The Story: Alpinist
Peter Polito
The Story consists of six vignettes describing a small part about how each scent came to be. We want you to know more about us—we believe personal connections are the key to understanding people and understanding people is the key to joy. Consider this one small way in which we can connect with you.
Alpinist
Looking south, across Evolution Lake towards Mt. Spencer and the Goddard Divide, just after sunrise. Sierra Nevada range, California.
For the Alpinist, let's start with the image: A beautiful scene of an alpine lake at the base of a jagged peak.
The summer after I graduated high school I set out to conquer the John Muir Trail. About two thirds of the way between Yosemite and Mt. Whitney is Evolution Valley. Evolution Valley is one of the most beautiful places I have ever laid eyes upon. It is an east-west trending U-shaped valley bisected by the meandering Evolution Creek. As you're hiking into Evolution Valley you stare up at the bare arêtes of the monolithic Mt. Mendel and Darwin's, jagged, bare, frighteningly steep peaks. At the base is Evolution Lake. My hiking partner and I spent less than 24 hours at the lake but it was long enough to change my life. The raw beauty of the serene lake juxtaposed with the bare granodiorite peaks rising several thousand feet above—as if heaven were encircled by hell. We battled fatigue long enough to watch the sunset. I remember feeling the faintest breeze upon my face—like Elijah at the mouth of the cave—and feeling at the same time both completely free and completely insignificant.
Like seventeen-year-old me in the high Sierra, the Alpinist is liberation from pressure, expectation, and assumption.
The Alpinist was crafted to provide you a shot of the high mountain peaks that formed me into the man I am today. Fresh juniper propped up by cool and refreshing peppermint. When the days seem too long and life is a hammer and I a nail, I massage Alpinist into my beard, close my eyes, and for just a moment, Nate and I are back at Evolution Lake. The day doesn't seem so bad after that.