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Burgeon Donates 1,000 Masks to the AMC
The Appalachian Mountain Club has been an active participant in the White Mountains for over a century. Founded in 1876, within three years they constructed a trail in Tuckerman’s Ravine. Their advocacy (along with many others) helped ensure the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911, leading to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest. Many other developments followed, including the establishment of the 4000-footer club in 1957.
Hundreds of AMC volunteers donate tens of thousands of hours to maintain hundreds of miles of trails here in the White Mountains. They clear brush, trim trees, help build and maintain drainage lines, build rock cairns, and many other tasks required to keep the trails safe while minimizing the impact on the environment.
These volunteers often work in groups -- you can imagine how much effort it takes to create a new waterbar, clear blowdowns, or build a scree wall above treeline. COVID-19 presented an additional challenge to these hearty folk. How to work in teams where you cannot socially distance and still do the work required to keep the trails clear?
In June, Burgeon’s Founder, Rudy Glocker, reached out to see if we could help. Rudy, an active AMC member for decades got in touch with his contacts to see if Burgeon could provide masks or other resources for these volunteers. Soon, an interesting partnership came together.
The AMC had hundreds of old t-shirts sitting in storage. Not only that, some chapters had left over t-shirts from old events or past projects. The plan came together. The AMC and select chapters would supply old t-shirts to Burgeon. Burgeon would upcycle the t-shirts into masks and distribute them to volunteers, as well as providing masks for general use by the AMC.
Burgeon would donate the time to cut them, stitch them and mail the to volunteers, completely free of charge, as they have for over 8,500 masks since mid-March.
To date, Burgeon (with the help of hundreds of upcycled AMC t-shirts) has supplied over 500 individual volunteers with masks and hundreds more to The AMC in-house team. The total number of donated masks now exceeds 1000. Burgeon is honored to supply these masks to the volunteers and staff who do so much to keep our mountains pristine and accessible. We thank you for your work. The AMC is now the largest recipient of Burgeon masks.
Burgeon is also proud to announce that it is adopting an iconic White Mountains trail as well! We will announce the trail in the coming days so stay tuned to our blog posts and social media channels.
To all the volunteers out there - THANK YOU!!! We greatly appreciate the hard work you do to keep the trails in great shape for our enjoyment while minimizing the impact on our environment. Good luck out there this year and stay safe!
Learn More about Our Impact:
Ammonoosuc Community Health
A Letter from our Founder
Burgeon Masks Making an Impact
Burgeon Converts Production to Battle COVID-19
Support our Mission:
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Top 5 4000-footers views
Women's Line Update, Part III
Progress continues on our women’s line of technical products - and we have exciting news - our first product is now in production! If you are in Lincoln, please stop by the studio to see our stitchers working their magic!
The new product is a technical fleece made of the same material as our Bond series. It can be worn as either a base layer or a mid layer. Sizing will be XS-2XL. Keep an eye out for the launch! Pictured below is our fit and field tester, Alex Roberts in an early prototype - and sporting a Burgeon Beanie as well!
We have also approved the designs and patterns for a series of men’s and women’s sweater fleece products: a pullover, a vest, and a jacket. The material has been ordered and we expect it to arrive soon. We designed this line to be appropriate for everything from the mountains to the office. Pictured here are our final prototypes which were all made from black fabric.
Also in development are a women’s technical t-shirt (hopefully near finalizing the pattern!) as well as a super comfortable women’s technical hoodie. Keep an eye on our social media to catch glimpses of these products.
We are also developing both wool and tencel base layers for women, a mid layer and a new design and material for a soft shell jacket. Stay tuned!
Alex Roberts continues to be our fit and field testing model. She is putting all these products to the test in the mountains and trails that you love. You can follow her on Instagram as well to catch glimpses of her exploits and see our prototypes in the field!
We would like to thank all of you who participated in sizing and fashion surveys. We took your feedback to heart and hopefully you will see it reflected in some amazing products in the coming months.
Previous Updates: Women's Line Update, January 21st, Women's Line Update, Part II.
