Gear Abby Episode 2: Boots vs Trail Runners, Pee Funnels, GPS Watches & Cowboy Camping
- colin7931
- 1 day ago
- 28 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
In her second episode, Gear Abby once again delivers what host Shawnté Salabert promised when launching the show: unfiltered, funny, and useful outdoor advice you won’t find on a typical gear podcast. Joined by her “Partner In Gear,” producer Colin True, Shawnté takes on four new listener questions, ranging from the eternal “boots vs. trail runners” debate the timeless art of peeing while standing.
Here’s what went down in Episode 2.
Hiking Boots vs. Trail Runners: The Great Divide
The episode kicks off with one of the most polarizing questions in backpacking: Should you wear boots or trail runners?
Shawnté’s answer: it depends.
Boots: Rugged, long-lasting, protective, and still the gold standard for many hikers.
Trail Runners: Lightweight, quick-drying, blister-reducing, and the go-to for thru-hikers and anyone looking to move fast and light.
Shawnté admitted she’s firmly in the trail runner camp, ever since her Pacific Crest Trail days. Not only were they more comfortable, but they dried quickly after stream crossings and didn’t weigh down her pack like bulky boots.
Her advice? Pick the shoes that feel best on your feet, and maybe the ones least likely to make you slip onto a baby rattlesnake (yes, that actually happened to her before she switched to proper hiking shoes¹).
Pee Funnels: Do They Actually Work?
Next up, a listener asked about pee funnels and asks: are they worth it, or just awkward plastic gimmicks?
Shawnté’s verdict: They work… if you practice.
She recounted using a Freshette during a climb of Kilimanjaro, where she was able to pee standing up, fully clothed, without exposing so much as a butt cheek. The key, she emphasized, is practicing at home first ideally in the shower, then with pants on, and eventually outside.
Tips from Shawnté:
Make sure the funnel is snug against your skin to avoid leaks.
Start with low-pressure flow to minimize splash.
Rinse, shake, and store it in a sealed bag after use.
Though she usually prefers the classic squat, she admits pee funnels have their place whether on crowded mountainsides, long climbs, or for anyone chasing the dream of writing their name in the snow².
GPS Watches: Helpful Tool or Digital Dictator?
Another listener wanted to know if a GPS watch is actually necessary for trail running and hiking, or if it ruins the whole point of being outside.
Pre-watch Shawnté would’ve said “ditch the tech.” Post-watch Shawnté? She owns three GPS watches and admits they’ve made her a better(ish) runner.
Her first was the Garmin Forerunner 55, which she used to train for races and track progress through Garmin’s training programs and Strava³. She credits the watch with helping her set a personal 5K record during a delirious, jet-lagged relay race in Copenhagen.
The conclusion: While a watch won’t turn you into an Olympian, it can be a powerful motivator and training partner if you want to level up your running game.
Cowboy Camping: Worth the Risk?
Finally, the episode tackled cowboy camping — sleeping under the stars without a tent.
Shawnté confessed she actually enjoys it (sometimes), though she knows it’s not for everyone. Her cowboy camping résumé includes everything from Joshua Tree overnights to Pacific Crest Trail bear encounters.
Her system:
Lay down a ground cloth.
Create a “perimeter” of gear around her sleeping spot (a psychological barrier, if nothing else).
Use a bivy sack to cut down on condensation.
The risks? Wildlife, weather, and the undeniable “bearrito” factor (yes, she calls herself that when wrapped up in a sleeping bag on the ground).
The rewards? Incredible stargazing and the pure laziness of skipping tent setup. For nervous first-timers, she recommends cowboy camping with friends nearby for both protection and morale.
Episode Footnotes
The Clunky Hiking Boots: new band name.
No Kink Shaming On Gear Abby: t-shirts?
Listen to the Full Episode
This recap only scratches the surface, you’ll want to hear Shawnté’s full stories including the time she cowboy camped through a bear visit!
🎧 Listen to Gear Abby Episode 2 here or just click the player below.
And if you’ve got your own gear dilemmas, bodily function questions, or just want Shawnté to settle an outdoor debate, send your questions to deargearabby@gmail.com, they just might land in a future episode.
Episode Transcript (procured electronically, pardon the typos):
The Gear Abby Theme Song!
00:00:03.200 - 00:00:21.280
You got questions going out of your mind, Someone with answers. Now that's hard to find, like the what and the why and the how stuff works or just where to go to avoid all the jerks She's Gear Abby. Gear Abby.
Gear Abby. Advice that doesn't suck. Gear Abby.
Shawnte Salabert
00:00:21.840 - 00:01:17.190
Hello there, my outdoorsy friends, and welcome to Gear Abby, where we tackle the controversial and weird, obscure and taboo topics that other outdoor podcasts refuse to touch.
I'm Shawnté Salabert, an outdoor educator, writer, and former school social worker who's hiked, run, climbed, paddled, and adventured all across the United States and beyond.
And here on Gear Abby, I channel all that experience and more into answering your burning questions about our relationships with outdoor people, products, places, and pastimes. Because remember, my outdoor loving pals, there are no dumb questions, just smart advice. You know how this works.
