I'm Ian - from Seattle, and at Rainier Hat Co. we're dedicated to giving back to the places that inspire us every day. From the glaciers of Mount Rainier to the grand prismatic springs of Yellowstone, our national parks are treasures that deserve our support.
That's why we've made a commitment that goes beyond the norm: donating all our profits to these natural sanctuaries. It's not just about creating high-quality (and awesome) hats inspired by the beauty of the outdoors, it's about contributing to the preservation of these areas for future generations to enjoy.
This design was inspired by Spire Cove where the geology of the Kenai coast is impossible to ignore. Sea stacks rise from cold water as columns of rock that proved more resistant to erosion than the surrounding coastline, their dark faces streaked with guano and salt spray. Low clouds press down from the mountains behind the cove, pulling fog across the water and erasing the upper ridgelines entirely. You feel the cold before you locate its source, a wet marine air carrying the smell of kelp and brine.
Then the water between the stacks erupts. A humpback launches from below, its body clearing the surface and rotating onto its back before crashing down with a concussion of white water. The breach lasts only seconds but the sound carries across the cove long after the whale slips back under. From this vantage looking inland, the whale, the rock, and the fog all occupy the same frame while the Harding Icefield sits unseen above the clouds.
And don't forget the smell of whale breath.
Design Process
Creating these National Park hats with their panoramic embroidery is a detailed process going beyond simply buying and reselling bulk designs.
The first step is a deep dive into what makes each park unique. From the Bison of Yellowstone and the Roseated Spoonbills of the Everglades to the panoramic views of Angels Landing in Zion, our goal is to highlight the beauty of each park. We try to find a specific viewpoint in the park to show off and what we need to do to capture the feeling of being there. While sometimes we ad-lib a bit of the design to include other elements to capture the feeling of the park as a whole, we try hard to find an actual place in the park you can visit even giving you an exact Google maps QR code with every hat.
Then we get to designing! Embroidery is naturally limited in colors and we use a 15 color (the most you'll find) edgeless embroidery process which takes upwards of 90 minutes and over 60,000 stitches per hat, but allows us to show off every detail from that epic mountain range to the colorful flowers in your favorite park.
Finally the design get digitized for embroidery, a sample is made for any final tweaks, and we go to production getting these fantastic hats on your heads.
Spire Cove sits along the outer Kenai coast and is only accessible by water. Most visitors reach it aboard one of the day tour boats that depart from Seward, roughly 130 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway.
Tour operators run full day and half day trips along the coast from late spring through early fall, with many routes passing through or near the cove. Some water taxi services also offer drop off trips for sea kayakers who want to explore the shoreline at their own pace.
If you're planning a kayaking trip, the open water between Seward and the outer coast requires experience with cold water conditions and marine weather. The National Park Service visitor center in Seward is a good first stop for up to date information on sea conditions, wildlife activity, and camping permits for the coastal zone.
Weather along this stretch of coast shifts quickly and fog is a near constant presence during summer months. Layers and waterproof gear are practical necessities rather than optional additions. Booking a tour with a local operator who knows the area is the most reliable way to reach Spire Cove and have a reasonable chance of catching the kind of whale activity the design captures.
