Gear Abby: How to Correct Jerks, Survive Mountain Towns, and Love New York (featuring Katie Burrell!)
- colin7931
- 1 day ago
- 44 min read
In the latest episode of Gear Abby, host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True welcome filmmaker and comedian Katie Burrell for a no-holds-barred conversation that spans trail etiquette, dating in ski towns, life in the city, and the eternal debate over trekking-pole tents. Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, this one hits every corner of outdoor culture; from confrontation to connection.
Pre-Question: “The Enforcer” Return
Question 1: How (and When) to Correct Jerks Outdoors
Listener Angry Rae writes in wondering when it’s okay to call out bad trail behavior—think unleashed dogs, loud music, and Leave No Trace lapses. Shawnté advises choosing empathy over ego:
Check your intent: Is it about safety or self-righteousness?
Lead with curiosity: Start gentle—“Hey, quick question…”
Pick your battles: If it’s not harming anyone, maybe just move along.
Question 2: How to Find Non-Assholes in Mountain Towns (feat. Katie Burrell)
A listener struggling to meet decent people in outdoor enclaves gets backup from Katie Burrell, who brings sharp humor and dead-serious insight. Together, the trio maps out survival strategies for mountain-town social life:
Avoid the ego traps: “main character energy” is a red flag, not a requirement.
Mom's got it going on: pesky pregnancies tend to slow down former hard chargers. Seek out pre-natal yoga, late afternoon bluegrass concerts, and 'mom and me' swim time.
Question 3: Loving (and Living) in New York City
Next up, a listener wonders if moving to NYC means giving up their outdoor soul. Shawnté and Colin insist the opposite: being outdoorsy is a mindset, not a zip code. Their survival guide for city dwellers:
Find your micro-adventures: Prospect Park, Hudson Valley, the Gunks... NYC’s outdoor orbit is vast.
Join your people: local gyms, meetups, and running crews keep the community alive.
Reframe your identity: The outdoors doesn’t start at a trailhead, it starts when you care enough to keep seeking it.
Question 4: Trekking-Pole Tents: Genius or Gimmick?
The final letter asks whether trekking-pole shelters are worth the hype. The consensus: yes, but only if you know what you’re doing.
Pros: lighter weight, packable, minimalist.
Cons: finicky set-up, condensation quirks, and the awkward moment when your tent’s up but you still need your poles.
The Takeaway
Episode 11 distills Gear Abby’s essence: empathy, irreverence, and a practical approach to modern outdoor life. Whether you’re deciding when to call out bad behavior, trying to meet non-assholes in Revelstoke, finding joy in the concrete jungle, or staking down a trekking-pole tent, Shawnté reminds us that the outdoors is for everyone (jerks excluded).
Episode Bings (aka Footnotes)
LEASH YOUR GODDAM DOGS!
What do you mean you missed episode one? Listen here.
Note from Colin: I lost track.
Listen to Shawnté win on this episode of The Rock Fight (Colin’s note: She totally cheated somehow!I can't prove it... yet.)
Read Shawnté's ode to tents here.
Should we make Tent Nasty t-shirts?
FYI, we recorded this before Halloween had actually happened.
Listen to the Full Episode
This recap only scratches the surface, listen to all of Gear Abby Episode 11 here or just click the player below.
If you’ve got your own gear dilemmas, want to safely discuss how you like to smell your outdoorsy underwear, or just want Shawnté to settle a debate, send your questions to deargearabby@gmail.com, they just might land in a future episode.
Episode Transcript:
Shawnté Salabert
00:00:03.200 - 00:01:25.540
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.
Hello there, my outdoorsy friends, and welcome to Gear Abbey, where we tackle the controversial, weird, obscure and taboo topics that other outdoor podcasts refuse to touch.
I'm
Shantae Salibair, an outdoor educator, writer, former school social worker, and tarot carve reader who's hiked, run, climbed, paddled, and adventured across the United States and beyond.
And here on Gear Abbey 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. All right, my friends, you know how this works.
