According to the research presented at the recent 110th General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology in San Diego, exposure to a specific bacteria in the environment may not only improve mood, but also intelligence.
People who spend time outdoors likely ingest a natural bacterium found in soil called, ‘Mycobaterium vacce,’ which is believed to have antidepressant qualities. Research studies on M. vacce showed that when mice were injected with this specific bacteria, it stimulated the growth of neurons that resulted in increased levels of serotonin and decreased anxiety.
Because Serotonin plays a role in learning, researchers then began wondering if M. vacce could improve learning behaviors as well. So colleges Dorothy Matthews and Susan Jenks of The Sage Colleges in New York conducted research by feeding the mice live bacteria and assessed their ability to navigate the maze compared to mice without the bacteria in their system.
The result? The M. vacce mice navigated the maze twice as fast and with less demonstrated anxiety than the ones without the bacteria. In a second experiment, the bacteria was removed from mice’s diet and while the mice ran the maze slower than when they had ingested the bacteria, they were, on average, still faster than the control mice.
So what’s the take away? This means people who spend their time outdoors (ahem, Gregory Mountain Products and friends) are naturally more intelligent and happier. Not like we didn’t know that already, but this discovery might just get us out of cleaning the camp cookware…’just rub some dirt on it!’
Get out your walking shoes and join the Gregory crew tomorrow, May 15th, for the National Walk-a-Thon to raise money and awareness for the 
Yesterday, Backcountry.com’s blog, 
“Have you found an anchor,” the lead climber’s radio would crackle, disturbing the purposefully meditative state hewas in. While leading we shift into this “zone”, building an impenetrable wall to keep out the fear: falling rocks, frostbitten toes, and hundred foot falls. It is a survival tactic that allows us to bridge the hundreds of feet of danger that separates us from safety. The leaders’ job is to keep moving. If he stops, the belayer may freeze and the danger will never end. “Why,” the leader swears under his steaming breath, “did you have to call me just now? Just when my ice axe placements are suspect, my calves are cramping, and my numb fingers are reminding me that my toes were once numb too. Why did you call when I am most afraid?” But of course the climber would never say that. Any admission of fear opens the flood gates. A tidal wave of self doubt would rush in.
At 
stopped by the Gregory headquarters in Sacramento to meet the crew and thank them for their help. During his visit he met with John Sears, Director of R&D and Nick Kelso, Sample Maker who beefed up his pack by replacing worn out and dirty parts on his pack as well as reinforcing seams. Here’s what he had to say about his visit:
As if 