You send questions to myrockfightmail.com and I pick my favorites to answer here on the show. And joining me today is my partner in gear, the producer of Gear Abby, and our official question slinger, Colin True.
Colin True
00:01:17.590 - 00:01:18.790
Thanks for not saying pig.
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:19.510 - 00:01:26.040
Not this time, at least. We've only just started recording this episode, so don't count your chickens.
Colin True
00:01:26.040 - 00:01:27.480
God, I thought. I thought we were through it.
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:27.880 - 00:01:30.520
I mean, this begs a question, Colin.
Colin True
00:01:30.520 - 00:01:31.000
Yeah?
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:31.240 - 00:01:38.560
Before you do, start whipping those questions my way, how does it feel to be but a mere comedic foil on someone else's podcast?
Colin True
00:01:38.560 - 00:01:45.680
Oh, I love it. Bring on second fiddle, second banana. What's the term we want to use? I'm into it. Yeah.
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:45.680 - 00:01:46.240
Is it pig?
Colin True
00:01:46.240 - 00:01:51.720
It's not pig. Maybe if I have to be called pig, I won't love it so much, Shantae.
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:52.210 - 00:01:56.490
Okay, fair. We'll work on it. We're working. Listen, this is the second episode ever of Gear Abbey, so.
Colin True
00:01:56.490 - 00:01:58.290
God damn it, I'm pig forever now.
Shawnte Salabert
00:01:58.850 - 00:02:00.250
I mean, it's two episodes.
Colin True
00:02:00.250 - 00:02:02.130
If it happens on two episodes, it sticks.
Shawnte Salabert
00:02:02.610 - 00:02:05.170
Listen, you did choose your own title.
Colin True
00:02:05.170 - 00:02:06.530
So I did actually.
Shawnte Salabert
00:02:07.810 - 00:02:16.690
Never forget. But here, since you have chosen that illustrious title and you are my partner in gear, what is your first question for me today?
Colin True
00:02:16.850 - 00:02:28.610
All right, here's our first question. It's from lugsoulover. Not a fighter. Dear Gear Abby. Okay, I'll make this quick with a classic backpacking question. Hiking boots or trail runners?
Shawnte Salabert
00:02:29.650 - 00:02:37.810
Ooh, Burn Lug sole. You should know that in the backpacking community, hiking boots are trail runners. That's essentially fighting words.
Colin True
00:02:39.010 - 00:02:59.470
Attention, Gear Abbey listeners.
This is your producer and partner in gear, Colin True speaking, and I wanted to let you know that, that sound you just heard, the one that sounded like this, that's your indication that there is a footnote available for you on the Gear Abbey episode companion article over on Rockflight. Co. Go check it out. To get even more from every episode of Gear Abbey.
Shawnte Salabert
00:02:59.790 - 00:03:21.820
Or I suppose they would be if this was an Internet forum or, you know, a Facebook group devoted to hiking where people spend about 900 times more energy fighting about the things like pack weight and, you know, whether or not people are inspired by wild or dumb than they do actually hiking. So, so, but this is not that. This is Gear Abby, where I'm here to help you. I can't vouch for Colin and whether or not he's here to help you.
Colin True
00:03:21.820 - 00:03:26.100
But I have opinions on this like everybody else who has hiked a step in their life for sure.
Shawnte Salabert
00:03:26.500 - 00:04:17.700
All right, you'll get your chance. You'll get your chance. Pig.
So anyway, Lug Soul, I am going to assume the very best in you, that you are not trying to poke at one of the oldest and frankly, in my opinion, most annoying controversies in the hiking world. And instead, you just want to know my earnest opinion on what footwear is best for you.
That you, that you are not some sort of jerk who wanted to ruffle my feathers like Colin, but someone with a deep desire to make real strides in their footwear choices. So, lug Soul, here's the truth. I, I. And certainly not 99.99% of the Internet.
Unless by the Internet you mean your personal podiatrist who's on Instagram can tell. I can't tell you what's best for you and your feet, only what's best for me and my feet. But since you open this can of worms, we're going to dive in.
All right? So, Colin, hold. Hold your thoughts.
Colin True
00:04:17.780 - 00:04:20.820
I am, I'm trying to be really good right now. We've had a lot of these conversations.
Shawnte Salabert
00:04:20.820 - 00:04:23.220
Over on hold your trail runners.
Colin True
00:04:23.220 - 00:04:23.500
Yes.
Shawnte Salabert
00:04:23.500 - 00:05:00.120
Hold your man sandals. All right, so Gear Abby's here to help you. Lug sole.
So boots have been the footwear of choice, of course, for wanderers since, you know, the invention of boots.
The idea that they come with some sort of the diet, the idea is that basically they come with some sort of rugged, grippy, outsole, shock absorbing, midsole foot cradling insole, and an upper made of, you know, leather or some other sturdy material that's, you know, high enough to theoretically add some extra stability to your ankle dynamics. Boots are tough, they are resilient, they last forever. They will protect Your feet, and they will give you superhuman abilities on trail.