You're going to send your questions into Dear gear abby, mail.com. just keep them flowing. I love it. It gives me a reason to check my email every day. And I'm going to pick my favorites to answer here on the show.
With the man joining us today, as he always does, my partner in gear, the producer of Gear Abby, and a guy who's able to quote extensively from the art house film Vertical Limit, Colin True.
Colin True
00:01:26.020 - 00:01:41.140
Shantae, I've been thinking. I've been thinking a lot about dad. We should have gotten him. We shouldn't have gotten him a grave. We should have come up here with his ashes.
He said this is where he was happiest. He was a climber. I think every real climber would want to stay on the mountain. What do you think?
Shawnté Salabert
00:01:41.140 - 00:01:46.580
Wow. That was. I feel like I was on the mountain. Colin, that's. Did you feel like you're back.
Colin True
00:01:46.660 - 00:01:47.740
Would you feel like you're back in the movie?
Shawnté Salabert
00:01:47.740 - 00:01:52.480
I felt like I was in the movie. I feel like very cold. Am I Robin? Tony, You're Chris o'. Donnel. That. Yes.
Colin True
00:01:52.560 - 00:01:57.120
That was actually Robin. That was actually Robin. Yeah, yeah. We're doing a little gender swap here.
Shawnté Salabert
00:01:57.200 - 00:02:05.360
Robin Tunney. I mean, come on, seriously, being the craft, I mean, you know, listener poll. Who wouldn't want to be Robin Tunney?
Colin True
00:02:05.520 - 00:02:09.120
She can mountaineer with nitroglycerin and do witchcraft every.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:09.120 - 00:02:28.040
You know, that's. Listen, listener. Listen, listeners. If you have not seen Vertical Limit, if you want to be on Collins, good side this year. Very. Go, go watch it.
It's a. It's an impressive film. It should have won any. Every Oscar. All the Oscars the Oscar for best. Yeah, I'm best. Suspension of disbelief.
Colin True
00:02:29.560 - 00:02:37.440
I'm not gonna let you put all of the Vertical Limit love on me. You are an equal enthusiast Inverter Comes the Vertical Limit and the ridiculousness of that movie.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:37.440 - 00:02:44.120
That's fair. I'll take it. I'll take it. I feel like we really had a strong start today, Colin. Just.
Colin True
00:02:44.280 - 00:02:45.120
We got Robin Tunney.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:45.120 - 00:02:48.200
We got Robin Tunney, the number one Robin Tunney fan club over here.
Colin True
00:02:48.840 - 00:02:54.480
Should we just pivot to a Robin Tunney fan podcast? Is that what we should do instead of this outdoor bullshit that we're always talking about?
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:54.480 - 00:02:56.600
Yeah. At some point we're going to run out of topics, right?
Colin True
00:02:57.160 - 00:02:57.560
Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:57.800 - 00:03:03.640
I don't know. Well, until then, I think we do have a few legit listener questions this week, so why don't you kick things off?
Colin True
00:03:04.200 - 00:03:33.020
I hope you're excited. We have a. We have a repeat listener.
Dear Gear Abby, how do people in general feel about the etiquette of speaking to other hikers, et cetera, who have bad practices and like littering, playing loud music, having pets in no pet and no pet areas, et cetera? On one hand, I know it can feel very obnoxious.
On the other hand, if you do it without being shitty or assuming ill intent, maybe it can help educate people who do genuinely want to be good members of the community. Signed Angry Ray.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:33.100 - 00:03:36.700
Oh, yeah, Angry Ray is back. I love it. And still angry.
Colin True
00:03:37.100 - 00:03:42.100
Yeah, I maybe should have read that. A little more angry. She's trying not to be angry, but I feel like she's very angry.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:42.100 - 00:04:40.580
Maybe Ray wants to be less angry.
But Ray, you do raise a great question about whether it is even just a good idea to interact with people that you perceive as being in the wrong when you're out having a nice time in nature. And notice my emphasis on perceive.
