This is What REI Employees Are Doing With Black Friday Off #OptOutside

Why not head out into Yosemite for a day? (Photo: Thinkstock)

Instead of inviting customers to bash elbows and butt heads over discounted camping gear, REI has closed all of its stores today on Black Friday and encouraged its employees and you to #OptOutside. REI employees will be spending time enjoying their families and the great outdoors. It’s a remarkably progressive idea for a retailer whose peers often have employees working around the clock during the holidays to try and squeeze out every consumer dollar they can.

The idea has gone viral with millions of REI enthusiasts using the hashtag to showcase their own Black Friday outdoor adventures…or is it Green Friday?

We got a chance to catch up with some of the REI employees to find out what they’ll be doing with their free day today.

Galen Hunter, Fairbanks AK

Galen has worked in retail for 10 years and doesn’t remember having a Black Friday off. He’s planning to take a group of new climbers out to ice climb on frozen falls on Fox and Dragonfly Creeks.

“You get the same high as with regular rock climbing, but ice is really dynamic. You can go back time and time again to the same place and the face is always changing.”

More than a million people are opting outside today in honor of the retailer’s decision to close. (Photo: Instagram/@rmaldonado05)

Mandy Nauman, Fairbanks AK

Mandy moved to Alaska from Wisconsin 10 years ago to mush dogs, in 2014 she was the only woman racer in the Yukon Quest dogsled place – placing 9/18. She will run her team of sled dogs on Black Friday.

“I’ve never gone to Black Friday anything in my life, and this is pretty cool. I’ll be outside no matter what, but to get a lot of other people outside is great.”

John Junke, Fairbanks AK

He and his family will go cross-country skiing at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge on Friday.

Dorian Granger, Fairbanks AK

A lifelong Nordic skier, Dorian recently started fat biking (mountain biking in the snow) and will explore city trails around Smith Lake on Black Friday.

Jill Douglas, Perimeter GA

Jill is planning to canoe Cypress Creek in the De Soto National Forest near her hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Black Friday. She was inspired by her Choctaw great-great-grandfather and a road-bike race that reopened her eyes to the beauty of the bayou. She plans to take her sister, nieces and any other relatives she can convince along on the adventure.

Related: Rich Guy Pays $50k to Make State Parks Free on Black Friday

Garrett Holloway, Perimeter GA

Garrett will run his favorite section of the Chattooga River, on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. He’s been white water kayaking since high school and plans to connect with old friends and his family out on the rapids.

Becky Smith Perimeter GA

Becky plans to summit the 5,500 foot Standing Indian Mountain on the Appalachian Trail for the third time on Black Friday, with her trusty beagle-pointer Sammi.

Kevin Pardue, Spokane WA

Although relatively new to REI, Kevin has worked in retail for 25 years and this is his first Black Friday off. Kevin plans to take his family and a group of his REI colleagues to the Mount Spokane ski area for either skiing and snowboarding or mountain biking and hiking (depending on the snow’s cooperation).

Carol Christenson, Spokane WA

Carol and her family, including her 3 year-old son will hike a stretch of the Spokane River, joining a ranger-led public hike at Riverside State Park.

Sally Lodato, Spokane WA

Sally set the dates for an REI Adventures “bucket-list” trip to Patagonia earlier this year and was worried about missing Black Friday – one of the first times she would in her 23 years at REI. She’s excited for another chance to explore South America (she’s visited Botswana and Peru with REI Adventures in the past) and will trek the iconic Torres del Paine National Park.

Petey Creighton, Spokane WA

For Petey, an outdoor retail “lifer”, this is the first time in decades she has Black Friday off. On Thursday she and her chocolate lab, Maddie, will head to Lolo Pass, between Idaho and Montana, where they will snow camp, trek uphill on snowshoes and then snowboard down. Their trip will even include Thanksgiving dinner cooked atop her camp stove.

Related: 8 Things to Know Before Buying Luggage on Black Friday

Nolan Wildfire, Knoxville TN

Nolan always makes it a priority to swim in whatever water he finds along the trail – and that’s what he’ll do on Black Friday. “I’ll be doing cannonballs into Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia, hiking in Smith Mountain Lake State Park and roasting wienies around the campfire.”

Mike Harwood, Knoxville TN

Reflecting back on his experience hiking 600 miles of the Appalachian Trail, Mike has plans to give back some of the “trail magic” he experienced himself. Mike plans to offer up turkey dinner and sides to hikers, as well as offering up rides to town.

Related: How to Navigate the Airport Like a Pro During the Holidays

Monique Berry, Knoxville TN

Monique and he daughter Hannah, also an REI employee are looking forward to keeping their family tradition of skiing at Cataloochee Ski Area in North Carolina. Thankfully there was a cold snap and the mountain opened on Monday!

Robmat Butler, Knoxville TN

Robmat will keep a longtime tradition with a group of friends that meet every Thanksgiving weekend to surf on the Florida coast.

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