The outdoor community is showing up!
From thirst trap TikToks to pride flags
Hello friends,
One of my new-to-me coping mechanisms of 2025 has been to spend more time on TikTok. I understand how this comes as a surprise; I’m known for my long-winded rants about how social media is trash. But unlike you, dear reader, I don’t have the ability to opt out of the algorithmic nonsense because I do this thing called rUn A SmAlL BuSinEsS. So I’ve been making the most of it, enjoying what others are creating and finding inspiration so that I can transform into the most clever version of myself, for at least a few hours a week. I also turn to experts for help.
Enter ICYMI, a newsletter on Substack by Lia Haberman, that’s all about platforms and marketing trends. In her “Hot Takes” on Social Media Week (seriously, thank god someone else goes to this shit and reports back) she wrote:
“Instagram is the corporate lanyard party on the ground floor of a big hotel, you know what’s going to happen and if a celebrity walks by everyone’s going to get excited.
TikTok — people have tassels on their t*tt*es on the roof deck, they don’t care, they’ll throw a celebrity off the balcony.
They’re different universes.”
It should be obvious which team I’m on, so I’ve been making an effort to understand TikTok more because Instagram feels old and sad. I get that I’m late to the game here, which makes me the old and sad one, but I’m doing the best I can. And what a gift some of these creators have given us with the National Park thirst trap posts.
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🔥 Hot for public lands
Congress voted Wednesday night on “The Big, Beautiful Bill,” which originally included a sell-off of 500,000 acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada and slashed the National Park Service budget by nearly a third. The pressure placed on key House members worked, and that sell-off was removed. Public lands were spared, but poor people weren’t. Can’t wait to see the Toks about stealing from the poor to give to the rich.
Now that bill will head to the Senate, where it’s not guaranteed to pass. There are a handful of Republicans who know that cutting benefits for their constituents is not a popular move and could hurt them politically. The thing is, if the Senate changes even one word of the bill, it’ll go back to the House for another vote1. The fight’s not over.
👉 If you want all the latest information on what’s happening with our public lands, subscribe to these newsletters:
🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ Taking it to the mountains
The fight for our rights isn’t only happening on social media. In Park City, PC Hill was wrapped in pride colors to protest the flag ban in Utah. Led by Park City High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), it was paired with a “Rainbow Breakfast” potluck in the parking lot, drawing about 60 students, parents, and community members.
In Yosemite, a group of trans rights activists, including Pattie Gonia, climbed El Cap to hang a trans pride flag. “We flew the Trans pride flag in Yosemite to make a statement: Trans people are natural and Trans people are loved,” Pattie said. “Let this flag fly higher than hate. We are done being polite about Trans people’s existence. Call it a protest, call it a celebration—either way, it’s giving elevation to liberation.”
🍉 Let’s get into the streets, the mountains, and our feeds with this
Israel has intensified their military operations in Gaza, and it continues to block aid. Earlier this week, the UK, France, and Canada warned of sanctions against Israel, which is arguably a threat that comes far too late, from far too few countries. Our elected officials have chosen to fund the genocide in Gaza, and they refuse to call it what it is. We are witnessing one of the most significant failures of humanity.
Friends, the world is so heavy right now, and we are all feeling it in different ways. My hope is that what I’ve shared today reminds us all that we still have the ability to fight for what’s important to us, and that fight doesn’t have to be grueling and painful. Don’t sit this one out. We need you.
Until next time…
Jen Gurecki, she/her, CEO of Coalition Snow
What puts a smile on your face? What are you following? How are you feeling? Share your thoughts in the comments if you want more validation than screaming into the void.
Trump told Walmart to “eat the tariffs,” which is both an admission that it’s Americans and American businesses who pay for tariffs (not China) and a threat to stop making him look bad, which feels impossible.
The Justice Department moved to dismiss police reform agreements in Minneapolis and Louisville, days before the anniversaries of the killings that prompted them: George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020 and Breonna Taylor was killed on March 13 the same year.
The administration violated a court order and unlawfully deported eight men to South Sudan, who were given 24 hours’ notice, mostly outside business hours, making it impossible for them to contact lawyers or prepare a challenge. Only one was a Sudanese.
Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said in response to filing felony assault charges against New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver for doing her damn job at an ICE facility, "No one is above the law—politicians or otherwise. It is the job of this office to uphold justice impartially, regardless of who you are. Now we will let the justice system work." Unless, of course, you are a January 6th rioter or the President of the United States, and then clearly you are above the law.
🚵 The latest episode of What Shapes Us Podcast features mountain bike champion Kate Courtney, who chats about everything from the Olympics to training to the rise of women in sports.
🤖 The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper’s “Best of Summer” learned the hard way that AI hallucinates after publishing a guide to summer reads that features real authors and fake books that they did not write.
📖 In case you want a real book to read this summer, I’m adding this to the top of my list, and I hope you’ll join me. Details on summer book club group chat coming soon!
Thanks for reading! All typos are intentional to make sure you’re paying attention.
Did you know? Coalition is so much more than a ski and snowboard brand. We are a team of creatives and dreamers who love to get our hands dirty.
If you love what we put into this world and want to infuse the same energy, joy, and je ne sais quoi into your business, consider working with us as a sponsor or collaborator on your newsletter, creative content, or event. DM us for details.
Other places to find us:
Website: www.coalitionsnow.com
IG: @coalitionsnow
Republicans are using a fairly unusual legislative maneuver—reconciliation—to skirt the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster. To do that, the House and Senate must agree to pass the exact same bill, down to the letter, in both chambers.
Man, if IG is way behind the mark, I must reeeaaaallly be an old fart farting around on FB...!
Thanks for the read, I didn't know about that part of the bill being stripped.
Fuck these fuckers. I might have to go tie myself to a tree in the next year.
I'm not sure I have the bandwidth to even slightly manage TikTok, but I DO appreciate you sending along things we need to hear and read.
Keep rocking, RockSTAR...
K