Adventure gift guide 2017

Depending on where you are in the world, and how cold it is outside, the thought of camping right now might not have even crossed your mind. While you’re bundled up at home this winter, take the opportunity to plan your adventures early! Texas state parks allow you to book campsites five months in advance while most national parks allow you to do so six months in advance. Backcountry and lottery permits are a tad trickier, and there’s no time like the present to apply before they’re all snatched up.  We've put together eight bucket-list-worthy trips that take a bit more logistical planning than a simple reservation. Best of luck to everyone who applies for these epic permits! 1. Thru-Hike The Narrows, Zion National Park Hiking The Narrows is a bucket list item for many, which contributes to the ultra-competitive booking system for the 16-mile through-hike. A backcountry permit is needed whether you want to hike it in a single day or camp halfway, but if you plan to camp, a backcountry campsite booking is required as well. The trick here? Booking opens at 10 a.m. Mountain Time on the 5th of every month, and the NPS reports “most spaces will become fully booked for the next month within minutes of reservations opening.” Don’t be discouraged. You can plan for an out-and-back trip in the narrows with no special permit required. Plan for this one in late spring and summer when temps rise and water levels drop.     2. Rim to Rim, Grand Canyon National Park A backcountry camping permit for Grand Canyon is even tougher to nab than The Narrows and more logistically challenging as well. You’ll need to plan months in advance and mail or fax your request to the NPS in order to get approved. A Rim to Rim hike in Grand Canyon National Park is extremely challenging when you consider the elevation change and hot, dry conditions. According to HikingGuy.com, the most viable windows for a trip like this is the end of May or beginning of October when hotter temps are least likely. Check out the full guide at HikingGuy and start making those plans now!     3. See the fall colors in Lost Maples State Natural Area This state natural area outside of San Antonio is best known for its fall foliage. While most Texas trees like pecans and oaks turn to brown and shed their leaves during winter, Lost Maples offers the Lone Star State some true fall colors. Bigtooth maples not common in most of the state still thrive in this unique microclimate and offer a spectacular show come November. But you’ll have to plan in advance if you want to see the brilliant orange leaves in person. Based on the Fall Foliage Report from 2021 and a quick phone call to the park headquarters, it sounds like planning your trip around Veterans Day is the ideal time. Since Texas state parks don't allow you to reserve campsites more than five months out, set a reminder in your phone for June as spots fill up quickly. Day passes are sold a month in advance and also sell out well in advance.     4. Visit The Wave at Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness This gem in Arizona is a highly sought after photo destination for social media influencers, but it’s so much more than a selfie spot. The Wave is one of the most visually interesting geological structures in North America. Due to its popularity and the fragile nature of the unique ecosystem, permits are limited to a highly competitive lottery system. From the Bureau of Land Management website: “Forty-eight people or 12 groups (whichever comes first) each day are awarded permits through an online lottery four months in advance.” A same-day walk-in lottery is also available, but they limit numbers to 16 people or four groups. Best of luck on this one—the lucky few are in for a heck of an adventure.     5. Summit Mt. Whitney, Inyo National Forest Looking to escape in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas? Might as well summit the tallest peak in California while you’re at it. For most hikers, this is a 12-hour day minimum: 22 miles out and back with over 6,200 feet of elevation gain. If this doesn’t deter you, then it’s time to call your friends and put some dates on the calendar! Best hiking conditions run from July to late September when the trail is usually free of snow. Not so fast though—the success rate for 2021 applications was a measly 28%, meaning you’ll likely have to apply multiple times to get a shot at this one. But if you’re a peak bagger, or if you’re just looking for an epic adventure, this one’s definitely worth applying for. The lottery for Mount Whitney runs from February 1 to March 15, so mark your calendar!     6. Float Hell’s Canyon, the Salmon River, or the Selway River You’ve only got a few days left to put in for these sought-after river floats as well as a few others. The last day to enter the lottery for the 2022 season is February 1st, so you’ll have to make a quick decision. Still, these rivers offer some of the best of the west when it comes to scenic and technical paddle trips. And don’t worry: If this isn’t your year, you can always plan for 2023. For a full list of upcoming lotteries, click here.     7. Hike the Half Dome Cable Route, Yosemite National Park 16 miles with 4,800 feet of gain is nothing to take lightly, but reaching the summit of the Half Dome in Yosemite is definitely a once in a lifetime kind of experience. Hikers have been using this cable route since 1919, and it remains one of the most popular destinations for outdoor enthusiasts today. If this sounds like your kind of adventure, know that the preseason lottery runs during the month of March with more daily lotteries to come in May. The cable route opens in late May depending on conditions and is open through October 11. Make your plans and find more info here.     8. Paddle the Devils River, West Texas Of all the adventures on this list, aside from the Lost Maples trip perhaps, this one might be the most achievable. Why, you ask? The Devils River lies in barren west Texas, completely remote and relatively unknown in comparison to the national park giants listed above. Lucky for you, it’s one of the best kept secrets in Texas. The Devils River is a 94-mile, spring-fed river considered by many experts to be the most pristine river remaining in Texas. To help keep it that way, Texas Parks and Wildlife limits the number of visitors to the river, and especially the number of paddlers given river access permits. TPWD recommends planning your trips for spring and fall to avoid extreme temps. A quick Google image search of the river will tell you everything you need to know about why you should put this on your list, and why if you go you should be extra diligent with your Leave No Trace principles (as always). Want to learn where the Devils River got its name? Check this out from the Devils River Conservancy, and while you’re on their website, read about why this river is so important to protect.   For those of you ready for a winter adventure, check out our Guide to Hammock Camping in Cold Weather.

