COLD SPRING APOTHECARY

Cold Spring, NY is located about an hour or so up the Hudson River from New York City. Friends from Brooklyn moved up there a couple of years ago, and after extended time in their CS apartment's second (!) kitchen mixing up natural body products, the Cold Spring Apothecary was born. The store, located right on Main Street, is steps away from the Cold Spring Metro North stop, opened a couple of months ago, and for their first summer in retail, the CSA has made a line of camping products that I was fortunate enough to use while out on the Appalachian Trail last weekend. Choose from Bug Spray, Campers Soap, Hiker's Tea, Citronella Candles and Juniper and Cypress Foot Powder. It's good stuff. I promise.

Campers Soap Ingredients: Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe Vera) Juice, Cocos nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Olea europaea (Organic Olive) Oil, Vegetable Glycerin (Kosher), Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Citronella, Eucalyptus, Cedarwood, Lemongrass, Lavender, Litsea, Tea Tree, Patchouli, Catnip

Stop by the store en route to Breakneck Ridge this summer or, if you're not in the Hudson Highlands, shop online here.

Rick Wilcox and IME

International Mountain Equipment (IME) in Conway, New Hampshire, is home to one of the greatest basements in all of New England, a large consignment section of cheap outdoor equipment and apparel. The entire shop, which has three levels total, is owned by Rick Wilcox, an extremely experienced mountaineer, who, among many other accomplishments, reached Everest's summit in 1991 at the age of 43. He was the 200th person to stand on the top of the world. Wilcox reminisces about the adventure in the Conway Daily Sun here, and as you'll see, he's a little bitter about all the technology that is available to climbers today.Whether or not you read the interview, make sure if you stop by IME if you're in the Whites this summer/fall/winter/spring.

Dunbar's Number

What is Dunbar's number? Well, in short, it's the idea that human beings can only hold about 150 meaningful relationships in their heads. Read much more about it here. The number came about while British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, was doing research about the business model of Bill Gore, one of the creators of Gore-Tex.While Gore-Tex was growing in the 1980s, Gore would visit his factory and realize he didn't know everyone working there. He came to the conclusion that once a company had more than 150 people, things no longer ran smoothly. So he made a decision to cap the factory at 150 employees, and when the company needed to expand, he would build another factory.Read more about Gore's business model and listen to the All Thing Considered episode about Dunbar's number here.MP3: George Harrison - Devil's Radio

New Balance Rainier

I found this pair of B+ condition New Balance Rainiers over Memorial Day Weekend. The Rainier and the Allagash were NB's lightweight hiking boots made in the 80s that touted themselves as the lightweight hiker that you can "actually hike in" because of their generous support on the ankles. Perhaps that's true, and with the Vibrams on mine in such good shape, I suppose I'll find out, won't I? Mmmhmmmm.Excuse the poor phone pictures.

Campsuds

Sierra Dawn's Campsuds is a staple in backpacks around the country. In the 1960's Campsuds became the first biodegradable, multi-purpose cleaner created specifically to meet the needs of the camper and backpacker. Use it on your pots and pans, then take it down to the river and wash your hair. (No matter how biodegradable any camp soap is, try to avoid using it in water if you don't have to. And use it sparingly. You'll only need a few drops.)Campsuds comes in a few different forms, including one with peppermint, lavender, and citronella to help keep the bugs away. And after spending the weekend in upstate New York after a week of rain, you'll need it.

Croakies and Chums

Ugly? Perhaps. Nerdy? Probably. But Croakies (there are Chums too, but like Chapstick is to lip balm and Kleenex is to tissue, Croakies is the common name for eyeglass retainers) are extremely useful while in the outdoors, especially while skiing or traveling by watercraft. Both Croakies and Chums are made in the USA, cheap as can be and willl help make sure you don't crush your sunglasses while sitting down for dinner. Seen that happen plenty of times. And for a little Croakies nostalgia:

In 1977 a local ski patrolman from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming, came up with an idea for an eyewear retainer that would grip his shades through all kinds of alpine adventures. Using an old wetsuit, some sharp scissors, and good old American ingenuity, he made the first pair of eyewear retainers.  The ingenious device was based on the design of a Chinese finger trap and it quickly became a hit with all of the patrollers!  Demand picked up quickly for the patrolman’s invention which was nameless at first.Back in the seventies, the Jackson Hole ski patrol used the nickname “croakies” when they couldn’t think of a word (think “thingamajig”), but it finally stuck on the first neoprene eyewear retainer ever invented. 

Croakies headquarters are still in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with our production in Bozeman, Montana. Our inspiration remains the same - to create eyewear retainers and accessories that provide comfort, style, durability, and functionality to active people of all ages. With the addition of men's and women's belts into Croakies accessory line-up, Croakies now offers something for everyone.Croakies products are sold by retailers throughout the United States and in over 30 countries around the world. They’ve even been used OUT of this world – Croakies became standard issue on the Space Shuttle in 1990.  

Do y'all use eyeglass retainers on the trail?

Audubon Bird Call

"Audubon bird call with rosin. When twisted, this remarkable birchwood and metal instrument makes a variety of sounds similar to wild birds. Each bird call is handmade and individually tuned. Be sure to keep the instrument dry; a small amount of the included powdered rosin, used occasionally, will renew the bird call's voice."Grab one at Kiosk or REI or wherever!

UPSTATE

The lovely ladies of UPSTATE have just given the world their Spring 2011 lookbook, full of the beautiful indigo-dyed raw silk wraps, scarves, ponchos etc. that Cold Splinters has been wild about for the last year. We don't talk about stuff like this very often (actually, never) but springtime is coming, so grab a wrap and stay warm by the fire.

Outdoor Retailer

It's that time of year again. Good ol' Outdoor Retailer. Three or four days in the poorly lit Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City, looking at all that the outdoor industry has to offer. Which is almost everything. Even beef jerky companies get a booth. If you're going to be there, drop me a line. I'm flying in tonight and I'd love to catch up.

WEB BELTS

Made of polyester/nylon/cotton, these belts have been valued for a bit in the "outdoor world" for their light weight, durability, and range of tension. Without holes, the belt can be tightened to fit almost any size. You can swim with it on too, and look good doin' it. And we both know that's the important part.Love the top right guy, the Canoe Belt from Wintergreen Northern Wear, made in Ely, Minnesota (a la 10engines).