Colin True
00:05:00.120 - 00:05:01.200
Wait, really? Is that true?
Shawnte Salabert
00:05:01.440 - 00:05:02.640
No, I made the last one up.
Colin True
00:05:02.960 - 00:05:03.680
That's true.
Shawnte Salabert
00:05:04.160 - 00:05:07.080
It's not true. Have you, have you discovered any superhuman abilities?
Colin True
00:05:07.080 - 00:05:09.040
Well, I might try again if that's.
Shawnte Salabert
00:05:09.120 - 00:06:22.160
That's true. Don't bother. Don't bother. That's what I'm here to say.
I mean, that's, that is, however, kind of the tried and true way people think about why hiking boots are superior. But let's talk about trail runners. My personal pick for about 900 reasons.
So trail runners came onto the shoe scene in the 80s once trail races became a thing and people needed something that toed the line, you might say, between road running shoes and clunky hiking boots.
So they're grippy and resilient on uneven terrain, but also light enough to not slow, slow you down when you're out there trying to pound through miles.
So the category has since exploded and become the favored shoes for a lot of long distance hikers and backpackers who have the same goals, moving light and fast over, you know, varied terrain.
So I think a lot of boot people kind of poo poo the idea of hauling a pack around while they're wearing trail runners because they say trail runners don't offer the same stability as a boot, the same weather protection as a boot, the same longevity as a boot. And they're not wrong. I mean, they don't.
But what these people don't realize is that people like through hikers are not looking for footwear that's going to last them through middle age. They're looking for something that's going to get them, you know, a couple hundred miles up the trail.
Colin True
00:06:22.480 - 00:06:25.520
I just want to jump in and say clunky hiking boots. New band name.
Shawnte Salabert
00:06:26.400 - 00:06:34.150
That's right. We're keeping. For, for those of you new to gear, Abbey, we're keeping a list of band names and T shirt slogans.
Colin True
00:06:34.230 - 00:06:39.590
So clunky the clunky hiking boots would be. I would go see them on a weekend night.
Shawnte Salabert
00:06:39.830 - 00:06:47.950
Yeah, I wouldn't. I want to know, in your mind, Colin, what. What style of music Are the CHB's?
Colin True
00:06:47.950 - 00:06:49.670
Wow. The clunky hiking boots.
Shawnte Salabert
00:06:50.390 - 00:06:52.150
Yeah. So you don't even have a vision, man.
Colin True
00:06:52.630 - 00:06:54.150
That could be all sorts of things.
Shawnte Salabert
00:06:54.390 - 00:06:55.150
No, that couldn't.
Colin True
00:06:55.150 - 00:06:59.510
I'm gonna get finished lugasoul here, then I'm gonna have an answer for you.
Shawnte Salabert
00:06:59.510 - 00:07:03.790
We'll see. I mean, my default answer for every single band name we come up with on this show is going to be.
Colin True
00:07:03.790 - 00:07:09.490
Prog I mean, it's kind of like a, it's a punk band like, that's reminiscent of like the Stiff Little Fingers.
Shawnte Salabert
00:07:09.970 - 00:08:43.300
Hmm. Okay, we'll workshop that. So anyway, I mean, I, I personally, I'm gonna tell you now, Luxel, I am a trail runner person.
I started when I started on the PCT and I pretty quickly started like I figured out that I not only looked like a thru hiker, but felt like one. And I was just all around, honestly more comfortable wearing a pair of trail runners. You know, my feet felt lighter.
I stopped getting blisters everywhere. We won't talk about my corns, which Colin has loved to talk about on the rock fight. No corns either.
And after getting wet, my trail runners dry pretty quickly.
So, you know, as a bonus, I, you know, whenever I stopped to swap into sandals like somewhere like the Sierra, I wasn't adding £4 to my pack when I tossed my shoes in there. So honestly, it was just a win, win, win for me. I'm a trail runner freak now. I also trail run, so I already have the house.
Although I do use different trail runners for hiking and running. But to be fair for anybody else considering this question, I started hiking in a pair of Converse sneakers.
So the only reason I actually ever got a real pair of hiking shoes, they were some, you know, ancient form of keens whose name I cannot remember is because I used to slip around like an ice skater when I was wearing those things and, and realized I needed something better because the worst thing that ever happened to me in those Converse, I was hiking in the Santa Monica mountains. I slipped, I fell right next to a baby rattlesnake.
Colin True
00:08:43.860 - 00:08:46.500
The worst kind of rattlesnake, I kid you not.
Shawnte Salabert
00:08:46.500 - 00:09:00.020
The next day I bought a pair of keens.
So basically my answer to this question logsoul is that you should pick the footwear that feels best on your foot that also creates the least likelihood of you slipping and landing on a poisonous reptile.
Colin True
00:09:00.140 - 00:09:05.900
When you put those keens on, did you feel like you needed to go right to Costco with all the other Saturday afternoon dads?
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:05.900 - 00:09:06.660
Suburban errands?
