We’re excited to launch this resource page as we share places to explore, tips on adventuring with littles, gear how-to’s, and much more. As we prepare some content for this resource, we want to introduce us, the Gear Up Family!
We’re Sam (Mom), Thomas (Dad), and Liam (best adventure kiddo). We launched our family business in March 2020 with the vision to break the barriers of getting outside.
In our careers inside the outdoor industry, we’ve seen the cost of entry for adventure activities climb higher, and the opportunity to learn more about them become scarcer; especially the more east you are in the United States. We’re hoping to fill an adventure gap in the central North Carolina area by providing gear rentals, outings, and skill building workshops. Though most of our focus is in North Carolina, we do ship our camping rentals nationally and some of our outings are out of state to help break those barriers outside of NC too.
The outdoors is definitely a life long passion for both of us and we do our best to instill that same passion into our son, Liam. (It seems to be working!) Liam is happiest creekside; throwing all the rocks he can pick up. He loves hiking, paddling, climbing, and cars.
What can you look forward to in this new resource?
- Places to check out – We’re constantly asked the question of “Where do you recommend…?” Honestly, it could be the most popular question that we’re asked. So, with this resource, we hope to inspire folks to explore new places, to get outside, and adventure this crazy and beautiful world we live in. We have an interactive Adventure Map, but we plan to use this blog to dive deeper into the details and why these spots became some of our favorite places to seek out and recommend.
- All the tips – With the two of us having long careers in the outdoors, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way; BUT, we’re constantly learning new things, too. Especially with a toddler in tow on most of our adventures. We’ve both planned and guided adventure trips professionally, we’ve cooked meals in the front and backcountry for ourselves and groups, we’ve pooped in tiny, 6 inch deep holes. We’ve accomplished so much and much more is still on our list to do. We’re eager to share some tips and tricks with you.
- Gear – I mean… it’s in our name! We love geeking out over new gear and technology; we have A LOT of it. Some of what we share will be our favorite pieces over the years, some essentials with our kiddo, some we’re looking forward to seeing, some we could live without.
- Family time spent outside – We’re an adventure family that is always thinking of ways to spend more time outside. But just like most of you reading this, we’re also bogged up with work, a house, and life in general. We know it isn’t easy and we know that preparing a Pinterest style outdoor activity for our toddler to spend 5 minutes with absolutely sucks. A stat that you’ll see all over our social is that the average American spends 93% of their entire life indoors. It’s something that really pushes us to get outside and create a love for the outdoors with Liam. We are inspired to share the little ways we get outside to create loving memories and connections as a family in this resource.
We hope you find what we have to share with you a little bit useful in your future endeavors. We feel like our goal will be accomplished even if we help just one person spend an extra 10 minutes outside. Keep stopping by to check out what we have posted for you!
See y’all out there!
Love,
The Gear Up Family
Field Notes by Gear Up 