Evernew Party at OR Show

By Will Rietveld and Janet Reichl ( Gossamer Gear Trail Ambassadors), and Damien Tougas (Backpacking Light Magazine)

During the summer Outdoor Retailer trade show, Evernew (the Titanium ware company) hosted their Minimalist Party for (you guessed it) minimalists – members of the ultralight backpacking community attending the Show. Takashi Fukuchi of Evernew America is the host and his wife Rei is the iron chef. Since Evernew is a Japanese company, the menu is traditional Japanese food, like sushi, noodle, meat, salad, sake, Sapporo, and other eats and libations.

The Evernew Minimalist Party is a gathering of ultralight backpacking enthusiasts attending the Outdoor Retailer Show. Standing left to right are Ron Moak (Six Moon Designs), Justin "Trauma" Lichter (ultra distance hiker), Grant Sible (Gossamer Gear), and Will Rietveld (Gossamer Gear Trail Ambassador). In the foreground center is Glen Van Peski (Gossamer Gear founder) and Liz Thomas (AT Speed Record Holder), and on the left sitting is Ron Bell (Mountain Laurel Designs).

The Minimalist Party is another chance to mix it up during the Show, with lots of small gear companies represented in the crowd of about 40 people. The evening started with a welcome speech from Mr. Toshio Shiina from Evernew Japan. After the wonderful meal we were treated to a presentation on hiking in Japan by Tomo Sekiguchi from Hiker Depot. By the end of the slideshow, everyone in the room was ready to get on a plane bound for Japan to do some hiking. Following Tomo's presentation, Justin "Trauma" Lichter introduced his new book "Trail Tested". Trauma's book is excellent, and provides another perspective and guide to "enlightenment".

Our thanks to Takashi Fukuchi of Evernew America for hosting a wonderful get-together.