Meet Philip Carcia, Burgeon Brand Athlete
Philip Carcia was exhausted. Over the past week he’d raced across the White Mountains, covering 240 miles in less than six days with almost no sleep along the way, and over the past year he’d trudged through rain, snow and ice to summit all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers every single month without fail.
Now after more than 2,700 miles and a million feet of elevation gain, only a few more steps remained between Carcia and the orange-painted sign marking the end of his journey.
When Carcia reached the summit of Mt. Moosilauke on Sunday, July 7, 2019, he achieved his long-sought goal of completing the White Mountains Grid in a single year. In the process he also set a new fastest known time for one of the most obscure but grueling list-based hiking challenges in the northeast.
Traditionally, those who attempt to complete the grid do so over a period of many years. The grid requires hikers to summit 576 peaks in total, and at the time Carcia began his Single-Year Grid attempt on Aug. 23, 2018, the feat had only been accomplished in a single year by one other person, the legendary long-distance pioneer Sue Johnston.
In order to cut his time down to the absolute minimum, Carcia chose an August to July timeframe instead of a January to December window, which allowed him to start and finish his Single-Year Grid with a Diretissima, a thru-hike of the White Mountains that traverses and connects all 48 4,000-footers.
By completing his first round in about eight days and his last month in roughly seven, he was able to complete the project in a record time of 10 months and 15 days. He even tacked on an extra month in August of 2019 to push just a little bit further and take advantage of the nice summer weather.
The project required total dedication. In the lead-up to the Single-Year Grid, the Worcester native trained by climbing nearby Mt. Wachusett more than 300 times. Once the project began he took a job at the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock to support himself financially as he spent most of the rest of his time on the trail.
All of this was borne out of a desire to give himself fully to the mountains and discover the limits of what he was capable of.
That desire was first sparked when Carcia was a teenager, when he first discovered a passion for the outdoors on a high school field trip to Wachusett. It then led him on a journey of self-discovery that took him all across the country.
Between 2006 and 2013 he competed a thru-hike every year, starting with shorter trails in the northeast, including the Mid-State Trail in central Massachusetts and the Long Trail in Vermont, before graduating to bigger trails like the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.
Eventually, the annual thru-hiking routine was broken after tragedy struck the Carcia family. In the summer of 2014, Carcia’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died only three months later, and in his grief Carcia resolved to make sure that when his time eventually came, he could look back and say with certainty that he’d made the most of his time on Earth.
He also realized that he wouldn’t need to travel west every year to do that.
In the summer of 2015, Carcia traveled up to the White Mountains – where he had regularly hiked since his youth – and hiked all 48 4,000-footers for the first time. He accomplished the feat in 26 days, living out of the back of his truck as he did so, and eventually began to contemplate the project that would consume the next four years of his life.
Since completing the Single-Year Grid, the natural question for Carcia has been “what’s next?” What could there possibly be left to do after hiking all 48 4,000-footers every month for more than a year? As big as an accomplishment as the grid was, there is still another major White Mountains challenge there for the taking.
What could that be? Join him on Zoom this Thursday at 7 p.m., when Carcia plans to share all the details for his upcoming 2020 project.
By Mac Cerullo
Burgeon 
Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environment efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website; burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745-7123.
Rookie of the Year
Declan Kiley becomes third known hiker to complete “triple-single” winter of White Mountains 4,000-footers
Declan Kiley had always felt drawn to the mountains.
A native of West Hartford, Connecticut, Kiley had spent much of his youth outdoors. Growing up he was involved with the Boy Scouts and went camping every month, and when it came time to head off to college, he chose St. Anselm partly because of its close proximity to the White Mountains.
And yet, for reasons he could never put a finger on, he never made the hour-long drive up I-93 from Manchester during his first two years at school.
“I honestly don’t know why I didn’t go up,” he said. “I think it had been building that whole time but I never quite got past that hurdle.”
Upon his return to school last August, Kiley decided that it was finally time. He drove up to the White Mountains and hiked Mt. Moosilauke, and from that moment on he was hooked.
