Brand Ambassadors Show What It Means to “Do More”

At Gossamer Gear, “do more” goes beyond a slogan or hashtag. It serves as a reminder to maintain our relentless drive to eliminate the unnecessary in life and focus on what’s important and worthy of “doing” to serve our customers, our community, and our wild places. Our brand ambassadors are an extension of this commitment.

If you haven’t gotten to know our intrepid band of brand ambassadors yet, make sure to check out their profiles on our website to learn more about them, read past blogs they’ve written for Light Feet, and find links to their social media accounts. They’re an impressive bunch both on and off trail. Many volunteer their time with hiking clubs, conservation organizations, and other initiatives that give back to the environment and make the outdoors more accessible to all.

We wanted to share a slice of what they’ve been up to this past year, so we asked a handful to share in their own words how they’ve been involved in the outdoor community. In each case, Gossamer Gear was delighted to support their efforts and provide gear where needed. We hope their efforts inspire you to find ways to give back to our wild places and the people and animals who love them too.

Nancy East on Working With the Adventure Tails Program

"The Adventure Tails program through Sarge’s Animal Rescue in western North Carolina gets adoptable dogs out on hikes with volunteers. I sit on the board for this organization, and I see first hand the love the dogs in our care receive from our staff. But sadly, despite excellent care, the longer a dog waits to be adopted and lives in a shelter environment, the more likely they are to develop behavior issues and become less adoptable. We started the Adventure Tails program to get the dogs outdoors more, engaging in exercise while benefiting from more social interaction with other dogs as well as people.

Gossamer Gear generously donated Bumsters and Silverback backpacks that I used in a silent online auction to raise money for dog-appropriate gear and supplies, such as hiking harnesses, leashes, first aid supplies, portable water bowls, and an emergency dog harness, that we needed to start the program. The program is alive and well now, and the outcome is as we expected—the dogs are thriving out on trail!"

Kathy Kimberlite on Local Beach Cleanups

"During a chapter of living minutes away from the beach of Whidbey Island, where the Pacific Northwest Trail passes, I became inspired to pick up the garbage mixed in with seaweed, sea shells, beach rocks, and sea life. These beach cleanups became part of my weekly routine, and it was easy to feel inspired to have this become a project with the backing of Gossamer Gear. Keeping our beaches, trails, and roadwalks clean is important for the safety and natural processes of all of nature. As we put one foot in front of the other, it’s important to do our part to ensure that everyone who wants to will be able to experience the environment in its clean, natural, and safe way."

Nicks Brooks on Getting Boy Scouts Troop 1906 Outside

"In my community, it's not typical for Black youth to have exposure in the outdoors. Because I had this experience from my dad who was an Eagle Scout, I understand the value of being in the outdoors, and I wanted my own two boys and their friends to have the same exposure. Scouting is a path to that. Gossamer Gear has helped Troop 1906 by providing high-quality gear to the scouts and consequently helping this community better understand the value in investing in premium outdoor gear. Gossamer’s ultralight gear has also allowed for more enjoyable backpacking experiences for the scouts. We most recently took a 12-day, 75-mile trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico where the scouts summited 12,441 feet to Mt. Baldy. We’re so thankful for Gossamer’s partnership!"

Arlette Laan on Guiding New Backpackers in the Wilderness

"I had the privilege of taking out four wonderful aspiring backpackers to the Ethan Pond tent site. The weather forecast was dire, but attitudes were amazing and everyone came ready to learn. Four out of five backpackers were smart enough to bring camp shoes so they didn’t have to put their wet shoes back on in camp. Guess who the odd one out was? Yes, that would be me! It was really great to see everyone work together to get the tents set up on the platforms. Sharing favorite food discoveries, using water filters for the first time. One lady tried out the Gossamer Gear Gorilla pack for her first overnight and two others took their own packs, which after the weekend, they found not to be ideal. Back at basecamp, they loaded all their gear in packs provided by Gossamer Gear and preferred them. When I said they could keep them, they were so stoked! Thanks so much Gossamer Gear and Redline Guiding for making this trip possible. It was a true delight!"

