Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2016 - 42

ON AUGUST 25, 1916, PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON CREATED THE NATIONAL

Park Service (NPS) in order to protect the crown jewels of the nation's developing conservation
system and to "leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." The parks were,
as documentary filmmaker Ken Burns was to later call them, "America's best idea." They are more
than simple legal land designations and protections. They are something visceral at the heart of
the American identity. The NPS operates with a mandate to preserve the wild and natural processes of these unique landscapes, to keep their forests and flows and charismatic megafauna
functioning as they were before the rest of the nation was gridded with gated communities and
Interstates. Having that glimpse into both the unspoiled lands that birthed the national consciousness and even older deep processes of nature means something to Americans: The national
parks saw a record 307 million visitors in 2015. Our love for the land is only growing. ¶ Now for
the commercial bit. But, wait, this is important. Visitors to those parks do need to be outfitted
and equipped with gear and know-how that makes it easier to spot wolves in the Lamar Valley or
scale the soaring granite of El Cap. And dedicated outdoor retailers have both made a business of
gearing up potential visitors and also of sharing their passion for these places. With that in mind,
we found people dedicated to these parks-adventurers and thinkers and other dreamers who
have devoted a lifetime to becoming intimate with these landscapes-and we asked them, what
store first put you out there? Because when it comes down to it, all of our great adventures in the
parks began at a shop where we first realized that the national parks could transform our lives.
So here they are: our favorite parks, dreamers, and the shops they rely on.

The Dreamer: Rich Rudow, canyoneer
Rich Rudow is one of only a dozen people
who have thru-hiked the Grand Canyon. "I fell
in love with the place during my first visit in
1989, when my wife gave me a rafting trip as a
birthday gift," said Rudow. "Whenever we hiked
and hit a dead end, I would ask the river guide,
'What's up there?' " For the past 27 years, Rudow
has sought the answer to that question.
Since the 1990s, Rudow has spent 750 days
below the rim of the Grand Canyon and explored 155 of its slot canyons. In 2015, he and
two friends thru-hiked the canyon in 57 days.
"The terrain is unforgiving, the route finding
is so complex, and you're constantly changing
elevations," said Rudow. "When you get into the
fabric of the Grand Canyon, you find these absolutely remarkable micro climates, with incredible waterfalls and explosions of plant life."
***

The Enabler: Arizona Hiking Shack,
Phoenix, Arizona

42 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ Summer 2016

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
The Dreamer: Heather Anderson,
record-setting thru-hiker

Heather Anderson is most known for hiking
the Pacific Crest Trail unsupported in a record
60 days, 17 hours, and 12 minutes. But, some of
her favorite moments in wilderness occurred
thousands of miles away in a remote pocket of
Glacier National Park.
In 2004, Anderson made her first trip to

LOVE THE SHACK
Since 1972, the
Phoenix institution has
been the launching
point for many a Grand
Canyon ramble.

Courtesy Arizona Hiking Shack

GRAND CANYON
NATIONAL PARK

To access remote canyons, Rudow relies on
specialized gear, like lightweight static ropes
and floating rope bags. "The hiking in Grand
Canyon is so hard your gear selection matters
a tremendous amount," he said, adding that he
shops at Phoenix's Arizona Hiking Shack.
"We were born of the anvil," says Dave
Stewart, owner of "The Shack," explaining that
he opened the store during the age of trad climbing when people forged their own gear. "We
were canyoneering before it was even called

that. We were just dropping into the slots."
Four decades later, hardgoods remain the
heart of the 11,000-square-foot store, which
sells not only sports equipment, but also industrial gear for professional search-and-rescue
and fire protection.
Since the '80s, Stewart has been a searchand-rescue instructor, and several store employees are certified with SPRAT (Society of
Professional Rope Access Technicians) and the
American Canyon Guides Association.

Outdoor Retailer - Summer 2016

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