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We developed an online store the week after the pandemic closed us down in an effort to hustle, stay afloat and continue to serve our customers curbside. It worked because you supported us. And now, we are able to turn it off and focus once again on what we do best, helping our community find the gear they need, in our shop, at an affordable price.
Some may say we are not staying up with the times and perhaps that’s fair, it is 2022. However, what we have realized is that in order to sell online well and really showcase what we offer, both new and used, it would require a hefty amount of time, money and staffing. Instead of focusing those efforts on selling online and shipping gear across the nation we’d like to put our energy into our shop here in Durango. We plan to continue to focus on offering excellent customer service, staff training, non profit partnerships and really dialing in our consignment process. These are all things that benefit our community and the customers and consignors we get to personally interact with each and every day.
There is obviously a market for selling new and used gear online. Many companies are sprouting up each month and making a go at it. There is money to make that we are potentially leaving on the table. However, when Chase and I started this business, making every dollar we could was not the motivation. We wanted to create jobs for ourselves that we loved (check) and grow a business that benefited the community and environment we love (check, check). We will keep doing that and maybe see you out on the trails a bit more instead of behind the computer!
-Jen
When spending one night (or many) in the backcountry, a warm dinner at night and hot beverage in the morning can make the difference. That invariably involves using a stove of some sort–but which one?
Stove technology has been around for decades, but new tech is making them lighter, more efficient, and more dependable than ever before. Here’s a rundown of the different kinds of backpacking stoves:
If you are camping in bear country, or in any place where food storage is a concern, you should strongly consider using a bear canister–a storage system that is built to keep bears out of your food. And in some places, particularly parks in California, Montana, Colorado, and Washington,backcountry campers are required to have and use bear canisters.
While you may get lucky by hanging your food in a sack from a tree, this is not permitted in many areas and virtually impractical in many alpine anddesert backpacking zones. Bear canisters are the preferred method for storing food and other smelly items, but there are many kinds to be aware of. Let’s look at them in more detail.
For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.
The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”
Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.
Ready? Here goes!