Colin True
00:09:06.660 - 00:09:07.380
Yeah, exactly.
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:07.380 - 00:09:13.340
Yes, yes, I did. I did. But I wasn't going to fall on a snake on my way to Costco. Which is a real plus in my opinion.
Colin True
00:09:13.340 - 00:09:18.500
You never know where the snakes are. Maybe they're, you know, buying their 30 pack of Dr. Pepper. Who knows?
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:18.500 - 00:09:23.180
They're in the soap aisle. Slipping around danger noodles.
Colin True
00:09:23.180 - 00:09:25.900
Got to lubricate my belly so I can get a better slither.
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:27.900 - 00:09:39.160
Wow, I feel like that you offered me absolutely zero to work with here, Colin. So I'd like to move away from what you just said as quickly as possible, please.
Hit me with another question that has nothing to do with slithering on your belly.
Colin True
00:09:40.200 - 00:09:42.640
I'm not slithering my belly. The snakes are.
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:42.640 - 00:09:44.600
Okay, that's all I'm imagining right now.
Colin True
00:09:45.560 - 00:09:58.920
All right, next question. Dear, dear Abby, have you ever had actual success with those female standing peeing things?
I had a silicone one and I still had to put my pants down and everything. It didn't really feel worth it. Signed, Angry Ray.
Shawnte Salabert
00:09:59.400 - 00:10:00.320
Angry Ray.
Colin True
00:10:00.320 - 00:10:01.720
Angry Ray is pissed.
Shawnte Salabert
00:10:02.520 - 00:10:05.940
No pun intended. Yes, it was. Was it?
Colin True
00:10:06.340 - 00:10:07.140
I hope so.
Shawnte Salabert
00:10:07.540 - 00:10:28.900
Your pun. Well, I. I'm going to say you intended it.
And I'm going to give you bonus points for that one because that was very good thinking on your toes there, buddy. I mean.
All right, so first of all, Angry Ray, I would say that I'm disappointed that this is a pee question and not a poop question, but honestly, I can talk about any and all bodily functions all day. It is my special gift.
Colin True
00:10:29.300 - 00:10:32.900
Come back later for Ghirabi's dissertation on the circulatory system.
Shawnte Salabert
00:10:34.400 - 00:10:39.680
We're going to talk about plasma. That's my ASMR podcast. It's just bodily fluid.
Colin True
00:10:39.760 - 00:10:41.600
Just all. All bodily functions.
Shawnte Salabert
00:10:42.000 - 00:12:02.810
So I'm going to make my real money, my fortunes. Ah. Well, I am. I'm thrilled that Angry Ray wrote in with this spectacular question.
So the short answer to your question, Ray, is yes, I've had success using what I would call a P funnel. I actually have the old school version of the freshet. It's like this. This thick plastic pink thing with a retractable tube sticking out of it.
It looks very medical, but it's. It's.
I got it back when I was doing a lot of climbing because I had these embarrassing to admit, but I had these kind of lofty and, as it turns out, deeply unrealistic ambitions of being, you know, high on the wall in El Cap, pretending I was Lynn. Lynn Hill, part two. Like, taking a really graceful pee break while freeing the nose.
Turns out I'm not really a big wall person or a person who ever in a million years is going to attempt to pee while wearing a cl. Um, but that thing did come in useful when I decided to hike Kilimanjaro. Um, so if you've never been Kilimanjaro, it's a big volcanic mass and it.
There's no trees once you get high up on this thing.
And so I will never Ever, ever forget the feeling of climbing on this completely exposed scree slope high in the mountain back to back with my guide Ayubu, while we both peed standing up. It was very powerful, very, very emotional moment for both of us, I'm sure.
Colin True
00:12:03.610 - 00:12:07.530
Is Ayubu used to peeing with a woman standing back to back with.
Shawnte Salabert
00:12:07.770 - 00:12:16.650
No. We didn't have much conversation while we were urinating opposite each other, so I like to think that that might have been his only time.
Colin True
00:12:17.530 - 00:12:21.130
But you're burned into Ayubu's memory.
Shawnte Salabert
00:12:21.530 - 00:12:24.930
Yeah, he did email me for a long time after that trip, so it's absolutely.
Colin True
00:12:24.930 - 00:12:26.010
Oh, so he was into it.
Shawnte Salabert
00:12:26.570 - 00:12:29.690
He may have been. I don't know. We don't judge on this podcast.
Colin True
00:12:32.500 - 00:12:34.340
No kink shaming on Gear Abbey.
Shawnte Salabert
00:12:34.420 - 00:13:04.960
No, exactly, exactly. But I will say T shirt slogan. That's actually, I would buy that T shirt even if it was my own T shirt that I made for my podcast. I'm buying it.
I'd like it as a tote bag as well.
No kink shaming and angry Ray, you will be pleased to know that I did not even have to expose 1 millimeter of butt cheek to Ayubu or anybody else on the mountain because the freshet was in fact tucked neatly into my pants where it belonged in the piece was flowing freely without any backsplash. It was a great experience.
