18 September 2026
Nights turn before October does
The first cold nights in Durango do not wait for a calendar to call it autumn. By the middle of September the afternoons are still pleasant on College Drive. A morning at camp is already a different month. Frost can show before September is done. It is common before October is old.
A camp kitchen that worked in August gets slow. Water takes longer. A canister that lived in the food box overnight lights with less conviction. This is when the liquid-fuel stove earns the shelf. Fill it before your hands are stiff, not after. Keep the spare fuel sealed. We do not open a bottle in the shop to top you off.
Wool moves from a maybe to the layer you wear while the pot heats. Midweight is enough for a valley morning near freezing. If you are going higher than town, the night will be colder than our doorway. We still only sell the weights in the stack. We will not guess the night above town for you.
Canvas wants a look before this turn. Wax the seams that chalked in the summer rain. A dry September hour on the curb is a better time than a dark morning later. We sell the wax. The work is yours, panel flat, on a bench.
Stakes: if the ground is starting to crust at night, set them while the dirt is still soft from the afternoon. A frozen crust will bend a thin needle. The angle iron in the bin is the plain answer, and the plain answer is the one that holds.
We are closed Sunday and Monday. If you need the stove before a Tuesday departure, come Saturday. The door is at 150 E College Drive. Ask for the shelf, not for a guide. Stoves, wool, canvas, stakes.