Kammok: SXSW: Inspiration Station

If you spend time outside, whether you’re hiking, camping, climbing, or mountain biking, chances are you frequent public lands. Luckily, through national parks and forests, state parks, and local trails, adventurers have the ability to explore everything from alpine habitats to deep canyons and everything in between. More and more people are getting outside and visiting parks at record levels, which is why it’s important for all of us to become good stewards of the ecosystems entrusted into our care. The following Leave No Trace principles are key to maintaining pristine wildlife in our parks, and they basically all boil down to one unifying point: Leave it like you found it.   1. Plan Ahead and Prepare This isn’t just a good idea to make the most of your camping trip—it’s also an essential aspect of Leave No Trace. When visiting national parks, become familiar with the “Plan Your Visit” tab on a park’s page. Each park is different, with special concerns and regulations that you should be aware of. Planning ahead also means reducing your footprint by visiting parks in smaller groups when possible and avoiding times of high use. Do your part today by becoming familiar with parks you frequent often or plan to in the near future. Here’s an example of a regulations page from one of our personal favorites: Arches National Park.   2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces The National Park Service has spent many years developing trail systems and campsites for our enjoyment. However, the purpose is not simply to give us access to wild places. By sticking to designated trails, visitors make less impact on the park and prevent degradation from erosion. The same principles can be applied to campsites as well. When you pack up in the morning, your campsite should essentially be unchanged. The best way to ensure this is by utilizing campsites already designated by the parks. In the backcountry, stick to marked campsites or other durable surfaces like rock, gravel, sand, dry grasses, or snow. You can also protect riparian areas by camping 75 steps away from lakes and streams. If you’re curious, you can also check out these two articles from the NPS about the history and current management principles of trail making.   3. Dispose of Waste Properly We’ve all seen the signs: Pack it in, pack it out. Comma splice or not, these words should be at the forefront of every visitor’s mind when exploring public lands. Even with the glaring signs at every trailhead, you’re almost certain to find trash from someone who came before you. We could write an entire article on this single principle, but here are a few basic tips to keep in mind. When packing food for your trip, dispose of any unnecessary trash ahead of time: Think produce stickers and packages within packages. For example, if you’re bringing cereal on the trip, consider recycling the box ahead of time and only bringing the bag. Meal prepping ahead of time can also be a great way to lighten your load and reduce the amount of waste in camp. In the backcountry, utilize freezer baggies to group meals and act as a waste receptacle to be disposed of properly when back at park headquarters. And remember, pack it out means pack it all out, including orange peels and pet waste.  Utilize toilet facilities when possible—park maps do a great job of pointing you in the direction of a bathroom. When making overnight trips away from facilities, packing a bathroom kit is essential. A simple kit includes toilet paper, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and a small spade. You should also bring a separate baggie for the disposal of paper products. For solid waste, dig your cathole 6-8 inches deep and 75 steps away from water, campsites, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole with the removed dirt when finished. Lastly, to wash dishes or yourself, carry water 75 steps away from any water source and use only small amounts of biodegradable soap if necessary. Scatter any strained dishwater. Consider using body wipes for personal hygiene. These are easy to dispose of and can be purchased from most outdoor retailers.   4. Leave What You Find This one is pretty simple. Imagine you’re a kid and your parents have dragged you into yet another antique store. “Don’t touch anything!” A pine tree certainly isn’t as fragile as fine China, but that doesn’t mean we should be carving our initials into one. Leave rocks, plants, and other natural items where they are—these aren’t souvenirs for you to bring home. The whole purpose of this principle, and every principle for that matter, is to leave parks in their natural state for other visitors to enjoy. Not to mention we want to preserve these ecosystems so that plants and wildlife can continue to thrive.      