12 Amazing Albums Playing in the Office.
Here are some tunes for your week, from our office to yours! Much love and listening!
Here are some tunes for your week, from our office to yours! Much love and listening!
Written by Dr. Felicia Wong. Dr. Felicia Wong is a physician, outdoor enthusiast, and wellness blogger based in Southern California. Between her and her husband (also a physician)'s busy work schedules, raising two young sons, and running her popular Instagram account Everyday Adventure Fam and blog on adventure tips, she exemplifies what it means to live intentionally and joyfully with her family. The Wong family can be found hiking, biking, enjoying a day at the beach, or skiing in the nearby mountains on any given weekend. However, one of their favorite activities is camping. In this blog post, Dr. Felicia Wong shares ideas to help you celebrate National Camp At Home Day! Our family loves to camp - at home, close to home, in state and national parks, or off grid. We started glamping as a family 6 years ago, and have gradually worked our way from glamping to car camping, to boondocking and backpacking! One of my favorite things to do, aside from planning our own camping trips, is to encourage more people to give camping a try. National Camp at Home Day - March 27 - is a great time for new campers to do a practice run, and for seasoned campers to test out and inventory gear in preparation for the spring/ summer camping season! To help you get ready for this fun weekend, we have come up with some ways to enhance your camp at home experience: Turn off your electronics and set them aside. Consider turning off your wifi. Unplug. If weather and space permits, consider camping outdoors on your patio or in your yard. If you have one, get cozy around an outdoor firepit with some camp blankets! If camping inside, you can create a nice camp ambience by moving some houseplants around your tent. If you have a fireplace, set up your Swiftlet hammock stand and hammock nearby. Play “camp games” . Our kids love card games like War and Go Fish! When it gets dark out, turn off the lights and use your camp lanterns, flashlights, headlamps. Treat yourself to classic camp treats like s’mores and hot chocolate with mini marshmallows No campfire at home… No worries! Here are 3 methods to make S’mores at home! S’mores on the Stovetop: If you have a gas stovetop, you can roast marshmallows just as you would over a campfire. Put a marshmallow on a skewer and set the stovetop burner on low heat. Use care while slowly turning the marshmallow over the heat to your desired doneness. We recommend this method for adults, as it involves an open flame. S’mores in the Oven: Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. Break the graham crackers into halves, and place half of them on a baking sheet. Top each graham cracker with chocolate, and then a marshmallow. Bake until the marshmallows are puffed and golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Top with the remaining graham cracker halves and press to flatten. If you prefer your marshmallows extra toasty, you can also use the broiler following the same steps, but will need to watch them very closely, because they can burn quickly. Serve immediately while the S’mores are still warm! S’mores in the microwave: Place chocolate and marshmallows on up to four graham cracker halves and put on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 15 to 20 seconds, or until the marshmallows puff. Top with the remaining graham cracker halves. Learn more about how to participate in this year's National Camp at Home Day here. Happy camping!
The ultimate hammock basecamp We teamed up with TAXA Outdoors to put a Kammok spin on their Woolly Bear habitat. The result is a go-anywhere, do-it-all trailer that's ready for any hammock adventure. We could all use a little more time outside, and the Kammok Edition Woolly Bear is the perfect tool for getting out and staying out. The Camp Chef's Dream Kitchen One of the biggest barriers to getting outside is the comfort you leave behind at home, one of the most crucial being a fully functioning kitchen with everything you need at your fingertips. The Woolly Bear kitchen offers the best of both worlds, with clever organization, plenty of workspace, and the ideal outdoor setting. Now you can get outside with confidence and cook to your heart's content. A Gear Closet on Wheels The Kammok Edition Woolly Bear has a place for all your camping essentials. No more packing and repacking: Load up once, and you're always ready for the next outing. Introducing the Outpost We knew a Kammok Edition Woolly Bear wouldn't be complete without a robust, full-size hammock setup. The Outpost easily attaches to the cargo deck of any Woolly Bear and allows you to hang a full-size hammock in virtually any setting. The Outpost's lightweight frame make it a cinch for anyone to deploy, and the tool-free setup means it's ready to go with the press of a button. Adjustable legs and a 360 degree swivel mount allow you to hang your hammock on any landscape, from smooth blacktop to the roughest backcountry campsites. Create the ultimate hammock basecamp by attaching up to six Outpost hammock stands to your Woolly Bear. With the addition of a rooftop tent, your Woolly Bear can comfortably sleep up to nine happy campers. Arriving Spring '22: Outpost 2.0 will allow for attachment to your vehicle's roof rack or a single tree.
