Laramie is home to a thriving historic downtown district and a number of residents who enjoy the outdoors. This last Saturday the Laramie Basecamp store hosted a community gear swap for people to clear out clutter and browse items for the upcoming winter season.
People in the Laramie community were invited to bring in any gently used outdoor items to drop off for the event or to stay in store and barter their gear with others. Everything from ice skates to sleeping bags could be found at the event.
People end up with gear they may not have used or items they want to clear out in transitioning from summer to winter and fall activities. For those who dropped off gear a 25-cent consignment fee was charged per item and Laramie Basecamp matched these funds in donations to the Pilot Hill Project.
The Pilot Hill Project looks to preserve over 5,400 acres to the east of Laramie that borders I-80 and forest service lands. The land sits on top of the naturally occurring Casper aquifer as well which filters snow and rainwater to provide a drinking water source for residents of Albany County. Currently owned by the Samuelson family, Albany County Commissioners entered into an agreement to purchase the land in October 2017. However this purchase is contingent upon raising $10.5 million dollars for the purchase and future maintenance.
“We’re looking to support the community more,” said Megan, another store associate who works on community out reach and events for Laramie Basecamp. The donations made to the Pilot Hill Project from the gear swap event are one way to do that.
Previously called Cross Country Connection the store changed owners from Ken Cramer to Rebecca Walsh this spring. In purchasing the store Walsh renamed it Laramie Basecamp and did some remodeling as well.
“It’s been just over four months with Rebecca, it’s been fun transitioning and she’s done great things for the store,” said Logan. Today the store caters to outdoor enthusiasts in the community as well as local ski racing teams during the winter season.
“Right now we’re in between seasons,” said Logan one of the sales associates at the store. “We see a lot of people coming in to ask about renting skis and cross country skis for the winter, getting ready for the snow that will hopefully be here soon and stocking up on winter weather clothing typically.”
“We don’t want to be just that gear store that’s hanging out downtown,” commented Megan. “We’re trying to interact with the community, get to know what their needs are and then fill those needs.” Currently the store is working on a plan to organize trips to areas around Laramie for the summer season of 2019.
“We don’t have any more gear swaps currently on the schedule, but this one went pretty well,” commented Megan. “If the community wants more events like this then we are more than open to doing it again.”