And if so, how do you do it in a way that will actually encourage learning and maybe even help them deepen their experience in the out of doors? So I want to be clear. So Ray here is not talking about. Ray is talking about issues of etiquette, not talking about issues of immediate safety.
And to me, this is kind of where it gets sticky whether or not you're talking about simple etiquette, say, like somebody whose dogs are running around unleashed on a busy, you know, at a busy crag or whatever, or somebody, quote, breaking posted rules, like riding a bike on a trail where it's prohibited. By deciding to speak up, you are essentially deciding to take on the role of enforcer. I don't know why I had to say that in a deeper voice.
Colin, you. Can you say enforcer for me, please?
Colin True
00:04:40.900 - 00:04:41.780
Enforcer.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:42.340 - 00:04:45.300
That's right. Do you do voiceovers? You should really do voiceover work.
Colin True
00:04:45.300 - 00:04:45.940
Maybe I should.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:46.100 - 00:04:50.580
I can't believe you don't. I can believe I don't because every time I listen, I spend the rest.
Colin True
00:04:50.580 - 00:04:57.460
Of this episode googling that, you know, no focus. That's a good point. You should as well. No, again, should we just ditch this whole outdoor podcast?
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:57.620 - 00:04:58.020
Right.
Colin True
00:04:58.340 - 00:05:00.260
Rob and Tunney, voiceovers. Let's go.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:00.260 - 00:05:05.140
It's very specific, but yeah. So you're, you're basically going to be the. Say it again.
Colin True
00:05:05.620 - 00:05:06.580
Enforcer.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:06.580 - 00:05:13.120
Thank you. You know, so even if you're coming at it from an educational perspective, so it's something to sit with for moment.
Colin True
00:05:13.200 - 00:05:15.520
This. This is a little hairy. This is a little hairy, this one.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:15.520 - 00:05:27.840
It really is. It is. And there's going to be people who like my answer, people who do not. And that's okay. You can always write into.
Dear Gear Abby, if you've been a loyal listener so far, you know that we just recently had a listener feedback email that was very passionate.
Colin True
00:05:28.479 - 00:05:39.200
Yes. And it, and, and we've all thought these things.
I don't know what you're going to say to Angry Ray, but I know that we have all encountered these feelings while out and about in nature.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:39.200 - 00:06:19.320
Oh, absolutely. And that's the thing. That's where it gets sticky, like you said.
It's like, all right, if somebody is being unsafe and you think someone' going to get hurt or, you know, start a fire or something. Okay, no question in my mind.
But, you know, I, I say this in a non judgmental way because again, we've all been, I think most of us have been on this side where we're trying to figure out, like, should I say something, should I not?
But when these scenarios come up in real life, try to pause for a second and just think about why you might want to interact with this person and the outcome you hope to achieve. And this might be a painful thing to hear, but I find that a lot of the time we really want to talk to people about what they're doing.
Not because we want to educate them or like make a stronger outdoor community, but because, honestly, we find their behavior annoying as shit.
Colin True
00:06:19.400 - 00:06:26.760
Like, well, yes, that's the truth. Sorry, not to chime in on this, but yes, that's exactly what this is. There's a lot of subjectivity around some of these things too.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:26.840 - 00:06:48.200
It really is. And again, it goes back to like, are you a park ranger? Do you want to be a park ranger? Maybe you should get that job. But let's.
Let's dig in and let's. Let's actually think about this beyond.
So for somebody like me, who's been educating others about the outdoors since I first ran the nature lodge at summer camp 900 years ago, and for somebody, again, me, who seems to be growing a little crankier in general by the hour. Thank you. Hormones.
Colin True
00:06:49.380 - 00:06:52.980
You just said you're 900 years old. You could be a little cranky. It's okay.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:52.980 - 00:06:56.700
Thank you. Thank you. Now that I've got bursitis and corns, what else?
Colin True
00:06:56.700 - 00:06:57.140
Have we talked?
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:57.140 - 00:06:58.580
Have we talked about my arthritis yet?