“That’s what opened the floodgates,” he said.
Over the past nine months or so, Kiley has likely hiked more peaks in the White Mountains than anybody else. The 20-year-old college junior completed his first round of the 48 4,000-footers in less than two months, and recently he became just the third known person to hike all 48 peaks three times in a single winter season — a feat known as a “triple-single.”
Kiley did it despite having to balance hiking with his busy class schedule, and in order to maintain his pace he hiked in all kinds of conditions, including regular trips at night.
“I went up as often as I could,” he said. “I’d head up right after class on Friday, hike over the weekend and go back Monday.”
Kiley finished his first round of the 4,000-footers on Mt. Isolation on Oct. 26, 2019. Immediately afterwards, he returned to The Notch Hostel in North Woodstock — which had become his White Mountains basecamp — in time to hear a presentation by fellow hiker Philip Carcia on his recently completed Single-Year Grid.
The Grid is a White Mountains challenge in which hikers must climb the 48 4,000-footers in all 12 months of the year, ultimately requiring 576 peaks in total. It takes most hikers years to complete, but Carcia became the second hiker ever to complete the grid in a single year, setting the fastest known time in the process.
Hearing that such a feat was possible, Kiley began considering what he might be capable of.
“It got the gears turning in my head about what was possible and gave me a lot of inspiration,” Kiley said.
Kiley decided to go back and re-hike his earliest peaks to complete a single-season fall round of the 48. Then as winter approached he decided he wanted to attempt a single-season New England 67, which encompasses all 67 4,000-footers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
There was only one problem. He’d never hiked in winter conditions before.
“It was completely new to me,” he said. “The only thing I was going off of was my motivation and willingness to hike in the cold.”
As it turned out, Kiley was well equipped to handle the rigors of the Whites in winter — both physically and mentally — and also had the dedication to get out on the trail every day. During winter break he hiked every day for 14 consecutive days, staying and working at the Notch Hostel to avoid unnecessary travel, and before long he’d completed the full 48 once more.
By that point, Kiley decided he didn’t want to deal with driving to and from Vermont and Maine, so instead of completing the New England 67, he shifted gears and attempted to do the New Hampshire 48 a second time.
“I’d gotten to know the peaks really well, all of my friends were still hiking in New Hampshire, and that was the biggest thing, the community in the Whites,” Kiley said. “My friends were there and I really loved the peaks I was hiking, so I kept going.
“Eventually I finished my second round and was quite a few into the third, so at that point it was crazy to do the Maine peaks,” he continued. “So I felt like this is a tough goal, but if I push I can do it.”
Kiley had his fair share of memorable hikes during his big winter. He took advantage of a particularly nice weather window by completing a pair of Presidential Traverses on back to back days. He also had a fun trek out to Galehead for his friend and regular hiking buddy Rebecca Schubert’s final New England 67 peak.
It all culminated on March 19, the final day of winter, when Kiley completed the lengthy hike out to Mt. Isolation and then returned to Mt. Moosilauke immediately afterwards to complete his triple-single winter.
“It was pretty relieving,” Kiley said. “I was really proud of my achievement but I’d say I was most looking forward to sleep.”
With his spring semester cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, Kiley has been back in Connecticut since winter’s end. While his plans for the coming year are now largely up in the air, when things do eventually go back to normal he hopes to get back into the Whites and find new challenges to pursue.
“I’m really looking forward to getting out there as much as possible,” he said.
N.B. Since the launch of this post, there is some exciting news. Declan has accepted a job at The Notch Hostel -- where he will be living in "The House of Grid" where Philip Carcia lived while completing his Single Year Grid. The House was built by Justin Walsh, the operations manager at Burgeon.
***
Declan Kiley’s Triple-Single Stats
- 144 peaks
- 733 miles (approx.)
- 250,000 feet of vertical (approx.)