Colin True
00:13:05.040 - 00:13:13.200
I felt I have to break in and ask, were you nervous? Were you a little. Like, I hope this works because if not, my pants are going to be soaked in pee for the rest of the time on this mountain.
Shawnte Salabert
00:13:13.840 - 00:15:10.700
No, because here's the thing, the secret is simple with these things. Practice at home a lot in your bathroom where you can splash around water sports.
So my recommendation, Ray, and anybody else who is, you know, pee funnel curious is start in the shower butt naked or Winnie the Pooh it if you want. You know, choice is yours. But basically wait until you master the basics of this thing before you try tucking it inside your pants.
Like that's, that's number one. So here's the deal. Whether yours is enclosed, some of them have kind of like got a situation of like an enclosed funnel you put your business in.
Or if it's one of the open funnels, you want to make sure that your bits are centered over it so that the pee goes into the funnel so that it can funnel away from your body. This is key.
I found that for the freshet, which is one of the enclosed ones, it was really important to have the top of the funnel kind of flush with my skin. So you are getting intimate with this device. Practice at home. So in the next, you want to do the best thing.
The most favorite part of this, which is aiming for any of us who do not have a penis like this, is exciting to be able to aim and pee because it's hard when you're squatting. So aim yourself at an appropriate target and pee into the funnel. That's really all it is. Not I get a quick shake. Not Iubo. No, that's back to back.
Back to back. If you're peeing with a companion, I mean, who am I to say no kink shaving on this podcast?
Give it a quick shake, rinse it off, tuck it into a Ziploc, or if it comes with a baggie, pop it in there so that you don't get pee all over your stuff. And once you've mastered this while butt naked or Winnie the Poohing in your shower, try aiming into the toilet.
Then add a pair of pants that you might likely wear outside and see if you could tuck it in without splashing around everywhere. So you just got to tuck that thing in back, you know, far enough so that it's going to catch everything and send it away from your body.
You want the business end of your urethra contained. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say.
Colin True
00:15:11.020 - 00:15:12.940
Wow, I am speechless.
Shawnte Salabert
00:15:15.020 - 00:15:16.620
My job here is done. Colin.
Colin True
00:15:16.780 - 00:15:23.620
I mean, would you, at this point, with the knowledge that you have of using your, you know, your she ness, would you. Would you rather.
Shawnte Salabert
00:15:24.820 - 00:15:25.540
I hate it.
Colin True
00:15:26.260 - 00:15:35.860
Would you rather go that route? Or would you just get a pair of pants from someone like Nara with the appropriate zipper in them so you could pop a squat with your pants on?
Shawnte Salabert
00:15:36.500 - 00:16:32.740
Yeah, no, those are great. I just feel like I would actually pee on myself more if I tried to pee directly through the pants. I feel like I need a. I need, like, a guide.
I need a helping hand to get out. So, I mean, honestly, personally, I never use my P funnel anymore because I love to pop a squat. I just feel a lot more free.
Uh, there was actually a time on the Pacific Crest Trail where I was hiking in a skirt for, like, two months on the trail, and I loved it because some days I would just squat, pull my underwear to the side, and go for it. It was so. And I'd still have my backpack on. I really felt like I was achieving something when I did that. Yeah. So inspiration for anyone who needs it.
But I would absolutely, you know, I would bust out this funnel thing again if I was In a crowded situation like Kilimanjaro or, you know, if I suddenly lost all. All fear of big wall climbing or if I just, you know, wanted to write my name in the snow.
Although, to be fair, I have done that, and it's harder than it looks. Have. Have you done that, Colin?
Colin True
00:16:32.740 - 00:16:34.300
Of course. Of course.
Shawnte Salabert
00:16:34.780 - 00:16:36.220
Did it look like your name when you were doing.
Colin True
00:16:36.220 - 00:16:42.920
Oh, I could write full on cur. I could spell my name, like, in cursive. Yeah, it's a talent. It's no big deal. This isn't about me.
Shawnte Salabert
00:16:43.480 - 00:16:49.560
I gotta bust out my fresh ET again and get my skills going. Do you raise any Dear Abby in the snow?
Colin True
00:16:49.560 - 00:16:52.440
Do you use a kula cloth regardless of the scenario here?
Shawnte Salabert
00:16:53.320 - 00:17:19.490
Oh, yeah, I love my kula cloth. I use that thing all the time. I feel like. I feel like someone will have a pee cloth question at some point.
Yeah, that's actually interviewed Anastasia from Kula, and she is amazing. Her backstory is super cool. But, yeah, I have. I think I have four or five kula cloths at this point.
I do only have one urethra, but five kula cloths just so I can. You know, it's like wearing a different outfit. Sometimes I want to dab with a cat. Sometimes I want to dab with the solar system.
Colin True
00:17:19.570 - 00:17:22.410
Where's the outdoor brand that's going to solve that problem? More urethras.
Shawnte Salabert
00:17:22.410 - 00:17:22.770
Right?
Colin True
00:17:22.850 - 00:17:23.970
More urethras.
