For nearly 50 years, Patagonia has given a damn about people and the environment.

And through that work, they've learned that knowledge is foundational,

transcending physical space and nodding generations together.

Knowledge invites change and forms the bedrock of communities.

In a new series of stories, Patagonia brings us the voices of elders,

young people, mentors and teachers. Stories grounded in wild places and activism.

Knowledge is a vessel. To be shared, kept, evolved and passed on.

Find more at Patagonia.com slash stories.

You're listening to The Derbacterys, a production of Duck Tape Then Beer,

with additional support from Kuat Racks because you love your bike,

athletic greens, the daily drink for healthier you, and kicking horse coffee, wake up and kick ass.

All right, so if it's a couple of months ago, a letter pinged into your email inbox and you sent

it to all of us because it was pretty unique. Can you describe what that letter looked like?

Oh, totally. Yeah, so it wasn't actually a letter. It was actually, I got forwarded at a

Google Doc that I was BCC'd on and it had the simple black logo at the top that said Midwest

Mount Nearing. And then a letter, like there was a note that preceded it. The first thing I noticed

that there was a bunch of people reading it, you know, because you can see other people on Google

Docs would be like anonymous chipmunk and stuff like that. And there's like a ton of people on this

letter reading it. Can you read it for us? Yeah, it says, to the editor. More than 50 years ago,

I founded Midwest Mount Nearing. Minneapolis is a regional outdoor store. And since the doors

first open, we've estimated that more than two million transactions have connected people to the

right gear, the best apparel and the latest knowledge for enjoying an active outdoor lifestyle.

...