Kammok Outsiders know the feeling of connection that comes from stepping into nature. It’s the first breath of fresh air when we get out of our cars and into the mountains. It’s the audible sigh after jumping into the ocean where all we hear are the rhythmic waves crashing onto white sand beaches. However, there’s no doubt that these spaces and experiences away from our screens are in danger due to climate change. Our commitment to protecting the environment for current and future generations extends beyond Earth Day. We’ve announced our commitment through our partnership with Climate Neutral (read more on it here). We know that for there to be any hope of surviving the climate crisis, we have to take action as both a brand and as individuals. Earlier this month our team at Kammok paused work at the office and hit the trails, but this time we didn’t camp or climb. Instead, we decided to pick up the trash that humans have left behind along a local trail. We spent our day walking the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin and picked up a surprising amount of dog poop bags, styrofoam cups and plastic wrappers that were bound to end up contaminating waterways, buried in the soil for hundreds of years or in the stomach of wildlife. For anyone who spends time outside, we urge you to take another look at the seven principles of Leave No Trace. They have great educational resources about the importance of creating minimal impact in wild places. Still have questions or aren’t sure why this is important? Drop us a message on Instagram, we’d love to hear from you! After our team outing on the greenbelt, we decided to get the community involved. For this cleanup, we wanted to hit the streets instead of a trail. So much of the trash that ends up in the wild actually comes from urban areas. With heavy rainfall, winds and waste transportation, a lot of it makes its way to natural areas. We put out an invitation for people in Austin to join us in cleaning up our neighborhood. We set up outside and welcomed new and familiar faces to the Gear Shop for a trashy adventure. We split into two groups and made our way East, trash bags in hand, gloves and grabbers at the ready, we walked along the streets picking up plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, old shoes, rags, glass bottles, and styrofoam. Along our route, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who stopped to thank us for picking up trash. People know it’s a problem, it’s a matter of getting out and doing something about it. Protecting our planet is not only an environmental issue but as our founder Greg McEvilly says, is a human issue. It affects our way of life and it’s our responsibility to do something about it. While picking up trash may not be a long-term solution, it’s a small action we can each take in addition to lowering our consumption of single-use products, using alternative modes of transportation, and choosing to support brands that take climate change seriously. At the end of the day, we didn’t just spend a Thursday evening cleaning up trash, but also connecting with people who understand the power of collective action. Thank you to those who showed up for our first community cleanup in Texas. We can’t wait to organize more in the future and expand to other locations. Stay tuned for future events in Austin by following @Kammok_ATX on Instagram.
If you’ve been following along this summer, you know that former Kammok marketing + creative lead Andrew Glenn left his home in Texas this April to conquer another long-distance trail. A seasoned thru-hiker, Andrew completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 2017 and John Muir Trail in 2018. This year, he’s on a mission to connect the Continental Divide Trail, a 3,100 mile trail through the Rocky Mountains, to the Great Divide Trail, a 700 mile stretch that follows the divide between Alberta and British Columbia in Canada. To our knowledge, Andrew is the first CDT hiker to advance northbound through Colorado this year, which was slammed with record snowfall and avalanches. Ahead of the pack, Andrew recently completed the Wind River Range in Wyoming and will begin his hike through Yellowstone National Park later this week. Throughout his trek, Andrew’s been testing a new 20º Kammok quilt and repping our Kuhli Ultralight tarp. We checked in with him this past week to see how life on the trail’s been treating him and how his gear is holding up. First things first. How are you feeling? You know, I’ve attempted a few responses to this question, but, though each true, I haven’t found a way to note my feelings with justice. On the very surface, I’m exhausted by another 30 mile day. I’m a little freaked by this hail storm I’m hunkered down in, but I’m happy to have packed out extra snacks and the Kuhli UL is holding up strong. My right knee is a little sore, and I definitely need to pick up better sunscreen in the next town.A little deeper down, there’s a vortex of complicated feelings. Holy smokes, I’m grateful for the moments composing the hike, and I’m curious what lies in the miles ahead. I’m feeling relief and pride with the seeming crux of the hike in the rear view, while dueling the gravity of Canada pulling me closer and closer — all while trying to focus on being present.Haha I guess I’m feeling a lot, and it’s good stuff. Colorado was a