5. Minimize Campfire Impacts We’ve all seen in the news how damaging fire can be, which is why this principle is extremely important. Follow fire regulations at any given park, and simply don’t build a fire when and where it isn’t allowed. This goes back to planning ahead as well: If you think you’re going to find yourself in a situation where you need added warmth, pack the appropriate insulation. Bring along a small stove as well for any meals in the backcountry. Where fires are permitted, use park fire rings, portable fire pans, or mound fires. Always keep fires small and only use down and dead wood that can easily be broken by hand. When you’re done with the fire, let the coals burn to ash, put the fire out completely, and then scatter the ashes. Your goal is to remove any indication that a fire has ever been made.   6. Respect Wildlife Animals in parks are truly wild and should be treated as such. It seems like every year there’s a new video of someone approaching a bison in Yellowstone to get a closer look—a situation that never ends well. Beyond your own safety, respecting wildlife means helping them stay wild. That means never feeding animals, either purposefully or accidentally by leaving food lying around. Feeding wild animals can alter natural behaviors in ways that are damaging to the ecosystem. Store food items securely, dispose of trash properly, and use bear boxes where offered. All of these measures will help prevent wildlife from taking a liking to your trail snacks.   7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors Finally, be nice to everyone in the park. Just as you should leave parks in pristine shape for future visitors, you should also respect the ones who happen to be there at the same time as you. Yield to other hikers on the trail, step on the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack animals, and consider the fact that not everyone loves loud music. Public parks are for everyone. By following these simple guidelines, you’ll allow others and yourself to enjoy the outdoors in a way that benefits both you and the landscapes you visit.   One final note on the Leave No Trace principles—our eighth rule if you will. Leave it better than you found it. This isn’t our attempt to implore you to beautify the landscape by planting flowers (please don’t do that). Instead, we encourage you to bring an extra trash bag along when hiking and camping. Even in pristine national parks, you’re bound to find litter left behind by visitors. You may feel like you’re not even making a dent in some of your park cleanup efforts, but every piece of trash picked up helps. If we’re going to be good stewards of the land we get to enjoy, we might as well go above and beyond the call of handling our own mess. You may even be surprised to find how addicting it can be to pick up other people’s empty beer cans. This year on National Camp at Home Day, we encourage everyone to start practicing these Leave No Trace principles. Go for a hike on your favorite local trail and pack out the litter you find along the way. When cooking your camp meal, take into account how much waste you’re creating and come up with a plan for packing it out in a backcountry setting. If you have kids around the campfire, teach them the importance of the seven Leave No Trace principles so they’re ready to hit the trail with you. We can all make a positive impact by thoroughly learning these principles and implementing them when the time comes.

This year for National Camp at Home Day, Alisha McDarris from sustainable travel and adventure blog Terradrift offers tips to help you level up your sustainability game and reduce waste at the campsite and beyond. So you can stay classy, not trashy. Start with proper preparation If you want to reduce waste on your next outing—whether it’s in your backyard or across the country—if you wait until you get to camp to make your move, you’ve already lost. Successful low- or no-waste camping starts with solid preparation. Skip the pre-packaged meals and bars This is a tough one, especially because pre-packaged, store-bought backpacking meals are just so easy, but the packaging they come in is usually single-use and not recyclable or compostable. So for every freeze-dried meal you snag off of store shelves, commit to making one yourself. It’s about doing what you can, not achieving zero-waste perfection. Use ingredients you already have around the house like noodles, instant rice, or spices and combine them with your favorite protein sources like instant dried beans or, my favorite, textured vegetable protein. Blend together ingredients like oats, dates, nut butters, protein powder, seeds and dried fruit to make your own snack and protein bars. Prepare your own fruit leather and jerky in the oven. Get creative! And after a few experimental recipes, we bet you’ll be way more pleased with the flavor results than with those bland pre-made meals. And if you need a few idea to get you started, I wrote a whole cookbook of plant-based recipes, which you can find here.   Buy in bulk If you’ll be making your own meals and snacks, call on your local grocery store’s bulk bin. Usually, you can bring a reusable container (for even less waste) to fill with items like instant potatoes or beans, hummus or textured vegetable protein, nuts and dried fruit, even spices and energy bites, all without an ounce of extraneous packaging. If your local grocery doesn’t have a bulk bin section, then buy larger packages of items like rice or trail mix, freeze-dried vegetables or fruit instead of single-serve sizes in order to reduce waste. Utilize reusable packaging Zip-top bags are convenient, no doubt, but in most cases, they are single-use items that don’t get recycled (though you can usually recycle clean zip-top bags at your local grocery store’s bag recycling bin). So opt out of single-use whenever possible. Snacks, meal ingredients and more can be stored in reusable silicone zip-top bags, plastic storage containers, or food wraps that can be washed and reused many times. Opt for snacks in sustainable packaging We can’t make all of our own snacks all the time. Take nuts, dried fruit, and seeds for example. Fortunately, you can still get waste-free snacks by purchasing from brands that use compostable or biodegradable