Colin True
00:06:59.060 - 00:07:00.460
Do you have corns on your bursitis?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:00.460 - 00:07:09.620
Oh, not yet, but we'll see. Maybe after this episode. That's why we got to pivot to voiceovers. I need less activity in my life, apparently, enforcer.
Colin True
00:07:10.660 - 00:07:11.820
But yeah, not there.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:11.820 - 00:08:03.570
Not there. No, that's great. Just keep it up. We'll see if we can find some more words for you to enunciate on this episode.
But yeah, I think there's very few times these days when I actually will approach a stranger about their behavior outside unless I really do think it's a safety issue. But if I do decide to talk to somebody, my basics are this. I'm going to check in with myself first.
Do I think this interaction is actually going to result in not just them changing their behavior in this moment, but maybe also causing, you know, like creating a new neural pathway, if you will, a new way of thinking about things? Can I actually help them have a deeper relationship to whatever they're doing?
You know, so in these cases, I do go in with good intent, as you mentioned, Ray, I think that's really important is to assume the best out of each other. And I try to go in gentle. I'm not rushing up to somebody finger wagging and telling them, bad hiker. Actually, you could do that one, Colin. Bad hiker.
Colin True
00:08:04.130 - 00:08:05.250
Bad hiker.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:07.490 - 00:08:22.870
It freaks me out how good you are at this. Okay, so we're not doing that, right. So if we go back to our infancy little baby, episode one of Gear Abby, some of you might recall.
I know, she was so cute back then. Now she's just full of deep voice men saying things.
Colin True
00:08:22.870 - 00:08:23.670
Enforce her.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:23.670 - 00:08:29.630
Enforcer. I feel like I have to say it like a jet. Like the enforcer that. No, I can't.
Colin True
00:08:29.630 - 00:08:31.150
I like, I like that. I know that works.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:31.230 - 00:08:33.270
Yeah, like I'm snapping. I'm in a jazz Club.
Colin True
00:08:33.270 - 00:08:36.750
It's like a, like, you know, like a. Like a disco artist from the 70s or something.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:37.470 - 00:08:44.670
Disco. Or maybe like a little trip hop maybe. I'm getting moody. I'm gonna workshop this later. Okay, the first, I should answer Ray's question.
Colin True
00:08:44.830 - 00:08:46.630
I was hearing Ray yelling, get on with it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:46.630 - 00:09:56.170
Ray was just like, shut up. Shut up, Shantae. Okay, shut up. But keep talking. So anyway, go back to episode one. You might recall a little story about the guy.
I mentioned this in passing, but the guy who walked past a group of us who were sitting at a lake and there were some young women that were next to us and they had their tents pretty close to the water. And this guy just like straight up yelled across, fuck the 100 foot rule, huh? Like, remember that guy? That is how we don't. We don't want to do that.
The. You know, this is exactly. You don't want to be an obnoxious asshole. Know it all. Who just charges straight out of the gate with aggression.
You are not going to change people. People's minds that way. You're honestly more likely to ramp up some bad interaction by doing it that way. Because no, you know, it just.
Again, you don't need to be the enforcer. The world is not a Facebook comment section.
We are all actual real life human beings who deserve to be treated with the, like, a base level of respect until proven otherwise. So here's what I would do. Be kind and curious and again, assume good intent.
I'm thinking about a time I was camping near a group of people who had their radio blasting like, well past quiet hours at the campground and a couple of people had al already done the whole shut up thing from their tents.
Colin True
00:09:56.170 - 00:09:58.090
You know, I've been that guy, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:58.090 - 00:09:58.850
I think we've all been that.
Colin True
00:09:58.850 - 00:09:59.210
I don't really.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:59.210 - 00:09:59.410
I'm.
Colin True
00:09:59.410 - 00:10:05.090
I'm too lazy or I don't know the balls to get out of my tent right now. So I'm just going to yell, shut up. And hopefully they'll like, oh, yeah, sorry.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:05.090 - 00:10:08.450
It'S the lazy person. Like, fist shaking. Yeah, exactly.
