HAPPY CAMPER: Air Force veteran Judy Gross 'passion for lengthy treks ignited a business that helps take a load off weary hikers.

AuthorWanbaugh, Taylor

If Judy Gross' office was a book, the walls would be the chapters of her life. A certificate from her nearly 30 years as an active nurse, including 10 as a nuse practitioner, hangs next to two more that declare her service in the Air Force and the Army Reserve. In a far corner, dozens of medals from races around the country--Detroit, Utah's Zion National Park and Mount Rushmore, to name a few--hang from a sign that proclaims, "Run Like a Girl." Her goal is to notch a half marathon in every state; by the end of this year, she'll have checked 12 off the list.

The avid hiker took up running a few years ago as a way to train for her long-distance treks through some of the country's most treacherous trails. Earlier this year, she hiked more than 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast over 31 days.

"[Growing up,] my mother was always taking me outside, teaching me about nature and plants, and we would go on walks," Gross, 62, says. "I just grew up in the outdoors."

To put it simply, the Staten Island, N.Y., native is a passionate adventurer, which is exactly what led her to her latest venture: Fletcher-based outdoor-equipment manufacturer LightHeart Gear. A trio of judges selected the company as Business North Carolina's 2019 Small Business of the Year for its innovative product offerings, above-and-beyond customer service and fast growth in recent years.

Last December, the company relocated to a larger factory, tripling the size of its production area. In the last six months, Gross doubled her payroll to 10 full-time employees. While not disclosing specifics, she says revenue at LightHeart and parent company Excelsior Sewing LLC increased more than 50% in the year ending July 31 compared with a year earlier.

Her vision for the business started in 2006, when she made an attempt to hike the entire 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail. About a thousand miles into the trail, she was injured and had to end her trek early. But something she saw on the last day in the woods caught her attention: a homemade tent.

"It was a palace," Gross says. "It didn't weigh anything and it packed up very small. The tent I was carrying around was a big-box brand that weighed 4.5 pounds and was much smaller than his. And I thought, 'Well, I'm going to go home and make a tent.'"

Gross, who has a master's degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, attended design school at Houston Community College after retiring and has been...

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