Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day is this Friday, May 15, 2020! (Yes, it’s a real thing.)
Hosted by the National Safe Boating Council, this annual event is a fun, educational way to heighten life jacket awareness and highlight the various styles just prior to the official launch of the Safe Boating Campaign. Anyone can join in this fun event! Wear your life jacket to work, snap a picture while at work and share on social media.
Historically, most people haven’t been able to participate in the WYLJWD because: (a) they didn’t know about it, and (b) It’s not considered proper work attire.
Now that a lot of us are working from home, we can wear whatever we want (some of us don’t even have to wear pants!).
We kayakers and canoeists were social distancing long before we were instructed to do so. Now, a lot of our friends are feeling isolated and bored, and they need our help. Many of our friends, who would ordinarily be going to baseball games and concerts this summer will be looking for other activities. This could be an opportunity for us to help introduce those people to activities that don’t involve crowds.
Those new boaters will have questions about places to go, about safety, and about gear, but they may not know who to ask.
Wearing your life jacket at work could be like a big sign saying “Ask me about kayaking!”
So, is this something you might be interested in helping with?
If so, please participate in WYLJWD and take a photo of you wearing your PFD at “work” this Friday, May 15.
Want to participate?
If you share your photo on Instagram or Twitter, use the hashtag: #PerrySaysWearYourPFD If you share on Facebook, make sure you tag @alpineshop in the post.
Need a PFD to participate? (I think we may know a place you can get one!)
The Naiad features women’s specific floating foam panels to help keep you comfortable and moving freely.
Now more than ever… we need to find opportunities to cope with the stress surrounding us.
Now more than ever… Alpine Shop’s mission statement rings true: “We love and need the mountains, trails, rivers and wild places. They nourish our spirit.”
We don’t know how long this crisis will last, but while we’re able to, we believe we need to “nourish our spirits” by taking a walk through our local parks, by hiking our beloved trails, by exploring the scenic rivers and lakes around us, or by rolling our bikes down the next path.
Now more than ever… we need to re-discover a favorite footpath, re-introduce our children to the wonders of the forest floor, and remind ourselves of the power of simply getting outside.
Now more than ever… take care of your family and friends. Take care of your neighbors in need. But also, take care of yourself. Nourish your spirit in any way that you can.
Because, now more than ever…we need the mountains, trails, rivers and wild places. They can nourish us all.
Where we go from here – Updated 4/3/20:
All Alpine Shop locations in Missouri are temporarily closed.
However, our Kirkwood store’s Bike Shop remains open on a limited basis to accept bike service customers. Please call the store at 314-962-7715 for full details. We will post additional updates when we are able to reopen.
In the meantime, our webstore remains fully operational for any of your outdoor needs. The Pathfinder (Manhattan, Kan.) remain open, but are operating on shortened hours. For more information on all of our stores’ current schedules, you can find it here.
Please note: Out of abundance of caution for both guests and team members, effective immediately, all returns and exchanges will be suspended until April 22. We are also extending the return date on any receipts by at least three weeks.
All in-store clinics are cancelled through May 10, in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines. In the meantime, we will be posting on-line videos of our clinics and programs to make sure you can continue to get the information you need. Please visit our events site at: alpineshopevents.com for more information.
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.
Please understand, we are not advocating for anyone to take a road trip across the country to visit national parks. Instead, we are urging people to discover – or rediscover – the parks, forests, and other wild places near your homes. Below, you can find a list of options for getting outside (near our shop locations) that we know are either open (or closed) to continue to explore during this pandemic crisis. We will update this list as we get more information.
We would like to point out that even through the state of Illinois is under a stay-at-home order (March 20), “outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running and biking are all allowed, (as long as) social distancing requirements (are) followed.” Evidently the Illinois government agrees with our take on things.
Select Missouri State Parks (programs & events are cancelled, parks remain open). Certain parks, including Castlewood State Park in St. Louis are closed as of Thursday, April 2.
Illinois Local Parks – During the stay-at-home order put in place on 3/20 by Illinois Governor Pritzker, while playgrounds are closed, the order does specifically allow for “outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running and biking (while) social distancing requirements (are) followed.”
Closed:
Select Missouri State Parks – like Castlewood State Park in St. Louis County
Shaw Nature Reserve (and all other Missouri Botanical Gardens-owned locations in and around St. Louis)
Eager to do some first-time dayhiking? Taking the family for a new adventure? Just looking for refreshers on ways to improve the quality of your outdoor experience? Here are some tips for all.