Colin True
00:10:08.450 - 00:10:08.930
Yes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:09.650 - 00:11:49.870
But yeah, nothing changed. You know, the music's still going. So at this point, this has happened to me at other campgrounds.
This is why I usually don't stay in front country campgrounds. But I usually at this point will either. Like, I already had my earplugs in. I could hear them through it.
So at this point I'm like, all right, is this a. Just go cut my losses. Join. See if they'll let me sit at the campfire moment. So I wandered over to say hi and kind of assess the situation.
And before I could even say hello, one of the guys who was sitting there just kind of popped up. They were all about college age. And he just popped up and apologized immediately. He's like, I'm so sorry. And he told me they lived in la.
I was like, me too. He's like, this is our first time camping. We have never done this before. And as soon as it got dark out, we all got freaked out.
We're, like, afraid of animals. We're afraid to sleep, you know, so we figured if we kept the radio on, at least it would scare away the animals.
And so I was like, oh, man, I get it. Like, of course I can have compassion for that. Like, sure, it can still be annoying at the same time that I can have compassion for it.
So I don't know, I just sat down there with them for a little bit and shot the shit and talked to them about it. Like, oh, I get it. I, you know, I've been doing this for a while, but I remember being afraid.
And this is why I wear earplugs, because I don't want to hear what's coming for me in the middle of the night. They're like, oh, that's not a bad idea.
But, you know, so they ended up going to bed and I went to bed, and in the morning, that guy came up to me and he thanked me for not being mean. He's like, thank you for being nice and for helping us out. It actually helped us all feel a lot more comfortable.
So I. I really do think, like, approaching people with kindness is the way to go. Assume that they just don't know if you really feel like you have to say something.
But I will say, then again, I've absolutely had people to tell me to fuck off. So there's that. Choose your battles, Ray.
Colin True
00:11:50.790 - 00:12:24.490
I think it comes down to your. The second choice if you decide to engage, right?
Because it's like, I'll often, especially mountain biking, if someone's doing a poor etiquette thing of like, you know, they're not yielding to the uphill, to hikers or the uphill riders, whatever. I'll just. If I'm like, hey, uphill riders have the right of way. And just like, hopefully it lands.
And then also if their response is like, you know, fuck you, dickhead. It's like, okay, I'm just gonna keep on. You're not interested in having this conversation, so I'm just gonna keep on with my Day.
I tried to, but if I. At that point, a lot of people then now we gotta double down. I'm gonna like, no, sir, you're in the wrong. It's like, it's just not gonna end well.
Shawnté Salabert
00:12:24.490 - 00:12:24.810
Yeah.
Colin True
00:12:24.810 - 00:13:21.340
And a lot of these things are usually misunderstandings. Like you said. I think the. The music one's a really good one. People just don't know.
I was on a river trip with somebody who had never been on a river trip before, is not a outdoorsy person who. The first hour in the boat was like, pulled out the, you know, the waterproof radio or Bluetooth speaker or whatever. And I looked over at him.
I just kind of. This is an audio medium. You can't see what I'm doing, listeners. But I just. Just kind of shook my head like, no. And he's like, really?
I'm like, yeah, dude. Like, we're with, like, the hippie paddle outfit over here. Like, this is not like the. The bro like, paddling.
And yes, of course, they did not want that to happen. But he didn't know. He really didn't know. And he put it away and he respected the rules. So most of the time people don't know. But it is.
I think about that second interaction. Usually it's like, what's this going to lead to if you need to choose that battle? If, Even if you.
If you choose violence, Ray, just be prepared for that to come back to bite you if you choose violence.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:21.420 - 00:13:39.260
Perfect. Good one. I love, love the opportunity to pick my battles in the outdoors, Colin.
I feel like that's what we do every single week, is you and I just picking battles with each other, battling. Just small fighting. Like sparring.
Colin True
00:13:39.580 - 00:13:42.220
Yes. Picking battles is what we do around here for sure.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:42.220 - 00:13:43.900
It's what we're doing right now, apparently.