Shawnte Salabert
00:17:24.770 - 00:17:39.390
Actually, one is fine for me. I'm good. All right, Colin, so we've come in pretty strong today. We got hiking boots versus trail runners. We've talked about pee.
What do you have for me next? I don't know whether to be excited or afraid.
Colin True
00:17:40.670 - 00:17:44.030
Well, we have it. This is a bit of a longer question. Are you ready?
Shawnte Salabert
00:17:44.350 - 00:17:44.870
Okay.
Colin True
00:17:44.870 - 00:17:47.630
I feel like this is gonna be the centerpiece of the episode.
Shawnte Salabert
00:17:48.430 - 00:17:52.270
Oh, that's so. I don't know what you saying. That just felt very French. Like.
Colin True
00:17:54.510 - 00:17:56.670
I'm not even gonna do it. I'm not gonna go to French restaurant.
Shawnte Salabert
00:17:58.190 - 00:17:59.590
I don't wanna hear your version of French.
Colin True
00:17:59.590 - 00:18:01.310
No, I'm not the French. Definitely don't want that.
Shawnte Salabert
00:18:01.470 - 00:18:03.070
Sent a piece of this portrait.
Colin True
00:18:03.710 - 00:18:04.870
Why do you get to do it?
Shawnte Salabert
00:18:04.870 - 00:18:06.870
All right, I'm partially French.
Colin True
00:18:06.870 - 00:18:35.210
Okay. So am I. Ch. Dear Gear Abby, I'm a hiker and trail runner, and one of my favorite things about getting out in nature is disconnecting from technology.
But I'm also kind of competitive, and I want to keep leveling up, especially as a runner.
Up until now, I've resisted wearing a GPS watch, but I know so many people who say that I need to start using one if I want to take my running more seriously. Are they full of it or can a watch really up my game? Signed Koros Curious in Flagstaff.
Shawnte Salabert
00:18:36.080 - 00:18:45.760
Oh, first of all, I love that signature. People, please get creative when you send in your emails. Second of all, I got you, buddy. Koro's Curious.
Colin True
00:18:45.920 - 00:18:48.160
Are you saying that Angry Ray was not creative?
Shawnte Salabert
00:18:48.480 - 00:18:55.720
Oh, no. Angry Ray is great. I want to know what makes Ray angry. Is it peeing all over themselves? Like, while I think the Winnie the.
Colin True
00:18:55.720 - 00:18:59.480
Pooh advice gave is really what ultimately is going to make her not angry.
Shawnte Salabert
00:18:59.480 - 00:19:50.590
But. Okay, sorry, that's. I mean, Winnie the Pooing solves a lot of problems in life, like airflow issues, all sorts of things did for my dad.
I don't even know what that means. Terrifying. Okay, we're going to leave that one alone and we're going to move into this. Great question that chorus Curious sent.
So if, if you'd asked this question of pre watch Shantae, I would say that your friends are indeed full of it. Because the last thing I want to do while I'm trail running, hiking, backpacking, any of that is to allow a tiny computer to sort of ruin my.
Personally, I think being tethered to a cell phone is bad enough. Like, why the hell would I want a little digital dictator on my wrist? But you are asking this question of post. Post Watch Shantae.
Post watch gear Abbey. I now own not one, but three GPS watches.
Colin True
00:19:50.670 - 00:19:51.390
Obsessed.
Shawnte Salabert
00:19:51.790 - 00:21:00.500
So. So let me start with a little story. Okay, so basically a couple years ago, I go to Copenhagen. I'm gonna go visit my bestie who moved there.
And she asks me a couple weeks before I head over, hey, do you want to run a 5k with me? It's something doing. I was like, yeah, that sounds great. Um, couple days before I get there, she's like, oh, I got some details wrong.
It's a relay race, 5K. So there's five people on each team and each of them is running the 5K. And it's a couple hours after you land.
So me being the luckiest person on the planet, I land in Copenhagen. My train gets stuck between the airport and the city for something like two hours.
So I have an hour to get to her place and then she tells me We've got a 30 minute walk to the park. So we get to the park. I am exhausted, I'm delirious, I'm thrilled to be there. I chug a Carlsberg. I am ready to go when that baton does, right?
Dude, that baton hit my hand and I took off like a Gouda fueled bat out of hell. And I, at some point I looked down at my watch and I was running an eight minute mile, which I have never done in this life.
So I was blazing, I was mouth breathing a lot. Just pure success.
Colin True
00:21:02.020 - 00:21:06.340
Where does the watch play into this versus the Gouda and the Carlsberg?
Shawnte Salabert
00:21:06.500 - 00:21:06.940
I think.
Colin True
00:21:06.940 - 00:21:07.460
Come on.
Shawnte Salabert
00:21:07.940 - 00:22:30.060
All right, listen, everybody wants to talk about cheese. Let's get to the watches. So I had a Forerunner 55. It's my very first GPS watch. It's kind of like a basic, great intro running watch.