At Kammok, we're on a mission to elevate time outside by designing adventure grade, better made gear. Gear supports our experiences outdoors, but producing gear creates carbon emissions that impact our planet and the people: from our families and neighbors to the factory workers on the front-lines of climate change overseas, and even future generations.  We believe that climate change is so much more than solely an environmental or political issue—it's a human issue that affects all of us. If you’ve been with us for the past 10 years, you’ve heard these three words come up a lot: Adventure, Community, and Love. These three words drive why we do what we do at Kammok.  It's a challenge and an adventure in itself to reduce our climate impact, and we do this for the love of our global community. We take responsibility for our footprint and are committed to reducing our future impact.  Solutions to climate change exist, they just need funding. If we can drive investment into these projects, we can cut our emissions and get on the right path to a zero-carbon future and a balanced, healthy climate. Kammok is one of 230 companies that is committed to leading the way. We're proud to announce that today on Earth Day we are officially Climate Neutral Certified. We've spent the last three months working with Climate Neutral to measure our 2020 carbon footprint. We've calculated all of the emissions that it takes to make and ship our products to your doorstep. We then offset all 7,033 tonnes of carbon by investing in climate change solutions, including renewable wind energy farms and rainforest conservation. But the work doesn't stop there. Over the next few months, we'll be hard at work reducing emissions from the most impactful carbon contributors in our supply chain. We have plans in place to reduce emissions from freight shipping, partnering with Bluesign certified mills to ensure water and energy reduction in textile manufacturing, and incorporating recycled materials in existing and future product lines. More good things to come.  A cleaner environment now means we are able to elevate time outside for future generations.  Let's get to work.  Sincerely,Greg McEvillyCEO & Founder

The past few weeks have been filled with discussion, both internally as a company and as nine individuals in pursuit of social justice. At Kammok, we exist to promote human flourishing through adventure outside, but people cannot flourish when racism is putting lives in danger every day. We believe community is transformative to create lasting change, and we all need to address the racial divide in this country. We champion love as our chief core value, and staying silent about systematic injustice is not loving. As an ally to the Black community, people of color, and underrepresented voices in the outdoors, we are committed to fighting for justice, and to acting on what is right. Immediately, we are donating to nonprofits, matching employee donations up to $2K to organizations fighting against injustice, inequality, and racism. This isn’t a one-time donation. As part of our ongoing commitment to give 1% of revenue to social and environmental initiatives, we are identifying organizations that build inclusivity and equity in the outdoors so that Kammok can invest and enable them long-term. We've supported Explore Austin since 2017 to empower youth through outdoor mentorship, and we will continue to support as we expand our scope for giving. We have a platform, and eyes and ears from a receptive community that shares our mission to elevate time outside for all people. We ask our Kammok community to reflect on the impacts you can make. These are our first of many steps to hold us accountable for the change we wish to see. It's on us to work towards change together.   Greg McEvilly CEO/Founder and Team Kammok

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.