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We met behind Pack & Paddle at 8am, our group consisted of Glenn and I, Anne and Steve, a couple from Atlanta, Peter and Helena, siblings from Lafayette and Mandeville, and Dean, a long time friend of Pack and Paddle. We convoyed to Chico State Park and put in at the North Landing. We traversedRead more

Time spent in the wilderness has a way of making things a little clearer. Becky and I just returned from 37 days on the trail, hiking from Denver to Durango on the Colorado trail. Clear running streams, muscular peaks, Elk bugling through the night, Aspen trees slowly moving from green to gold to red.While onRead more

Last weekend, Becky and I attended the Louisiana Hiking Club’s annual Campfest at Chicot State Park. We set up a small table with some of the latest cool “must have’s” from the store. Things like ultra light alcohol cooking systems, Shoes with built in gaiters, new trekking poles from Black Diamond, Sil-nylon tarps and ofRead more

Lately I have been making lots of appointments with reps for the upcoming Outdoor Retailer trade show that we attend twice a year. Reps will call and invariably the conversation turns towards business. “How are things going?”, “Are your sales up?”, “Do you have any new directions that you are driving the business in?”. ThenRead more

  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 wasRead more

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 knownRead more

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 theRead more

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 sonRead more

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 atRead more

This weekend reminded me of why I love my job. Becky, Loren and I led our Waterfall Hike with 15 hardy souls in tow. We had decided to take the longer “Primitive Trail” so that we could see the maximum number of waterfalls. If you haven’t been there, the Primitive Trail is pretty challenging. IRead more