Colin True
00:13:43.900 - 00:13:45.100
Yes, it is. It is.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:45.980 - 00:13:49.420
All right, well, I don't want to fight with you today or any day, actually.
Colin True
00:13:49.960 - 00:13:50.280
Lie.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:50.360 - 00:13:55.400
That's a lie. Let's be honest. But if we want to keep the peace, why don't you give me another question?
Colin True
00:13:55.560 - 00:14:37.810
Okay, this is a. This is an exciting one because I have a lot of biases around mountain towns, and this one sort of leans right into my wheelhouse here.
I'm excited to see what you say about this one.
So, Dear Gear Abby, I moved to my dream mountain town a few months ago, and I've been trying to meet as many people as I can so that I have people to ski and bike with. I'm not a solo girlie yet.
So far it's been working pretty well, except that everyone I've hung out with so far seems to have this holier than thou vibe. Like they're the coolest, most expert skier, rider, mountain person in the world. Yeah, I think we've all experienced a little of that on occasion.
Someone literally told me that I had to earn my turn since I moved from a city. And the joke's on them. I grew up dirt biking with my brothers. Am I just meeting the wrong people?
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:37.890 - 00:14:38.290
Yes.
Colin True
00:14:38.290 - 00:14:41.490
Is this just what mountain town people in mountain towns are like?
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:41.490 - 00:14:41.890
Yes.
Colin True
00:14:41.890 - 00:14:53.450
How can I find cool people that aren't assholes? Signed. Where are the. Where are the actual cool kids? Please don't use my real name. I'm not trying to become public enemy number one, okay?
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:53.450 - 00:15:42.770
Don't worry, cool kids. Your secret is safe with us. First, congratulations on moving to your dream town.
You know, honestly, one of the reasons I've never made the leap myself is that I'm kind of worried that mountain towns might be super clicky. And I have zero desire to reenact the glory days of middle school, which were not very glorious.
So since I'm not terribly well versed on how to find non assholes in mountain towns, I'm very, very good at finding the assholes. I figured we'd bring in guest expert Katie Burrell.
She is a comedian, writer, director, actor, skier, and certified interwebs sensation who absolutely skewers ski culture, you know, outdoor tropes, and of course, mountain towns on social media, her online shorts, and in projects like her feature film debut, Weak Layers. Thanks for joining us, Katie.
Katie Burrell
00:15:43.730 - 00:15:56.130
So thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me. I was listening to the question and I have something to say right off the top, which is just hurt people. Hurt people.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:57.410 - 00:15:58.130
Oh, yeah.
Katie Burrell
00:15:58.450 - 00:16:43.330
And I think this is actually a culturally systemic issue in mountain towns where I don't think that that person that said you got to earn your turns didn't have that said to them as well. And I always love to hear about people that move to mountain towns complaining about people moving to mountain towns.
It's quite an impressive, impressively non self reflective way of being. Like, quite literally, people are like, I've lived here for eight years and all these people now are moving here. And God damn this new folks.
These folks. Da da, da. It's like, I'm sorry, can we go back to the top of that sentence when you also moved to this mountain town, however many years ago?
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:43.570 - 00:16:50.610
I mean, Katie, you know, when you move to a mountain town, you meet, as long as you stay a year, you just become Paul Bunyan or something at that point, I think is how it works.
Katie Burrell
00:16:50.770 - 00:17:00.530
Yeah, it's like a vintage thing. People like think that they're wine.
It's like the longer they've been there, the more expensive, the more valuable they are to said, you know, culture, whatever it is.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:01.410 - 00:17:16.190
Wait, so Katie, I have to ask you though, before you go deeper in this. I love this. We're gonna get. This is very.
What's basically like a psychology session just to make sure you're actually qualified to answer this question. Have you ever met someone who wasn't an asshole in a mountain town?
Katie Burrell
00:17:17.230 - 00:17:23.070
Well, you know, I had to sort of take a different short answer. No, I had to take a sort of.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:25.070 - 00:17:25.710
Damn it.