- 50 hiking days
- 3 Presidential Traverses (two on consecutive days)
- 1 Super-Extended, 12-peak Pemi Loop
- 1 Wildcats-Carters-Moriah Traverse
Thank you to Mac Cerullo for his work on this blog post. He did 99% of the work!
Burgeon Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environment efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745-7123
Ammonoosuc Community Health Services
Lincoln, NH the heart of the White Mountains: Ammonoosuc Community Health Services (“ACHS”) is a valuable member of the White Mountains Community. With six locations throughout the Whites, they provide healthcare services to 26 towns and more than 10,000 of our neighbors. ACHS provides services regardless of insurance coverage (or lack thereof) and ability to pay -- providing a critical backstop to the neediest among us.
In 45 years, ACHS has gained a great deal of experience -- not only in handling contagious disease, but also dealing and managing with the unique challenges of our rural population. As soon as word began to spread of COVID-19, they began to prepare for its arrival in the White Mountains.
While their training, experience and preparation gave them a strong foundation, they quickly learned how challenging COVID-19 would be. The combination of high rates of contagion and a rapidly dwindling supply of personal protective equipment had the potential to put both patients and staff at risk.
As word spread of the needs at ACHS, individuals and businesses began to give support.. A local theatre group, Upstage Players, created a pattern for gowns that could be cleaned and reused. Tamworth Distillery supplied alcohol based hand sanitizer. Dozens of local stitchers supplied masks.
Healthcare workers need to eat too! During the long, often draining days, local restaurants such as Chang Thai Cafe, Reklis Brewery, Gold House Pizza, Red Kite Candy and others offered discounts, donated food and treats to support the those on the frontlines working to keep us all safe.
“As prepared as we are for COVID-19, we could never be fully prepared for the amount of love and support we have received from our community. Together strong, we will get through this.” -- ACHS
Burgeon is proud to support ACHS. ACHS is the largest recipient of the masks we make. In partnership with the “Brands Better X” coalition Burgeon has designated 10% of its sales through May 31st to benefit ACHS. We hope that by supporting ACHS and its efforts to battle COVID-19 we can help keep our communities safe and healthy during this time.
“There are organizations that talk about doing the right thing. Then there are organizations that DO the right thing. Burgeon, you are an organization that saw a need in the community and stepped up to the plate to use your resources to benefit people in need. Not just one time, not just a little, but our entire state. On behalf of all of us at Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, we thank you and your incredible team for listening, pivoting your business model, and doing the hard work to truly make a difference during this difficult time.
Cheers to you and your amazing team!” - Jill Kimball, ACHS
Burgeon Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environment efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745
Meet Jo Biscoe -- Single Season Winter Finisher
A Message From Burgeon Founder, Rudy Glocker
Lincoln, NH the heart of the White Mountains:
It's a different world
These are challenging times for all of us. Some have lost loved ones, some have lost their jobs. Many are isolated from our families — especially those with elderly relatives. Others are on the front lines trying to help in various ways: medical workers, checkout people at supermarkets, and other essential roles.
We know that while all of us have challenges, everybody’s situation is unique. We all have different hopes, dreams, fears and realities. We can only imagine the difficulties you face. We wish you all the luck and good fortune in navigating this new reality.
Burgeon takes a stand
Just over a month ago, Burgeon converted its production from outdoor apparel to making masks. As soon as we let people know what we were doing, we began to receive requests. Friends, customers, nonprofits and other small businesses wanted to buy masks from us. It quickly became apparent that our business would be stronger than ever. We had more interest than we could possibly handle. People were willing to pay as much as $50 for a mask.
So what did we do? We started giving the masks away for free. No charge whatsoever, not even for postage.
We started off giving them to local healthcare providers such as Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, who needed them for presenting patients. The Massachusetts Association of the Blind was next. Then we heard from Taravista, a provider of mental health services in Massachusetts who did not have masks for their staff. A customer told us about Cathedral Towers, a nursing home in Atlanta that had zero masks. We sent masks to them as well.
Locally, we have donated masks to:
We started hearing from individuals and families in need. People needed masks to go grocery shopping, make food deliveries for elderly relatives or neighbors, and to go to the drug store.
