Adventure Quickies: The North Face Wants to Make Earth Day a National Holiday and Much More

On Friday of each week I like to post a wrap-up of all of the news stories, travel deals, gear reviews, and other items that I didn’t have the time or space to post elsewhere on The Adventure Blog. These quick-hits are meant to give readers a taste of other things that are going on in the world of outdoor adventure, while providing links for them to go off and find more. Here’s what’s worth your attention from the week that has passed.

  • The North Face Wants to Make Earth Day a National Holiday: With Earth Day just around the corner, The North Face is looking to make a bold statement by getting the unofficial holiday turned into an official one, at least here in the U.S. To that end, the company has launched an online petition that has already gained more than 55,000 signatures. Add yours to the list here.
  • Subuaru and Chimani Bring National Parks App to Vehicles: A company called Chimani makes a wonderful smartphone app (iOS/Android) that provides users with some fantastic information on all 418 of the U.S. National Parks. This week, Subaru announced that it had partnered with Chimani to bring that app to all of its compatible vehicles in a fee update. If you own a Subaru that has the company’s StarLink infotainment system with access to cloud capabilities, the app will appear on your screen in the near future.
  • Subaru Unveils New Outback: Speaking of Subaru, the Japanese auto-manufacturer unveiled its new 2020 Outback station wagon this week and it looks, well, a lot like the old one. Inside it has seen some nice updates however, including an optional new 260 horsepower turbo charged engine, a built-in 11-inch infotainment tablet, a powered lift gate, and a suite of new safety features.
  • Natural Habitat Adventures Increases Carbon Offsets to Compensate for Travelers: Just in time for Earth Day, Natural Habitat Adventures has announced that it will now off-set the carbon footprint for all of its clients by investing heavily in carbon credits. This will increase the company’s total offsets by as much as 300-400% in an effort to become more sustainable and good for the environment. It is estimated that this new initiative will remove 20,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere in a single year.
  • Outdoor, Wildlife, & Travel Photo/Video Conference Comes to NYC: B&H Photo and Lindblad Expeditions have joined forces to bring the fifth annual Outdoor, Wildlife, and Travel Photo/Video conference to New York City. The event will take place June 2-5, 2019 at the New Yorker Hotel with a number of options for amateur and pro photographers alike. Admission is free. Find out more here.
  • REI Expands Paddling Business: Gear retailer REI announced this week that it was expanding its paddling/water sports offerings in an effort to provide customers with more options for kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddle boarding excursions. To that end, one of the major brands they are adding to the line-up is Hobie, which makes some of the best kayaks in the business.
  • Take 20% Off All Intrepid Travel Trips: As mentioned last week, Intrepid Travel is running an amazing sale right now offering 20% off every trip in its catalog. Considering they offer more than a thousand itineraries, that’s a lot to choose from. The only stipulation is that the trip has to be taken between May 1 and October 31 of 2019.
  • Mountainsmith, Green Guru, and REI Partner on New Eco-Friendly Waist Packs: The fanny-pack –– err, I mean waist pack –– is the hottest trend in outdoor gear right now, and Green Guru, REI, and Mountainsmith have all collaborated on a new model. What sets this one apart from the pack? For starters, it’s made from recycled bike tubes, which makes it good for the environment.
  • Learn the Basics of Mountaineering on Mt. Baker: Want to learn the basics of mountaineering in a real mountain environment? Northwest Alpine Guides has announced the dates for its introduction to mountaineering courses, which are conducted over three days on Mt. Baker in Washington state.
  • Win Over $2000 in Outdoor Gear: A number of outdoor brands –– including Kogalla, Orange Mud, Gnarly, Outdoor Element, and HydroBlu, have joined forces to give away some gear and supplies. The companies will award prizes to three lucky winners totally more than $2000. All you have to do is enter here.
Kraig Becker