Recently, I dropped off my recently deceased wife’s hiking and camping gear to Yonderlust in Durham, to be donated to the Switchback Gear Collective, a local, women-led,and community-driven 501c3 nonprofit committed to advancing equity in outdoor spaces. The donation included: two pairs of Merrell boots, two thermarests and two REI dome style tents.
My wife, Barb was an active outdoor person from the beginning. I only recently uncovered the photo above of a 19-year-old Barb rappelling down Pilot Mountain. I have also uncovered some itineraries of vigorous hiking trips to Oregon, where Barb and a girlfriend did 10 mile hikes on Mt. Hood. They hiked, camped, got up the next morning, and repeated the adventure.
It was Barb who made me aware of the Switchback Gear Collective, and why, last year, I wrote an article about them. Barb was a fan of their work, and I imagine she would have gotten involved in this non profit if she were still alive.
When I was writing and posting my first article about the Collective on January 16 of last year,I had no idea that would become the day Barb received the diagnosis of an aggressive cancer, and the day that her life, and mine, would be changed forever. Two months later, Barb was gone.
Now, whenever I think of Switchback Gear Collective, I think of Barb. I am certain if she were alive today, she’d be volunteering with them. Their mission of introducing the beauty of the outdoors to women was something very important to Barb
This Sunday, Switchback Gear Collective will be at Carrboro Open Streets. They will be having their spring Popup, and they’ll have plenty of gear at a pay-what-you-can scale to ensure you’re equipped for your next adventure: tents, sleeping bags, light-weight clothing, hiking boots and other items.