So then what? We started making masks available to New Hampshire residents — once again, free of charge. No shipping, no handling, free. We started shipping them to Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts as well. Next — all of New England.
We will continue to supply these masks free of charge to those in need until they are no longer needed or until we can no longer sustain our business.
Our commitment moving forward
I founded Burgeon Outdoor because I believe that mountain communities are valuable resources not only to the people who live there, but also to the outdoor community and our nation as a whole. I wanted to create a company that not only produced great products made in these communities, but that improved their social fabric as well, making them stronger and richer places to live as well as visit.
While we are committed to making outstanding outdoor apparel here in Lincoln, we understand that right now what our community needs is masks. We are committed to providing them. The mountains that surround us here in New England are hundreds of millions of years old. They will be here for the rest of our lives. We are doing our part to make sure we are all able to enjoy them on the other side of this pandemic — and when you do, we hope you come by to pay us a visit.
Thank you to our customers for making this possible. Without you, we could not make these masks and donate them to organizations and individuals in need. Thank you for allowing us to make a profound difference to those in need at this critical time.
If you know of a New Hampshire healthcare company, community service nonprofit or other organization in need, please email us at info@burgeonoutdoor.com.
On behalf of everyone at Burgeon, we wish you, your family and friends safety and good health in the days ahead.
~ Rudy
Burgeon Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environment efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745-7123.
Burgeon Masks -- Making an impact
Lincoln, NH, the heart of the White Mountains: Three weeks ago, Burgeon converted its production from its own products to making masks for organizations and individuals in need, free of charge. Burgeon has concentrated its donation efforts on organizations that currently do not have the means to protect their people/patients. In the past few weeks, Burgeon masks have made a positive impact in the lives of tens of thousands of people.
“We on the front lines of community aid are so thankful for Burgeon. Without us even having to ask them, they dropped masks off when they saw the local need. So pumped to have you guys in town.” Marcus Covey -- Loon Mountain Ministry
"What a fabulous company! They have “saved the day” by quickly switching from manufacturing apparel to sewing up bandanas in the form of quality masks to help protect our medical providers. Thank you for your service to the community!" Jill Kimball -- Ammononoosuc Community Health
"Please 
pass along to your team that thanks to your shipment, we have been able to follow local, state, and national guidelines in carrying out our vital mission. Within days of learning that the local public schools would be shutting their doors, Gather quickly ramped up our Meals4Kids program, which normally covers the 10 free and reduced meals per day that vulnerable children miss out on during school breaks. We are providing right around 7000 meals per week to those kid’s families, every week, in 5 towns in the Greater Seacoast. We have also ramped up our pantry-market operation, mobile meals for seniors, and community open market— and literally could not have safely accomplished any of these programs without the masks that your company so generously donated.
In difficult times, frontline organizations like Gather count on the support of companies like Burgeon Outdoor, and are especially proud that this kind of generosity is coming from a home state company." Scott McKee -- Board President, Gather
The thousands of masks that Burgeon has donated to dozens of organizations over the past several weeks have made an impact. Grocery store workers at our local supermarket are better protected, meals are being taken to those in need and our healthcare workers are better protected. The masks may be small, but their impact is huge.
We have received so many notes of kindness and heartfelt gratitude over the past weeks. We are honored to serve in this time of need and look forward to the day when our masks are no longer required.
“We would like to thank all of our customers for supporting our mission during these tumultuous times. Your purchases allow us to continue our efforts to support local organizations. We are 100% focused on making a difference in the lives of those in need at this critical moment. You have made this possible. Thank you.” Rudy Glocker -- Founder, Burgeon Outdoor
To read more about the impact of Burgeon masks, please see the following:
Granite State Manufacturers Re-tool to make PPE
A Lifeline and Call to Action - NHPR
Seacoast Online Community View Guest Opinion
Read a letter from Burgeon's Founder, Rudy Glocker
Burgeon 
Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environment efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website; burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745-7123.
