SNEWS best outdoor reads from around the web

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other outdoor insiders might find interesting? Well, read on to find out!

• Many of us are gearing up to head to Salt Lake City next week for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show. Get pumped up by checking out this photo gallery of readers’ outdoor photos from the Salt Lake City Tribune.

• Speaking of Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, check out what our friends over at Verde PR have recommended on their blog. Some events are those of their clients, but they’ve also highlighted stuff like parties you might want to hit after the day’s work is done. Supplement their list with ours, and your schedule will be packed with good times, your suitcase packed with good swag and your heart packed with good cheer.

• SNEWS loves the Girl Scouts! Not only do they have a philosophy that includes all girls, but also they’re doing the important work of introducing future members of the Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition to outdoor adventures. Check out this Michigan Live story about Camp Merrie Woode and all the awesome stuff girls learn there. 

• Speaking of women in the outdoors, while Women in the Outdoors events focus a lot on the hook-and-bullet industry there is some canoeing and kayaking mixed in. Plus, it’s never too late to introduce ladies who haven’t been bitten by the adventure bug to the great outdoors. If you’re a retailer in the Chillicothe, Ill., area, check out this Chillicothe Times Bulletin story. There might be some new customers coming your way after August 25.

• Get ready Boston! Big City Mountaineers and partner Timberland are going to start serving youth in the Boston area, continuing the important work of mentoring urban youth and fostering their love of the outdoors. Plus, creating your future customers! Are you a volunteer for Big City Mountaineers? Maybe you should be. Check out the website for more information.

• After a few weeks of tragic reads in our SNEWS Reads, we bring you a tale of a tragedy that could have been, but wasn’t. A group of 30 teenagers were on a canoeing trip, out on the water, when the sun started to go down, the weather started to change. Those on the shore got worried, and with good reason, as the teens’ canoes had capsized. While there were a few injuries, none were life-threatening. Read this interesting article in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

• SNEWS was a little dismayed to read an article about “outdoor-themed games” to keep kids busy this summer. Why not just actually take them outside to keep them busy? One woman in Britain has developed her own Great British Adventure Kits to get her own lively son outdoors. While we don’t have a Great American Adventure Kit, I’m sure one trip to any one of your stores will give parents more than enough information to create their own. Check out the story on these adventure kids in the Wetherby News.

• Just because one Michigan teenager is blind, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be able to enjoy eight weeks at camp instead of just four. The staff at his summer camp didn’t agree. They sent him home with his parents during a visiting weekend after only four weeks because they said they didn’t have the resources to accommodate his needs. This JTA article raises the issue that perhaps camps for children should do more to be accessible to those with disabilities. It also raises the question of what we in the outdoor industry could do to make our products and store experiences more accessible. 

• The homies over at GU got a little shout out in this Huffington Post article about a newbie runner doing research on how to become one of those people who runs 5 or 10 miles before work. She asked her dental hygienist on her quest for information and was told the secret to longevity was GU. SNEWS agrees, as we are partial to the Peanut Butter and Espresso Love flavors on long runs. 

• Despite crazy Outdoor Retailer Daily deadlines looming, we haven’t taken our minds off the upcoming TransRockies Run, which we admit, we’re not entirely prepared for. Though some good interviews and stories should come out of the experience (plus a couple of product reviews), be forewarned that if you don’t see them, or the SNEWS Reads column after the run, we most likely passed out somewhere atop a Colorado peak so please come and find us. That is if reality TV star Ryan Sutter doesn’t find us first. Check out this article on the TransRockies Run website about Ryan Sutter’s tackling of two tough races within a few weeks.

Have you read anything interesting you’d like to share with us? Maybe we’ll include it next week’s column with a little shout out to you. Send a link to the story with the subject line “SNEWS Reads” to be considered.

–Compiled by Ana Trujillo