packaging. Shar, for example, offers trail mix in refillable, recyclable, and compostable cardboard tubes while Sun and Swell packages their snacks, nuts and dried fruit in compostable bags, including single-serves! Reduce waste at camp Prepping is at least half the battle if you want to enjoy to a low-waste camping trip. But it doesn’t stop there; keep the good vibes rolling (and the trash bags empty) once you arrive. Ditch disposables Save the paper plates for your kid’s pizza party and commit to using reusable plates, utensils and cups when camping. There are plenty of quality and durable mess kits out there and they’re easy to wash and reuse at camp. Plus, they don’t create bags full of trash at the end of every meal. But don’t stop there: swap straws, napkins, and paper towels for reusable and washable items, too. Skip single use bottles Instead of bringing along a case of single-use plastic water bottles or even gallon jugs of water, bring a refillable container with a spout or nozzle like a water cube for storing and serving up H2O. Use a refillable gas tank You know those little green bottles that fuel your camp stove? Millions end up in landfills every year because they can’t be easily recycled. Upgrade to a small, refillable cylinder like one from Ignik to drastically reduce waste when camping. Repurpose your water bottle Skip the wasteful bags of ice (for at least as long as you can) on your next camping trip and use reusable ice packs or make one of your own: The night before you leave, fill your Nalgene or other hard plastic water bottle 3/4 full and stash it in the freezer. In the morning, you’ll have a multipurpose DIY ice pack that also functions as a water bottle as the ice melts. You can even refill the bottle with ice from a beverage dispenser when repacking your cooler on the go. Utilize refillable and compostable toiletries If you’re camping at home, this won’t likely be an issue, but if you’re spending more than a day or two farther afield, you might plan to wash up a few times (dishes or yourself). If that’s the case, avoid purchasing travel-size toiletries and soaps and instead utilize reusable and refillable containers and tubes to hold soap, shampoo and more. Also important: Make sure they are biodegradable for the least amount of impact to the natural spaces around you. Bottom Line There’s plenty you can do if you’re looking to reduce your waste while camping. All it takes is a bit of planning and preparation, a willingness to try something new, and a touch of creativity and you’re well on your way to producing less waste and enjoying more environmentally-friendly outings. Wander on!

Our outdoor community is built upon adventure seekers. While sometimes this means spending time in harsh weather and challenging ourselves physically, other times it means having difficult conversations and changing our perspective. In this three-part series on The Outpost, we will share the stories of individuals redefining what it means to be outside. Written by Luisa Vargas.   As a first-generation immigrant from Colombia, I was lucky enough to have parents who taught me the value of spending time in nature. However, the first time a friend called me “outdoorsy” I thought it couldn’t be true. I didn’t look like anyone who shopped at REI. Growing up, I was an artistic kid, not an athletic one. I’m afraid of heights and I’m brown. Little did I know I was fed the same story as most people: That to identify as outdoorsy, you have to spend time outside doing physically draining activities like multi-day hiking trips, climbing up giant rocks or kayaking through rough waters. And that you’re white. It took years to finally consider myself an outdoor enthusiast. Looking back, I realize I was just as outdoorsy then as I am now, but I kept wondering why it took me so long to realize this.  To explore that question, I talked with three incredible adventurers who defy the mainstream standards of being outdoorsy. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing their stories. The first story is from Rocío, a trail runner, social justice advocate, mentor and native Austinite. Although we barely scratch the surface, these are thirst-quenching conversations that reexamine how we ask questions about diversity in outdoor spaces. They share their journey of transformation in the outdoors and talk about how we can cultivate inclusive spaces that honor history and tradition. Rocío Villalobos at Caprock Canyon State Park When I first talked with Rocío Villalobos over Zoom, I instantly felt calming energy. As an avid trail runner, she spends a copious amount of time outside, but her true gift is blending her outdoor experiences with a commitment to social justice. She currently works in the city of Austin’s Equity Office as an Immigrant Affairs Coordinator and has experience working with various environmental and social justice organizations including PODER (People Organizing in Defense of the Earth and Her Resources).  Rocío shares that her great grandparents were indigenous people from tribes in what we now call Mexico. Reconnecting with the land and her ancestors is one of the many reasons she finds spending time outside so impactful. “My grandparents learned it was worth assimilating into this broader Mexican identity rather than holding onto their customs. For me, a part of going outside is reconnecting with the land and my ancestors,” Rocío says. As we explore the reasons why she values spending time outside, she describes how simply having the time to be in nature is a privilege. Growing up, Rocío wasn’t outside much.  