, was but a front for “adult recess” would be unfair. These events are not intended to be a venue for “free boat rides,” as Bittu Ali, Paddlesports Product Manager at Great Outdoor Provision Co., explains. Instead, these boating demonstrations provide an important opportunity for prospective buyers to test the products where the hull meets the water – but it sure is a fun process. As Tom Foote of Current Designs related shortly before the event began, “I am personally against someone buying a [high-end] boat without first putting it in the water.” Just as no one should purchase a car without first sitting behind the wheel, it is similarly wise to experience a boat’s nuances and handling benefits before making a decision.

And there is certainly no shortage of product to test. Plastic, Kevlar, and carbon-fiber kayaks stretch along the sand at the water’s edge. Dozens of styles and models are represented, ranging from beginner’s kayaks (referred to as “recreational” boats) to sea kayaks – those long and slender paragons of open-water boating capable of long-distance trips in open seas. Each kayak is carefully selected days beforehand, per request via individual customers. “This is really about helping our customers to make well-informed decisions,” Bittu says. “So we’re really serious about bringing out specific boats that our customers have an interest in.”

Informed by advertisements to arrive between four and seven pm, the crowds demonstrate their enthusiasm by arriving a full half-hour early. Well before the advertised start-time, composite kayaks have already begun angling across the small bay. Standing from the shore and squinting through the shimmering sunlight, one marvels at the elegance of the vessels on open water. Performance, aesthetics, motion pleasure all while just “messin’ around.”

Shortly before the customers arrived, I had the opportunity to slide into the cockpits of several kayaks, beginning with a basic recreational model – which Bittu likens to a “bike with the training wheels still attached.” With an eye toward running the gamut of kayaking models, I progressed to the Manitou 13 – a hybrid kayak that embodies the easy handling of a recreational model but also includes a taste of the efficiency characteristic of sea kayaks. The sensation of switching among various models is empowering. In a single afternoon, one could theoretically paddle the boating equivalents of both an SUV and a Ferrari.

With the sun at last relinquishing its command over the day, the crowd begins to dissipate, the numbers gradually dwindling into single digits. All said and done, the demo was a success, fulfilling its mission of providing the customer with an opportunity to experience the pros and cons of various boat models in a hands-on fashion and under expert supervision. And, the event evoked that unique delight experienced by the River Rat; quite a few folks are now set for a summer of “messing about in boats” that perform the way they want them to.

Yvon Chouinard (Founder of Patagonia) is a featured speaker on the Wall Street Journal’s “Forward Thinking”

“Mountain climber, environmental activist and owner of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard is in business to change the way that business is done.”

» Wall Street Journal Feature

From the News & Observer - 5.29.08

As the warm days of summer roll in, some folks are ready to shuck their shoes

No shoes, no problem

Michael Dodd grew up in Raleigh, played football and baseball at Broughton High School. He went barefoot in the backyard and on family vacations at the beach and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t like his mom was constantly trying to keep shoes on him. Then he went off to college.

Wearing shoes wasn’t an issue early on at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. Until summer.

“Our fraternity house was in Travelers Rest,” says Dodd. (Travelers Rest, for those not familiar with greater Greenville, is a neighboring tourist town at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains.) “I spent several summers down there and we wore as little as possible.”

Upon venturing into civilization, that required some accommodation, he says. But not much.

“We went into stores and restaurants down there without shoes,” recalls the 23-year-old, “because nobody cared.”

Going barefoot quickly emerged from an occasional indulgence into a lifestyle. A lifestyle that required adjustment upon graduation and his return to Raleigh. Again, though, not much.

Todd works at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Cameron Village where, as store spokesman Chuck Millsaps says, “We make him wear shoes.”

But as he prepares sportswear for reshelving, a glance at his feet reveals he’s wearing a high-tech descendant of those hippie Barebottoms: Vibram Five Fingers, a kind of foot glove deemed by Time magazine as one of last year’s 10 best inventions. He’s had them for several months now and says they accommodate every activity in his active lifestyle.

Every activity? I ask the five-handicap golfer.

“I haven’t tried them with golf,” he says, warming to the idea. “The only thing [golf courses] restrict are metal spikes.”

» Read the full story here

from The News & Observer
5.27.08

Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

RALEIGH - Residents of northwest Raleigh stayed on the lookout Monday for the bear or bears that traipsed through their neighborhoods Sunday, but there were no further sightings.Law enforcement officials on both sides of the Wake-Durham county line received calls Sunday morning from residents surprised by a furry visitor.

David DeVerter, who lives at Dawn Piper Drive in Raleigh, grabbed his camera when he saw a black bear walk through his side yard, past the white picket fence and down his suburban street.

His photos show a young bear estimated to weigh 100 pounds.

“I’d seen a fox in my yard one time, but nothing like this,” DeVerter recalled Monday. “It was very obviously a bear.”

Black bears are the only bear species native to the state.

Once forced by hunters and farmers into shrinking enclaves in the mountains or coastal swamps, North Carolina’s black bear population is rebounding just as the state’s population is booming. And black bears have expanded their range in the past 30 years.

As a result, bears and people are crossing paths more often. Bears aren’t as ubiquitous as the white-tailed deer, an animal that seems to thrive at the woodsy edge of the suburbs, but sightings of the lumbering creatures aren’t unheard of in the Piedmont, wildlife experts say.

Tom McKemie, who lives about a half mile from DeVerter, saw a bear in his backyard off Indigo Moon Way in Raleigh about 8:30 a.m. Sunday. He was one of those who dialed 911.

“He wasn’t in a hurry, just walking through like he had somewhere to be,” McKemie said Monday. “We see deer like crazy around here, but never a bear.”

Other residents reported seeing a bear in Durham County behind the Wal-Mart store off Brier Creek Parkway, as well as crossing through a nearby cemetery.

Authorities were not sure whether the sightings were of one bear or whether there may have been two bears — a mother and a cub.

McKemie, who saw the photos taken by DeVerter, is convinced he saw a different bear.

“I think my bear was bigger,” he said.

michael.biesecker@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4698

May 12th - 16th is National Bike to Work Week and is part of the 2008 SmartCommute Challenge.  Celebrate with cycling events, free food, prizes, shop discounts, and group rides throughout the Triangle!

Click here for events going on this week

Cycling Resources
GoTriangle.org has helpful information on how to plan your route, pack your gear, cycle safely, and maintain your bike.

Encourage your friends to take the Challenge at SmartCommuteChallenge.org

MULEteam members save everyday! You can bring in coupons from the “National Chains” and we’ll give you an extra $5 back!

» Check out our gear deals

» Not a member? Join today, It’s FREE!

The weekly festivities include performances by top bands, featuring bluegrass, back porch, roots, americana and old time music and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, cheese, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, organic meat, locally produced wine, hand made arts and crafts and more. Every week, CERES, Saxapahaw’s local quality of life organization sets up exciting events and activities for children including the Famous Zipboat, the Environmentally Engineered Slip-N-Slide, face painting, children’s arts & crafts and a weekly kid’s parade.

Festivities take place every Saturday from 5pm-8pm through the end of August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers pass around a “Swan Bucket” each week for the band. It’s a beautiful day out! Come On Along!!!

OCKTOBERFEST is Saturday, Oct 18

» MORE INFO

It was great to see our good friends from Larry’s Beans yesterday. They stopped by the Raleigh Shop to brew up some tasty coffee samples during the Get Out More Tour.

Check out their website Sustainability School for “basic facts and the latest tips to blaze a bright future for the planet”