Emily Schrick on Hosting a Group Hike in the City

"I was excited to host a group day hike with Gossamer Gear because day hiking is how I got into backpacking and exploring the outdoors more. Leading a hike in the super populated San Francisco Bay Area for all ages to join was important to me. Not everyone can always escape to amazingly gorgeous landscapes, so it’s great when you can find beauty in smaller, local parks to still feel connected to the outdoors. Being able to bring people together from all over through Gossamer Gear was a super cool experience! Getting to hang out with long-time Gossamer Gear fans and talk gear, while also getting to introduce others who had never heard of Gossamer Gear before was a lot of fun. And of course, everyone loved the opportunity to get fun Gossamer Gear swag! I’m looking forward to the next group hike and hope to see even more hikers join along!"

Zelzin Aketzalli on Sharing Her Expertise With Others in Mexico

"Before doing my first thru-hike, I practiced and competed in high-endurance sports, such as a national mountain biking series in Mexico. To compete, I must prepare myself physically and mentally very well. When I started thru-hiking, it was essential to be able to have mental and physical training; however, the world of thru-hiking was something new, something that I had never seen before. I had lived my life in Mexico. So, I had to try a lot of things like training, techniques, and equipment that weren’t working for me all the time. Every year in my Triple Crown I tried and tried. When you try something for the first time, you make mistakes, from which you learn, but in the mountains, those mistakes can cost you your life.

Another thing I have learned during seven years of thru-hiking, accumulating more than 11,000 miles, is self-sufficiency, which has helped me hike more than 10,000 miles alone and explore the most extraordinary and remote places in different countries.

Being self-sufficient has helped my students complete thru-hiking. My courses have also provided my students with the necessary knowledge so that each of them can solve problems in the mountains and have confidence so that they can achieve that goal and objective.

Another thing that has helped my students make their thru-hiking successful is knowing how to choose their equipment according to their needs and challenges. They identify with the phrase “take less. do more.” Especially in the world of thru-hiking, the things we bring in our backpacks are essential and can make a big difference when you hike long distances. Finding durable, ultralight, and comfortable equipment ends up being the best investment in success and life."

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"Antes de realizar mi primer thru-hike, yo practicaba y competía en deportes de alta resistencia, como fue un serial nacional de ciclismo de montaña en México. Donde para competir te tienes que preparar física y mentalmente muy bien por lo cual cuando yo comencé a hacer thru-hike para mí era fundamental poder tener un entrenamiento mental y físico sin embargo el mundo del thru-hiking era algo nuevo, algo que nunca había vivido en mi vida en México. Así que tuve que estar probando muchas cosas como entrenamientos, técnicas y equipo que no todo el tiempo me estuvo funcionando. Cada año en mi triple corona probaba y probaba. Obviamente cuando `pruebas algo por primera vez, cometes errores, errores con los que aprendes, pero en la montaña esos errores pueden costarte la vida.

Otra cosa que he aprendido durante 7 años de caminatas acumulando mas de 11mil millas, es la autosuficiencia que me ha ayudado a caminar mas de 10 mil millas en solitario y a explorar los lugares más extraordinarios y recónditos de diferentes países.

Ser autosuficiente, ha ayudado a terminar exitosamente a mis estudiantes un thruhiking. Mis cursos también les han brindado a mis estudiantes el conocimiento necesario para que cada uno de ellos puedan resolver problemas en la montaña y confianza para que ellos puedan cumplir esa meta y objetivo.

Otra cosa que ha ayudado a mis estudiantes a que su thruhiking sea exitoso, es saber escoger su equipo de acuerdo con sus necesidades y retos. Ellos se sienten identificados con la frase “take less. do more.” que nos dice muchísimas cosas, especialmente en el mundo del thruhiking, es esencial las cosas que traemos en nuestra mochila y pueden hacer una gran diferencia cuando caminas por largas distancias. Encontrar un equipo duradero, ultraligero y cómodo termina siendo la mejor inversión de éxito y de vida."

Take Less. Do More. On and Off Trail.

When we take less to do more, we lighten our impact on the environment, elevate others wanting to learn from and grow in the outdoors, and weave the power of nature into our everyday lives. Make sure to follow along with our ambassadors to learn more about the work they do to give back to their communities and green spaces.

Have you been involved in a volunteer or educational project in the outdoors this past year? We’d love to hear about it! Share your initiatives, bright spots, and community building with us by tagging Gossamer Gear on social media (@gossamergear) and using the hashtag #takelessdomore.

Looking for more outdoor inspiration? Check out some of our other articles on the Light Feet blog:

January 31, 2024 — Korrin Bishop

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Gossamer Gear Brand Ambassadors Show What It Means to “Do More”