And I had that on my wrist. I'd been training with it for months before this, so I had been training for a half marathon. And the watch comes with little programs built into it.
The app that comes with it, the Garmin app, has programs built into it. I'd been using these and I'd been, I had been in fact leveling up my running game.
And I finished this 5k with my fastest 5k time ever in my entire life. Set a personal record. And I have to say, like, at one point I kind of looked down at the watch and I was like, yeah, buddy. No.
But yeah, it was a wild. It was a wild experience. But I, I do credit the watch for helping me sort of level things up. But to be fair. So Coral's curious. Here's the thing.
Keep this in mind.
Just like Red Bull cannot actually make you spontaneously sprout wings, Nikes cannot actually help you fly, a GPS watch is not going to magically turn you into Sha' Carri Richardson, so. But depending on how you use it, it can be a great training tool and a great way to measure progress in your sport of choice.
So screw your friends, do what you want. Just get out there and have fun and enjoy running for running sake. And if the watch helps you do that, more power to you gear.
Colin True
00:22:30.060 - 00:22:37.380
Abby colon. Screw your friends. Do what you want another T shirt? I think I do want to ask, did you run just. It was a relay race, so.
Shawnte Salabert
00:22:37.380 - 00:22:37.740
Yes.
Colin True
00:22:37.740 - 00:22:40.940
Did you just run 1k as part of a five person team?
Shawnte Salabert
00:22:40.940 - 00:22:46.020
No, no, no. Everybody was doing a 5k. And get this, they had me slotted in the last place.
Colin True
00:22:46.100 - 00:22:46.660
You were the.
Shawnte Salabert
00:22:47.380 - 00:22:59.650
Yeah, I was. Cuz they're like, you don't live here, we don't know you. And in fact, Brook's boss kept calling me Brooke's friend instead of my actual name.
So I was listed on the team roster in slot number five as Brook's friend.
Colin True
00:22:59.810 - 00:23:01.690
That's the best. That's the best.
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:01.690 - 00:23:08.049
Yeah, I felt really loved. Well, Colin, I'm a little sad that we're here already.
Colin True
00:23:08.450 - 00:23:09.490
Where are we? Where are we?
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:10.210 - 00:23:16.370
We are here on planet Earth. You may not have been aware. We are also here at the final question for this episode.
Colin True
00:23:16.610 - 00:23:17.170
Okay.
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:17.410 - 00:23:18.050
Are you ready?
Colin True
00:23:18.210 - 00:23:23.290
I'm quite ready. This is a good one. I'm actually really curious to hear what. Yeah, no, I'm very curious to hear what you're gonna say about this one.
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:23.530 - 00:23:26.250
I'm very curious to hear what you're gonna say about it. I don't even know what it is.
Colin True
00:23:26.490 - 00:23:32.890
Dear Gear Abby. Does anyone actually like cowboy camping? Signed Eric J.
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:34.730 - 00:23:55.570
Wow, this one feels like a personal attack. But maybe that's cause I'm still a little heated from the boots vs trail runners discussion earlier. Maybe battle royale of hiking today.
All right, so first I feel like we have to define cowboy camping because I bet a lot of people are not familiar with that term. Colin, when you hear cowboy camping, what do you think?
Colin True
00:23:55.730 - 00:23:57.490
Camping with a cowboy hat on.
Shawnte Salabert
00:23:59.410 - 00:24:00.210
Terrible. Guess.
Colin True
00:24:00.370 - 00:24:02.450
No, obviously just camping out in the open.
Shawnte Salabert
00:24:03.490 - 00:24:05.090
Camping out in that. Well, be specific.
Colin True
00:24:05.090 - 00:24:09.410
That's on the ground with nothing over you. Like just, you know, bare bones. Basics.
Shawnte Salabert
00:24:09.490 - 00:24:11.490
Yeah, just tent naked.
Colin True
00:24:11.490 - 00:24:16.370
Just tent. Just, you know, maybe I don't even think a bivvy. Right. Just sleeping bag on the dirt, you know.
Shawnte Salabert
00:24:16.930 - 00:26:16.180
Yeah. All right, so yeah, cowboy camping is. I mean Colin didn't describe it great, but that's fine because he's not the host.
So cowboy camping I think of as. Yeah, just being out one with nature. You're not using a tent. You might use a little like bivvy to keep your sleeping bag dry.
But the idea is that you're out there, you know, getting full access to the night sky. Great for stargazing. You.
You don't want to carry a tent maybe because your pack is super heavy or you're too lazy to set up your tent if you're carrying it with. Or maybe you forgot your tent at home. There are a lot of reasons people might cowboy camp. My reason for starting to cowboy camp was that I very.
The very first time I tried it, I was in Joshua Tree. So I was a student in something called the Sierra Club's wilderness travel course, which is a 10 week. I know, so fancy. Yeah.
Don't you wish you could have taken it? No, you do, it's great. I ended up becoming an instructor. I taught it for like six years. But it's an outdoor skills class.
You do a Bunch of field trips. Yeah, well, you're too old now. You're not actually. But in my. I'm not going to let them allow you to take the class just because you're being salty.
