Hi Pack & Paddle Folks, I am posting a trail journal entry from a Hiker with the trail name, Tha Wookie. In this entry, Tha Wookie (AKA Nate Olive) journals about something Becky and I thought of many times on the AT, but had trouble putting into words. Nate has hiked the AT, the PCT and was the first to hike the entire west coast from Canada to Mexico: ________________________________________________ July 5th It was interesting to me that in all this solitude and distance from any town that I should meet a southbound section hiker who knows me from the ...

A few weeks ago we received an invitation to compete in a merchandising contest for one of our clothing brands. Prana is having a contest to see what store can create the best display of their products. I started talking to Amy on our staff about what we could do that would be interesting. We wanted to do something that would tie in with Louisiana and still connect with the Prana brand. We let it simmer for a while and when the deadline started getting close, we finally had a breakthrough. We had just seen the movie "Wind Over Water" ...

The Silencer sunglasses are perfect for the active individual. The Interchangeable lens system allows you to switch from the polarized lens to a sportflex or a clear lens for low light conditions. As with all the Native glasses, the Silencers come with a lifetime warranty ...

Back by popular demand, you can now find a wide variety of the original Chums eyeglass retainers. These are the original and still the best! ...

We had a little bit of a curve ball yesterday. We were doing our usual run-around of working with our staff, moving ahead on projects, preparing for our film festival night and working on future booking orders (for next spring - believe it or not) for new products. Our architecht, Scott Shall, who is also a professor at UL came by to look at the progress. We have known for a few weeks that he will be leaving in order to take a position at a university in Philadelphia. The curve ball came when we realized that he will be ...

Before hiking the Appalachian Trail last year, I don't think that I fully understood the value of a lazy day. Even though most people would call me laid back, I tend to be a pretty driven person. I like to have a project to sink my teeth into, a job to work on, a goal to accomplish. Even with 6 months of not being plugged in to what we referred to on the trail as "The Matrix" (real life), I still battle being sucked back in to that old mindset constantly. Since today is the 4th of July, we're closing ...

The new space at Pack & Paddle has had several lives, and as we progress in the de-construction phase, we've been able to see each life kind of like an archaeologist would see a past civilization. The most noticeable thing you'll see right now is the large airbrushed mural on the wall that was exposed when the tin came down off the walls. Many people that were around in the 80's will remember this mural. It was painted to add atmosphere to "Cypress Mountain". Cypress Mountain was our mechanical ski slope for which this section of the shop was originally ...

Ready and loaded, this new fish hunting vest is the ideal PFD for the kayak or canoe paddler. It has comfort and water safety with all the necessities close at hand. The Fisherman PFD provides places for the little things that could end up in your seat, or overboard. Ready to load...new features include an array of pockets with anchor-points, front zip entry closure, padded neoprene shoulders, plus new ultra-soft and environmentally friendly Gaia™ flotation foam ...

Seems like I've heard a story about windows and doors that had] an inspirational message somewhere before. Since I don't remember it, I guess that's a little off the point. But - I do have a neat story about how an old set of windows brought us together with a really cool person. We've known Catherine Schoeffler for a lot of years, but have never really had the opportunity to spend any time with her. Recently, we were talking to her at the shop about the sale of her share of the Blue Moon to her partner. I asked her ...

We've been working on this project for what seems like forever, and we are only just now getting ready to start building new stuff. Here's some of the things we've been doing so far: Working with our architect, Scott Shall Tearing down 3 of the old decks in the room. Removing the tin from the walls. Tearing down all the old EPuck racks Moving our office to the old Boat room Moving the boats to the far clothing room Clearing our the downstairs office Completely gutting the downstairs office Clearing out the upstairs office Completely gutting the upstairs office Totally ...

Yesterday a father and son were in the shop looking at a backpack. I have to tell you: I love being part of this interaction and the experience of them purchasing the son's first pack. The dad is proud to be passing on backpacking (something that's been a part of his life) and the son is super excited about all the cool packs and is envisioning himself on the trail with his dad. It's just really fun and cool to be a part of it all. Anyway, this excitement with getting a new piece of gear that I know I'll ...

Change is difficult. We all know it, but somehow nobody ever likes going through the process of change. As they say, things get worse before they get better. In case you haven't noticed, we're in the midst of some change at Pack & Paddle. It's been 20 years since the last major construction project at P&P. We are now on the brink of some major changes to our building. The plans from the architect are nearly complete and we're about to start hammerin' nails. Am I excited? Definitely. Even so, I swing back and forth from elation over some of ...