Her parents worked long hours and were worried about allowing their kids to wander alone. It wasn’t until she was an adult and faced depression that she turned to running as one of her remedies.  “It made me feel confident and shifted some of the internal talk that I know was really negative,” Rocío says.  Rocío participating in a trail race  As Rocío continued finding joy in outdoor spaces while doing social justice work, the two began merging. She worked in various environmental organizations and began mentoring girls with Explore Austin where she finds an opportunity to connect with young women who are developing their own connection to the land.  Mentorship is a big part of Rocío's life. She’s continually sharing resources and adventure gear with people who want to spend more time outside, particularly women of color.  When I asked Rocío why we don’t see more women of color in traditional outdoor spaces despite the growing interest, her answer was transformative.  Rocío suggests that instead of asking why we don’t see certain groups outside, we should be asking if communities are already spending time outdoors in ways that don’t fit the mainstream idea of what we think as outdoor time. Spending time outside could be something as simple as preparing your soil for a garden or hanging in a hammock listening to the birds.  She describes the popular vision of the outdoors as, “Feeling like an almost hypermasculine idea,” where you have to do something physically draining.  According to Rocío, there is value in trying new, challenging things, but this doesn’t have to be the only way we enjoy the outdoors. The goal should be connecting to the land, and that’s going to look different for everyone. As we begin addressing inclusivity in these spaces, it’s important to remember we’re not here to force change upon people. Rocío says the bigger questions are, “What do our institutions look like? What have they done to create barriers or opportunities to get to spend time in certain places?” Addressing institutional change is an important part of racial equity work everywhere, not just in outdoor spaces. Many times institutions are out of touch with what is happening in their own communities and that becomes another layer of the problem.  She explains that social inequities are hundreds of years old and are going to take just as long to undo. “Find a balance of being grounded in reality but still holding onto that hope of transformation,” Rocío says. I believe Rocío excels at racial equity work and ultramarathons because both require preparation and endurance for a long and difficult path while still believing transformation is possible.  Redefining what it means to identify as an outdoorsy person will open doors for people to benefit from the transformative power of being outside, despite the restrictions placed by mainstream ideas.  Next time you catch yourself wishing you had more time to spend outside, remember that your backyard and your hammock are waiting. Here you can explore some ideas on spending more time outdoors. “How is this helping me develop a deeper relationship with the land? That’s what our goal should be.” -Rocío Villalobos Organizations Rocío has worked with: Austin Racial Equity Office PODER The University of Texas Multicultural Engagement Center Explore Austin Other organizations and companies supporting diversity in the outdoors: Black Outside Native Women’s Wilderness Tawa Threads  Latinos Outdoors

Over the past 10 years, we've been on a mission to elevate time outside by designing outdoor gear that lives up to our promise: Adventure Grade, Better Made™. And in that process of creating the best quality gear, we're mindful of our impact it has on the environment and community. As a 1% for the Planet member, we've donated 1% of revenue to social and environmental non-profits thanks to your support. As a certified B Corp company, we have committed our business practices to reach a high caliber of social and environmental sustainability. In 2020, we introduced our first fully recycled Bluesign approved fabric with the launch of the Arctos 20. In the coming months, we'll incorporate recycled materials and cleaner manufacturing processes in our core product lines. Today, we’re proud to announce we have committed to becoming Climate Neutral Certified. We’re working with Climate Neutral, an independent non-profit organization, to measure, reduce, and offset our carbon emissions. The three-step process will give us net-zero carbon emissions, meaning we’ll reduce the amount of carbon we’re responsible for emitting, then zero out the rest by purchasing carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are investment projects that either prevent carbon from being emitted, like renewable energy, or remove carbon from the atmosphere, like planting trees. You’ll soon start seeing the Climate Neutral Certified label on our packaging and website. This label will help conscious consumers support brands that are taking immediate steps on climate action.  At Kammok, we're committed to designing adventure grade, better made gear. Becoming Climate Neutral Certified holds us accountable in our ongoing commitment of better made, sustainable manufacturing. Learn more about our commitment to a low-carbon future at climateneutral.org and find out more about why we’re so passionate about taking climate action. We remain inspired by you and can't wait to update you along the way. Elevating time outside, Greg McEvilly CEO & Founder