Here & There 02.04.20 - Morocco Gear
The gear I used and wore in Morocco for two weeks.
Welcome to Here and There, a weekly-ish newsletter about places, people, gear, and sometimes other stuff. The last issue had a 51% open rate 🥳.
If you’re still here after last week, welcome back! And if you’re new, it’s great to have you; feel free to share any feedback.
In this issue: gear from Morocco, a great article on the impacts of tourism, Snow Peak’s new restaurant, and a devastating photo from Mont Blanc.
Our two-week Morocco trip was a bit unconventional (for me). Usually my travels are very centered around something like mountaineering, trekking or skiing. This was the first time in a while that I spent most of the time just traveling. That said, while we did spend most of our time exploring cities and sights, we also climbed the highest mountain in Morocco and went to the Sahara. I realized that I have no idea how to efficiently pack when you can bring a big suitcase…but here are a few of the things I was happy I brought.
Worn Every Day (literally)
The Trailhead’s are a great pair of all-around shoes. I wanted to bring a pair of shoes that I would feel comfortable walking around cities and going to dinner in — but also able to do some hiking. The Lem’s came through. They look quite casual, but handled all kinds of terrain with ease.
I’ve professed my undying love for this jacket many times over. It’s the best, most-versatile piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. January in Morocco is actually surprisingly chilly, and I wore my Atom every day in the mornings and evenings.
This little piece of gear changed the way I shoot and travel. If you’re not familiar with it, the capture clip allows you to securely fasten your camera to a backpack strap. It makes your camera so much more accessible, and it always feels secure. I also used the Peak backpack a bunch.
The a7rII has been my workhorse for a few years now (yeah, I know the III and IV are out), and the 24-70mm is probably on it 90% of the time. It’s an incredibly versatile lens one of the sharpest on the market.
My favorite pair of underwear right now. I’ve put these through the ringer — traveling, skiing, climbing mountains, and more. No, I didn’t wear the same pair for two weeks. I brought three…I think.
Worn most days
These lightweight pants are packable, durable, water resistant, and comfortable. It’s often hard to find pants that straddle the line of performance and style/comfort but the Evolutions do it well. I think I wore these for 10 out of 14 days and they looked no worse for the wear at the end of the trip. I also had a pair of the AT Slims, which are a little burlier and I only really wore those while we were hiking.
Western Rise Air Light button-down
Light, comfortable shirt that looked as good at dinner as it did wandering around the back alleys of Marrakech.
Loved this comfortable, stylish sweater. I’m actually wearing it as I write this back in Boulder. I might’ve worn it more in Morocco, but Sarah stole it from me halfway through the trip 😂
A few more things
Basically brought this for the Sahara…and it was worth it.
Inexpensive, good quality pancake lens. Bought this for more of the city stuff but I ended up still using the 24-70mm more.
My favorite pair of hiking pants. This was more of a “travel” vs “hiking” focused trip, so these ended up getting mostly sidelined by the Evolution pants.
Smartwool 3/4 Zip Hoodie
I don’t think they make this layer anymore but I wore it hiking on Toubkal, and it’s my go-to base layer for skiing.
Utah Wanted All the Tourists. Then It Got Them.
One of the best articles I’ve read recently about over-tourism and the relationship between small towns, destination marketing campaigns, and the balance between growing local economies and overwhelming wild places. 👍🏻👍🏻
Snow Peak plans to open a restaurant - Takibi Portland
Travel/outdoor brands branching into experiences and hospitality has been a topic of interest to me recently, and this week we saw another example. Snow Peak, the Japanese outdoor-lifestyle brand, is opening a restaurant that “seeks to bring people together around the fire for connection, food and drink”.
This is a pretty devastating visual of the Mont Blanc Glacier. And a sight that is becoming altogether too common around the world.
I hope you found a bit of enjoyment from this short email in your inbox — plenty more to come. As always, feel free to reach out with ideas or feedback via email, Instagram, or Twitter.
The best way to support is always to share :)
Cheers,
Kyle