Browsing Leads to Future Fun

The outdoor sports supply stores of my youth were very different from what can be found now. Back then I tagged along with my parents to pick up hiking essentials. My recent visit to the REI flagship store along the Platte River in Denver was an awesome experience. My honey and I went there to plan our activities and find out what is available to update our gear.

We walked into the store and saw the Pinnacle, the freestanding climbing wall. The climbing wall looks like the cliffs along the Front Range. Once my honey managed to pull me away from watching the climbers, I enjoyed looking at all the new products for hiking. Technology has made gear lighter in weight and more efficient. The wall designated for foods for hiking amazed me. These aren't the old rations; I even found a vegan/vegetarian line of products available.

My honey wanted to look at the ski equipment and winter gear. We thought that just having some of these products would make survival enjoyable. I especially liked discovering that we could get topographical maps printed on demand for the specific area we wanted to hike.

I haven't been on any long back country hikes for a while. I'd like to think I'm up to the challenge after some practice day and overnight hikes. And I love the on purpose getting lost to find my way out through orienteering. I'm going to enjoy these even more with a partner I love if the excitement generated by our planning is any indication.

We also enjoyed finding labels that showed a company was at least working on being environmentally friendly. We found numerous options including clothing made from recycled soda bottles, a commitment to reduced paper tag labeling and companies committed to self-recycling products if I manage to wear them out. We found organic treats for my dog and a recyclable chew toy.

Now I've always thought that hikers and other active-outdoor-sports enthusiast hold a greater respect for the environment though I have seen some evidence to the contrary. The books and gear designed for the pack-it-in-pack-it-out create minimal impact lifestyle groups make me proud to have been raised a granola-head. I'm going to enjoy introducing my honey to my favorite sport of hiking and I'm looking forward to having him share skiing with me.

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