Even as a powerful businessman, he was deeply interested in improving the quality of life of his employees this led to him becoming a philanthropist, pursuing many charitable causes. Rowntree is perhaps best known for being a champion of social reform, partner and friend of Charles Booth, and his time as a chocolatier at family business Rowntree's, one of the most important in Britain. Since 2016 he has hiked the Pacific Northwest Trail, portions of the Continental Divide, and he plans to hike an alternate route of the Continental Divide in Spring of 2020.Joseph Rowntree ( – 24 February 1925) was an English Quaker philanthropist and businessman from York. That badass dude is living in Washington with his girlfriend who he met on the Pacific Crest Trail. If you or someone you know is interested in hiking the PCT but feels restricted by money or resources, apply to be the CDS! Application opens early Spring 2020.
In the end we selected four dirtbags who received cash, food, gear, and equipment shipped to them in eight care packages along the trail. In 2019 we partnered with eight co-sponsors, received applications from over 100 prospective hikers from all ages groups from all over the world. that we decided year two had to be even bigger and better.
We had so much fun in the first year of the C.D.S. In our first year of the C.D.S., we worked with Lighthouse Roasters and Patagonia Seattle to sponsor two hikers on their Northbound thru-hike. is a collaborative sponsorship that aims to support and energize wild ambitions in the great outdoors. In honor of Lucas, we formed the Caveman Dirtbag Sponsorship (his trail name was Caveman). In 2018 we decided it was time to give back to the community that helped us create our business: The thru-hiker dirtbags on the PCT. Despite the growth and change, we’re still a group of friends who love good food, great conversation, and spending time outdoors (what can we say, we’re from the Pacific Northwest)! In just a few years we have grown from a two-man operation, making chocolate after hours in the back of Spud Fish-n-Chips, to an ever growing team with a wholesale operation in South Seattle and a retail shop and factory in Pike Place Market. Whether you’re a thru-hiker walking 2,700-miles up the West Coast, a college student studying for finals, a parent shuttling kids to and from after-school activities, or a nurse working the night shift, a little bit of Joe can go a long way. It didn’t take long before we realized that handmade, naturally caffeinated dark chocolate is a crowd pleaser. What comes next (as we’re sure you’ve guessed), is the inception of our signature coffee-infused chocolate. He was loving the scenery, the people, the physical and mental challenges, but really missed having his daily cup of joe.ĭetermined to satiate his need for caffeine (and food), we started started turning our business-school idea into the perfect hiking snack: lightweight, all natural, caffeine-rich, and packaged so it could couldn't melt into his expensive hiking gear.
About 300 miles into Lucas' hike he sent us a text. began in an undergraduate class project at the University of Washington but our business really took shape when our buddy, Lucas, set foot on the Pacific Crest Trail.