OR director Kenji Haroutunian (left) walks the show floor with DOI Sec. Ken Salazar

After 20 years in the industry I can’t recall a cabinet level executive ever attending the Outdoor Retailer Show. Those with long standing memories may prove me wrong and I’ll stand corrected. But I believe that the address of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to the biannual Outdoor Industry Association breakfast meeting was a truly unique occurrence.

His position in the Obama Administration not withstanding, Salazar’s visit to OR is important for other reasons. As a person of Hispanic ancestry and the direct representative of the first African-America president of the United States for the first time in our history, federal policy for the protection of our public land, air, water and natural resources is being guided predominately by people of color. Salazar brought with him a message from the White House that stands not only as a sign of a strong relationship between our industry and the U.S. Government, but it may also serve as a rare opportunity to finally bridge the divide between outdoor recreation and ethnic minorities in our country who fail access it. Read the rest of this entry »

It just wasn’t going to happen. Shamane and I turned the newly built chair every-which-way, but there was no getting it up the stairs and through the narrow door from the basement.

“I hate to tell you this hun,” she said. “But I think you need to take the arms off.”

My wife is every bit as smart as she is beautiful. Twelve years of marriage has taught me not to argue. Repeatedly muttering a single syllable expletive, I backed us down the steps and skulked over to my workbench. The precision Japanese handsaw I cherish would make quick work of this.

After two solid weeks on an extended Joy Trip I spent my first Saturday at home building an Adirondack chair. The simple but classic design is a one-day project I could knock out in 8 hours from first cut to finish. The practice of woodworking is a wonderfully active meditation that frees the mind while transforming thought into reality. Ironically, the creation of this comfy lawn chair was a roundabout way of settling my overloaded brain to contemplate and then report on the many adventures I discovered in my recent travels. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite two inches of new snow overnight the spring growing season in Madison officially began today. The annual Eagle Heights Community Garden Seed Fair opened to a capacity crowd of hobby gardeners eager to till the soil in the warmer days yet to come.

“I am SO pumped for this!” said our plot mate Jennifer Harrington. “We’re gunna have SO much yummy produce.”

My wife Shamane and I share a patch of land about two miles from our home with friends near the University of Wisconsin campus. More than 1,300 plots are available for area residents to grow a modest garden of vegetables or flowers. The cost is a mere $35 for the season. And local organizers during the fair provide an assortment of seeds free for the taking.

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For more than a year now it’s been my pleasure to bring you the stories behind the selfless causes of people trying to make the world a better place. The mission of the Joy Trip Project is to explore the lives of those who blend their passion for adventure with their desire to work for the benefit of others or toward the preservation of life on our planet. In my own way I hope that I have contributed to the success of their causes by bringing them to your attention and encouraging you to participate. So in the spirit of that mission I’m pleased to announce a new Joy Trip Project initiative.

On August 29, 2010 I will join a small group of climbers to ascend the summit of Mount Fuji in Japan. Organized by the non-profit Love Hope Strength this event aims to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer. Fuji Rocks! is the lasted in a series of climbs that feature a base-camp live music concert along with a drive to register new bone marrow donors to the national database of those willing to help a leukemia patient in need of a bone marrow transplant. It is my plan that with your help over the next five months The Joy Trip Project will raise $6,000 to $10,000 for this cause and register at least 1,000 new donors.

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Jennifer Jones Austin is a complete stranger to me. But in the coming months you’re going to hear me talk a great deal about people just like her. At the age of 41 this mother of two is suffering from leukemia. Though with this serious form of cancer Jennifer’s prospects for survival will increase dramatically if she receives a bone marrow transplant.
But first she needs a donor. A successful transplant requires a very specific tissue match. The most likely donor candidate will be a person who shares her genetic ancestry. Unfortunately, African-Americans represent only 2 percent of the pool of registered donors in the United States. The chances of Jennifer finding a match are quite low. Read the rest of this entry »

This video just had to be shared. These guys redefine all notions of urban extreme. Here posts the first Joy Trip Project safety disclaimer.   PLEASE DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!