challenge mentally and physically. How has the trail in Wyoming been so far? Oof, Colorado. Wyoming is remarkable. I haven’t been here since I was a kiddo, and I admittedly underestimated its grandeur. Down south, the mountains flattened into the Great Divide Basin, a true Wild West landscape with open skies and wild horses. From there, the trail jumped from the Basin into the Wind River Range. Y’all. I’m unable to paint an adequate picture of these mountains, but imagine a dense High Sierra, with valley features of Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchy Valley, and granite towers comparable to Patagonia. The Cirque of the Towers and Titcomb Basin/Knapsack Col fought for my attention and won it with ease. Anyway, that’s the Winds. Tomorrow, I’ll exit the Winds and jet towards Yellowstone. I will probably wrap Wyoming on Monday or Tuesday. I can’t wait to come back. The Tetons are calling my name. What’s a challenge ahead for you? To set up for the GDT with a comfortable late-season start date, I will need to wrap the CDT within the next 5 weeks. This deadline brings a pressure of timing and pace I’ve been familiar with so far, but now is the time to kick into gear, testing stamina with few sub-30 mile days til Canada. This time on trail, what has community looked like for you? When have you felt love? This time around, I’ve recognized the pulse and value of community as it’s taken many different forms on trail. Through New Mexico, I hiked and shared camp with other hikers, similar to the majority of my time on the PCT. It was sweet, simple, and some of my favorite miles I’ve thru-hiked.Since early Colorado, I’ve been rolling solo, with the occasional run-in with a SOBO (southbound hiker), section hiker, or day hiker. This means my community is built by infrequent interactions with passing strangers – the woman serving me copious amounts of coffee at the small-town diner, the man at the post office, the gaggle of first time backpackers at a trailhead. As my time with other people is acute and limited, I’ve found myself to be more intentional with those I do cross paths with. Whether it’s a craving of human connections or a growing heart towards empathy, the trail is teaching and holding me accountable in the way I value others. It’s special. In the days that you’ve had company, what have you learned from other hikers on trail? Hikers are continuously teaching me how to duel optimism and grit in their individual way. Choosing positivity is a must out here, and so much of that comes down to perspective, one’s worldview, and keeping a pulse on self, especially in times that test your patience.Through this, I’m learning the importance of self-confidence and independence as an asset in leading others and building community. We all have something to offer. And, as always, I’m learning how to match the generosity and hospitality, even from other hikers, I’ve experienced in the hikersphere. It’s beautiful and inspiring. Switching gears here, what's been the most clutch piece of gear in your pack? Oh, gosh. I think there’s a rightful expectation for me to answer with one of the Big 3 (pack, shelter, insulation), as these pieces keep me alive and moving. But to switch things up, I’m going to say my bandana, the 1 oz Swiss Army Knife of possibilities. It’s kept me covered from ticks, shaded from the heat, and cooled after dunked in a stream. It cleans my food jar and has braced my knee. I have a thing for bandanas, and this one is no exception! You’ve cowboy camped nearly every night. Favorite tarp set-up and location so far? Oooooo, I have a strong Top 3, but I’m going to roll with the first night I camped solo in Colorado. I hadn’t camped alone since the first few days of trail, and I found a killer snow-free saddle to pitch the tarp. Deep down, I think I understood it may be the first night of weeks, possibly months, of camping alone. I was pretty proud of my spaceship pitch as the sunset beamed over the Continental Divide, exposing the dramatic peaks of the West Collegiates, my soon-to-be playground for the week. Finally, one catch-your-breath moment on trail that you can’t stop thinking about? I’ve been joking that I have a before-Lake-Ann-Pass and post-Lake-Ann-Pass self. I think a new cord was struck then, strummed with gratitude, fear, humility, and pride.Lake Ann Pass, the second-to-last northbound pass of Colorado’s West Collegiates, is known to rock a pretty gnarly cornice, even in low-moderate snow years. This year wasn’t an exception, and a record snowfall only helped its height and length. When I arrived, posting the first steps of the year on the pass, the cornice took up the entire length of the pass. I took a moment to be bummed about the conditions, but I quickly assessed the situation and made moves to get the heck down. With a backdrop of snowy mountains in early daylight, I made an anchor with my ice axe and maneuvered over the cornice, kicking steps with my crampons and holding my breath.After safely descending the icy wall, I was in a cavity of beautiful mountains and the reality of calling the Divide home really sank in. Yeah, I think that’s my top moment. Interested in daily updates from Andrew on trail? Check out his instagram @andrewglenn_ where he shares stories and special moments from trail. You can also learn more about his thru-hike on his website stilloutside.com.