Greater Hells Canyon Council, Minimal Gear, and Earth Day: A Five Year Tradition

It's Earth Day, which for the last five years has meant the team here at Minimal Gear has teamed up with fantastic folks over at the Greater Hells Canyon Council on a fundraiser. They caretake and steward some of our favorite places to get outside at a time in which those lands need more support from us than ever. 

20% of our sales from 4/20-4/26 are going to the Greater Hells Canyon Council and we're running a sweet promotion to make purchasing this week worth your while! Learn more about that below, but first some words from Jared Kennedy, GHCC's Development Director, about the Greater Hells Canyon Council and their mission.

Greater Hells Canyon Council and the Blue Mountains Trail

Greater Hells Canyon Council is a place-based conservation organization that for nearly 60 years has defended public lands and advocated for wildlife, wild rivers, and thriving communities across 18,000 square miles of eastern Oregon, SE Washington and north Central Idaho. We work to connect place to place, people to place, and people to people, across our vast mission area.

We work closely with individuals, organizations and coalitions across the Blue Mountains by defending forest habitats on public lands, advocating for dam removal and fish passage in the Lower Snake River Basin, surveying and monitoring threatened species, working to support beaver coexistence and riparian stewardship on public, private and tribal lands, supporting tribal gatherings and climate adaptation for tribal communities, and working with the Nez Perce tribal government in an effort to reintroduce condors to this part of their historic range. In 2021, we launched the Blue Mountains Trail, a 530-mile long distance hiking route through the region that invites hikers of all stripes to come see why our region is so special.

Minimal Gear, through their brands Cnoc Outdoors, Diorite, and now Cowboy Camping, share in the passion for long trails through wild, intact ecosystems. Their support, and the support of all of you who are passionate about off the grid experiences with the highest quality ultralight gear, are instrumental to our ability to accomplish our mission. We invite you to join our council and be a part of our vision of a region of abundant, biodiverse, and connected lands and waters where all wild species and human communities thrive. 

You can learn more about all of our work at hellscanyon.org and the Blue Mountains Trail at hellscanyon.org/blue-mountains-trail.

- Jared Kennedy, Development Director at the Greater Hells Canyon Council.

Earth Day 2026

So what do we have planned for this year? This year feels like an extra special partnership. Whitney "Allgood" La Ruffa, cofounder of Minimal Gear's newest brand Cowboy Camping, was part of the first team of folks to hike the Blue Mountains Trail as it was being established - his feedback was a critical part of its development. While Whitney's hiking resume is long, the Blue Mountains Trail has always been one of his favorites. Eastern Oregon is also an excellent place to cowboy camp! Given that, we really wanted to include our newest brand, Cowboy Camping, in our promotional fundraiser this year. 

From 4/20-4/26, not only will 20% of our sales be going to GHCC, purchases over $50 from any of our three brands will receive a free Saloon Slimfold, our ultralight wallet! We hope this will be a push to get some new gear, try out our newest brand, and donate to a good cause all at the same time! 

Some quick fine print: Orders over $50 (after discounts but before shipping) will be eligible to receive a free Saloon Slimfold with purchase. Folks will need to add the item to their cart to receive it - eligible carts will automatically receive the discount. Promotion active from 4/20 at 8:00AM PST - 4/26 at 11:59PM PST.

As always, we're so excited to partner with the Greater Hells Canyon Council and, even if a purchase isn't in the cards for you at this time, we encourage you to head to their site at hellscanyon.org to learn more about their mission and join their newsletter list here to keep up with their work.