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These are the CRAZIEST days of the year. I’m up at the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City Utah. Check out the first round of photographs on the Joy Trip Project Facebook page.

Through weekend I’m connecting with old friends and building new relationships with some of the incredible people in business of outdoor recreation. I’ll continue to post pictures and stories as time and energy allow. But you can follow the goings on at the live Twitter feed sponsored by Channel Signal.

Search for #ORWinter on Twitter pull down the conversation coming direct from the show floor. You can participate in the conversation and find out what’s new from your favorite outdoor companies. Let me know if there’s anything you want to know about products coming out for 2011. I’ll also keep you posted on some amazing new initiatives to get kids outside and work being done on behalf of the environment. Just drop me a tweet www.twitter.com/joytripproject

Where ever you are today, make sure you get OUTSIDE!

When it comes to social media we all have to make ourselves heard above the noise of the roaring crowd. As we head to Salt Lake City this week for the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market the social networks are all-a-Twitter (pun intended). Manufacturers and PR agents have been flooding the Internet with bits of information about their new brand offerings for weeks now. But unless we each step it up bit and start pushing up more substantive content the messages we send are just going to be drowned out in the clammer. Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone has a unique perspective. From the vantage point of one’s life experience most anyone can lend his or her view to create a complete picture of the world. If 20 years in the Outdoor Industry has taught me anything it’s that no one person has a lock on the news and information of the day. It helps to track multiple sources to have a clear idea of what’s going on.

There are literally thousands of new products coming out on the market for 2010. And everyday there are subtle shifts in the attitudes of people who live work and play in the outdoors. And with the advent of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and You Tube we now have the ability to take many points of view and share them simultaneously.

Using sophisticated monitoring tools, at Channel Signal we can effectively track the course, speed and heading of emerging trends in the world of outdoor recreation and report on what we find. Despite the technology though, at the heart of our analyses are the thoughts and opinions of very smart and knowledgeable people we follow online. Most are reporters. Many are sponsored athletes. Some are just ordinary people with a passion for technical gear and life in the wild world. Each writes about his or her experiences on a blog, web site, podcast or twitter feed. All have the ability to influence others and help them come to a better understanding of the rapidly changing landscape of outdoor recreation

Over the next several weeks during and after the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market there are several individuals I plan to follow. Each is skilled at sharing their ideas on the things they discover.  The 20 outdoor influencers below are currently at the top of my list. What do you think? Anyone I missed. Feel free to add a few of your own in the comments section. If there’s someone you think that should be on this list that’s not be sure to let me know. Anyone you think shouldn’t be on this list? Tell me why, but make it good. These 20 men and women (listed alphabetically by Twitter name) are standout influencers and all have done a great deal already to move the conversation forward. Read the rest of this entry »

The Joy Trip Project and Channel Signal want to connect with the connectors

The social media mainstream is a force to recon with. In a crashing wave of millions individuals are making their opinions known around the world.  Using Internet-ready smartphones, laptops and other web surfing devices Bloggers, Tweeters, Facebookers, Flickrphiles, Podcasters and YouTubers set the course of the info-stream even while they’re navigating it. With clever ideas expressed in less than140 characters or lengthy web log commentaries these jacked-in data hawks are moving the flow of conversation to new and exciting places. The best and brightest among them are the influencers, those individuals whose content is thoughtful, compelling and worth passing along to others.

It’s these influencers that I follow to keep up to speed on what’s going on in the world outdoors. Even though they’re fully wired, outdoor influencers can put their gizmos down long enough to get outside for a long trail run, a mountain bike ride, a few telemark turns or even just a dogwalk to the local farmer’s market. When they come back they post their experiences to share with others and fuel the conversation. And now as a new media analyst for Channel Signal I’m looking to connect with as many outdoor influencers as I can. I know quite a few, but I aim to find more, many, many more. Read the rest of this entry »