1. Acquaint yourself with the area and its trails ahead of time so you can set a reasonable timetable. Many guidebooks give time estimates for trails.
2. To save fuel and to avoid the nuisance of shuttling cars, plan hikes that begin and end at the same parking area.
3. Carry more water than you think you’ll need—as much as you can comfortably carry. Fill your water bottles or hydration packs before you leave. Backcountry water sources are unpredictable.
4. Carry more food than you think you’ll need. It’s better to take extra snacks home with you than to go hungry on the trail. Take easy-to-eat foods high in protein and carbohydrates (like energy bars).
5. Store your clothing and food in different colored (or see-through) sacks in your pack so you can find them easily. Put the items you need most frequently—such as your water bottle, guidebook or jacket—at the top of your pack.
6. Weather on the trail can change quickly, especially in the mountains (or in Kansas—where you can wait 5 minutes and the weather will change!). Layer your garments, and be prepared for severe weather even if it looks perfect when you set off.
7. Start off slowly to avoid fatigue, and take frequent breaks. If you’re not on a loop trail, turn back before you get tired—you still have to hike an equal distance back!
8. Let the slowest members of your group set the pace. If skill levels are dramatically different, break into small groups and meet at agreed-upon locations. You may want to carry two-way radios to stay in contact as you hike.
9. Practice low-impact hiking. Carry out whatever you pack in so others can enjoy the surroundings too.
10. To increase your chances of seeing wildlife, choose less traveled trails and start your hike early in the morning. (When you choose less traveled trails, you also help reduce erosion on overused ones.)
11. Leave your itinerary with someone you trust, and check in with them when you return.
By Heather Lansdowne. Reprinted from June 2006 issue of Outdoor News, the newsletter for customers of The Pathfinder, Manhattan, Kansas.
Finding a good piece of water to canoe or kayak can be tricky in Kansas. Reservoirs can often be windy, making them unpleasant for small boats, and most of the rivers in Kansas are not open for public use.
Don’t hang up your paddles yet, though; there is some good water nearby. Here are some places to start.
Local There are several locations around Tuttle Creek where the coves are shallow and out of the wind, so the paddling can be relatively calm. Stockdale, Fancy Creek and Carnahan are all areas that can be good canoeing waters.
The River Pond area is also a good place to do some relaxing canoeing or kayaking, and is a popular area for bird-watching. Boats and PFDs are available for rent there as well.
State Fishing Lakes There are many state fishing lakes in Kansas, and three very nice ones are in the Manhattan region. Pottawatomie #2 is about 5 minutes north of Highway 24 just east of Manhattan and has some beautiful scenery and campsites beside a 75-acre lake. Pottawatomie #1 is a smaller lake (24 acres) about 5 miles north of Westmoreland on Highway 99. Geary State Fishing Lake is a beautiful, nearly 100-acre lake about 8 miles south of Junction City just off Highway 77.
Rivers If you are interested in float trips on a Kansas river, the options available to you are limited. Only three rivers in Kansas are public rivers: the Kansas, the Arkansas and the Missouri. All other rivers and streams flow over private property, which includes the water to the midpoint of the stream.
That means to canoe through these waters you must get permission from the landowners. Stick to the public rivers, and you’re good. In northeast Kansas, that means the Kansas River, which runs through Junction City, Ogden, Manhattan, Wamego, to Topeka and finally Kansas City. You can break up this river into sections based on the length of trip you’re looking for. Here are a few of the access points in this region: • Junction City: K-18 (Grant Ave. Park) bridge • Ogden: Ogden bypass bridge (300 yds downstream from bridge) • Manhattan: K-177 bridge off McDowell Creek Rd. • Manhattan: Hwy 24-Blue River confluence boat ramp (3/4 mile upstream of Kansas River) • St. George: St. George River Park. Great access due to a brand new boat ramp/parking area developed by the City of St. George. • Wamego: Hwy 99 bridge • Belvue: Shoeman Rd. bridge (steep bank climb)
Kansas River Highlights The Junction City to Ogden leg is very scenic and passes through Fort Riley. For a fun detour, you can stop upstream and hike in to the First Territorial Capital museum. The Ogden to Manhattan stretch is also beautiful, cutting through the Flint Hills. There is great camping here as well as on to St. George.
