In 1997, longtime friends, adventurers and business partners Deek Heycamp and Bryan Knudsen opened their flagship Next Adventure store in Portland.

And in 2017, they expanded their outdoor gear game to serve the Sandy community by opening a location at the former Winter Fox Ski Shop, 38454 Pioneer Blvd.

At the end of April, the duo made the decision to retire early, taking into account current factors that make this a challenging time for business. With this transition they will shutter all of their stores — including the Sandy shop.

“It’s all come together quite quickly,” said co-owner Deek Heycamp. “We have to look at those factors and the risks that your business faces. As we did that full analysis, the picture became clear: now is a really good time for us to go out and on our own terms … and off we go on our next adventure.”

Though Heycamp and Knudsen had planned to make their announcement public on May 19, the news was leaked on May 12.

The Sandy location opened with a welcome event facilitated by the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 1, 2017, with then Mayor Bill King cutting the ribbon on the new venture and Winter Fox owner Barbara Fox in attendance to congratulate and pass the torch to Heycamp and Knudsen.

“We’re saddened to hear about the closure of Next Adventure’s stores,” said Khrys Jones, executive director of the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve been a valued part of Oregon’s outdoor community, and their Sandy location has served as a vital resource for both residents and visitors to Mt. Hood. Local businesses like Next Adventure play a key role in supporting our regional economy and culture, and their absence will be felt.”

Next Adventure-Sandy has served everyone from snowboarders to paddle boarders, kayakers to climbers for nearly eight years, and Heycamp said they will miss serving that “wonderful community.”

“I will say that I don’t have a lot of regrets, but we had such big plans for that store,” Heycamp explained. “My regret is that we didn’t stay around long enough to build out the building. I would love it if someone was interested in completing that building.”

The Sandy shop has been recognized twice by the community for Best Outdoor Gear in the Gresham Outlook and Sandy Post’s Readers Choice awards, including this year. And over time, Heycamp was happy to say that the community started to see the store as a destination not only for winter recreation, but year-round excursions.

“I certainly want people to know we love the community and appreciate the support,” Heycamp added.

All Next Adventure locations will be closed Monday, May 26, and Tuesday, May 27, in preparation for their going out of business sale, which will kick off on Wednesday, May 28. The stores will remain open until all inventory is gone.

Heycamp is excited during that time to “go out the way we came in” and spend some time on the sales floor talking to customers and enjoying “the community that has been created” around Next Adventure.

When asked what he has planned for his retirement, Heycamp laughed and said: “The irony is that all the stuff we love to do is what we sell.”

He and Knudsen have plans to hit the river for kayaking, take mountain bikes up to Mount Hood, go on road trips on their motorcycles and more.

“I look forward to skiing in December on Mount Hood,” he explained. “I never get to ski in December; it’s Christmas. We started this business because we’re best friends and wanted to do adventures together. We’ve got some really good years left ahead of us to have some adventures. And hopefully the spirit of Next Adventure lives on.”