Packing It Out Inspires Big Brands To Lend A Hand

Exxel Outdoors cleaned up one of Colorado’s most notoriously polluted parks after being inspired by two-man Packing It Out crew.

The parent company of Kelty, Sierra Designs, and Ultimate Direction, Exxel Outdoors Performance Group employees hauled more than 680 pounds of trash from campsites in Nederland, Colo., during a single afternoon.

The crew of about 20 was inspired by Seth ‘Cap’ Orme and Paul ‘Spice’ Twedt, the two-man Packing It Out team who famously hiked the Appalachian Trail last year collecting every piece of trash they found. That expedition resulted in a half-ton of garbage removed from the trail.

The duo is currently repeating that feat on the Pacific Crest Trail, now 2,000 miles and 700 pounds through their effort.

Notorious Nederland

The Exxel team set its sights on a single area notorious for its vagrant population. Politics and opinions aside, people living near campgrounds and national forests tend to make a lot of trash.

That was evidenced by the fact that the Exxel squad collected nearly more garbage in a couple hours than the Packing It Out crew did in five months. The workers amassed piles of discarded tents, dog crates, blankets, suitcases, and even a giant freezer door.

This is one copycat effort we’d like to see copied over and over. Need inspiration? You can keep up with our coverage of the Packing It Out initiative with updates from the hike.