Anyway, Colin, I was in Joshua Tree. We're going back to the desert now, buddy. Stay with me.
In Joshua Tree, you got to take, you got to do a couple field trips to graduate from this class. So I chose one to a peak in Joshua Tree that required some cross country travel across the desert. We're going to climb this peak. Do a thing.
The only issue is that it was May and it was absolutely broiling outside, like satanically hot. So I knew I was going to have to carry 7 liters of liquid for this trip.
That is, if you are doing the math, six liters of water, one liter of wine since there wouldn't be any natural sources out there. So I decided to. Sadly, no girl can dream. I'm actually more of a whiskey girl, if I'm being honest.
But you don't want to bring a leader whiskey on a trip unless you don't want to make it home.
Colin True
00:26:16.180 - 00:26:19.620
Yeah, you might. Depending on that. Sounds pretty hot. You might want that whiskey.
Shawnte Salabert
00:26:19.860 - 00:27:05.550
Yolo. Anyway, I decided like if there was a trip where I was going to try cowboy camping, it was going to be this one where my pack was so freaking heavy.
So I left my tent at home. Brave the wild. So here's my method. Okay, Eric J. To enjoy, quote, enjoy cowboy camping is that for me.
I have to lay down a ground cloth, put down my sleeping pad, my sleeping bag, and then I set up a perimeter. So the perimeter, if you're wondering, is just basically me outlining my ground cloth with every single object in my path.
That is not part of my sleeping setup.
There is absolutely no tarantula, rattlesnake, mountain lion alive who can fight through my highly secure perimeter constructed of top grade contact solution fuel, cookware, extra socks, and so much more.
Colin True
00:27:06.510 - 00:27:09.990
I feel like this is the equivalent of my leg is under the covers.
Shawnte Salabert
00:27:09.990 - 00:27:28.090
The monster can't get me 900%. I am that person. When I get into bed at night, I have my nightstand, my light is right next to me.
I flick that light off and then leap into the bed like the ground is lava. I just. The monster cannot touch my foot. Even in the dead heat of summer. My feet have to be covered. Wow.
Colin True
00:27:28.570 - 00:27:30.250
Learning so much about you this episode.
Shawnte Salabert
00:27:30.570 - 00:29:04.790
It's true. Gear Abby. She's a deep well. Well, if you want to know though, Colin and Eric J.
Just how secure this Perimeter, this impenetrable Fortis fortress that I create is know that during a trip on the pct, I woke up in the middle of the night once thinking that something was kind of walking around behind me.
I thought I heard a grunt, like a little, um, but I decided I probably didn't because honestly, I wear earplugs so that I can't hear what's coming for me in the night. Um, but I was tired as hell, so I fell right back asleep.
However, I woke up the next morning and saw bear prints passing just above my head outside the perimeter. And so, other than the contact solution being knocked over, my invincibility barrier remained intact.
It should be noted here that I do refer to cowboy camping as turning yourself into a burrito. So just keep that in mind if you decide to try it. But no, really, I've. I've done it a bunch of times since in the desert and the mountains.
And as long as the weather forecast is solid, I do, I do like it. I enjoy it.
The stargazing is pretty excellent as is sort of indulging in my own inherent laziness that comes with not having to set up my tent or take it down the next morning. You can get some condensation on your gear. That's where the bivy can come in.
But you just don't want to have your face in there creating more condensation.
Um, but really, I think ultimately cowboy camping is a psychological battle royale, you know, so consider those first experiences out there to be kind of exposure therapy. Colin, have you done it before?
Colin True
00:29:05.910 - 00:29:12.710
No, actually, the only time I did something on the ground before, but we always had a tent, like kind of a tarp. Not so. No, never have.
Shawnte Salabert
00:29:13.030 - 00:29:15.030
Boring. Not hardcore enough for me.
Colin True
00:29:15.430 - 00:29:25.110
Well, I actually am in tune with reality and understand that that impenetrable fortress is bullshit, so. And I will die from a snake bite.
Shawnte Salabert
00:29:25.190 - 00:30:35.690
I regret asking you for your opinion. This is for Eric J. And anyone else who's curious about cowboy camping. First of all, don't listen to Colin. Try the perimeter.
Second, if you are still worried about waking up with a coyote spooning with you or, you know, a rattlesnake curled on top of you, the most important advice is to make sure that you have a tent or tarp set up nearby that you can kind of go into if you get spooked. And also, I highly recommend invite several people to join you.
Make sure they're also cowboy camping and make sure they're, you know, strategically scattered around your campsite. Sleep tight, Eric J. Well going to leave you with that. That is it for this episode of Gear Abby.
Until next time, send your burning questions about your relationships with outdoor people, products, places and pastimes to us over@myrockfightmail.com and I'm going to do my best to answer them or find someone else who can. Today's episode was produced by Deep, David Karstad and Colin True. Art direction provided by Sarah Gensert. And I'm Shantae Salibair, AKA Gear Abbey.
And remember, there are no dumb questions, just smart advice.