Katie Burrell
00:17:26.430 - 00:18:52.790
Except for those who I sort of like campaign to import myself, like my best friend from university. So have I, have I ever met a non asshole? It's not even that they're assholes. Like some of these people can't. Just can't help themselves.
Once they get going, I find it's like once they get locked into the skis with the skins on, once they get on the bike with the clips and the clip pedal, like they, Once they start, they can't stop.
And so it's almost like something else takes over and they stop thinking about everyone around them that comes, you know, with doing sports with them. However, I will say I've noticed in the last, like, say five years as one, they've started to reproduce.
It's become a little bit like of a more gentle pace. Like, God, is there anything I love more than my pregnant friends? Like eight months pregnant. And they're like going a reasonable pace.
I'm like, wow, hi, it's so nice to have you back here. Like, tell me more about how you're like on the skin track or whatever, and they're just livid and they're like, oh, we're like slowing everybody up.
And I'm like, I thought you said that was never a problem. I thought that didn't. That didn't matter. Now here you are in the back experiencing it for the first time.
But no, I've, I've really enjoyed, I've really enjoyed this chapter. And then there's also something happening I'm. I'm noticing with the like maturing out of, out of the young, like early 20s, like aggression.
I think I'm noticing. But besides the point. Besides the point?
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:52.870 - 00:18:58.070
Oh, no, but it is the point. It's. You're just saying meet babies and old people and then you'll be okay.
Katie Burrell
00:18:58.390 - 00:19:01.990
Well, to answer this particular question.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:03.720 - 00:19:03.880
I'm.
Katie Burrell
00:19:03.880 - 00:20:07.470
Just gonna like, we can only speak to our own experiences in this life, right? So what I will say is that I had to go public with it.
I went public with my desire to meet the recreationalists who are there skiing and biking in shame. Okay.
And having to sort of fall on my sword and publicly declare that I needed folks who went at a, you know, who approached these things with less of a sort of like burning need to be validated at the speed with which they can go up and down mountains. I found there to be this like incredible subculture in mountain towns. But it does require you also to admit that that's what you're looking for.
So I wonder, you know, I wonder. I don't know this dear reader, but I wonder if there's a little bit of keep up syndrome happening for them.
They could release and in releasing said syndrome so they could find their people.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:08.270 - 00:20:15.390
Oh, I like that. So wait, so go public with it. You said go public. So like take out an ad in the paper. Are we going on Tinder? What's the vibe here?
Katie Burrell
00:20:15.710 - 00:20:24.510
I mean I would just go as low lift as social media at this point, you know, unless she has like I say she, he, she, they.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:25.230 - 00:20:26.430
Any. Yeah, it could be any.
Katie Burrell
00:20:26.830 - 00:20:27.590
It's a dog.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:27.590 - 00:20:29.710
I don't know. Colin, we don't even know.
Colin True
00:20:29.710 - 00:20:32.750
She did say she's not a solo girly, so that's true.
Katie Burrell
00:20:32.830 - 00:20:57.270
That's why I got a girl. It's a girly. So I mean unless this, unless she has like you know, six followers on Instagram, I would just start posting to Instagram.
Like I'm looking for these kind of people. So here's what I want to pitch. Was this person flirting with her?
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:57.830 - 00:21:05.750
Oh, like turns. Ism is a euphemism. Like turn. These turns in my bed, in the bed of my pickup truck is what they really mean.
Katie Burrell
00:21:05.830 - 00:21:59.750
I just think it's like, like it's the mountain town equivalent of a young 20 something male of pulling someone's hair in the sandbox kind of a thing. And you know, if there's one way, if there's, if there's a quick and easy way to get a man to shut up, it's to ask him if he's flirting with you.
Like it's just about the most efficient way to shock them out of their own friggin boots. Like than anything I've discovered in my adult life. So I mean I would suggest that as a strategy for her.
I would also like just, I just love to see that I'D love to hear whether or not that's a potential reframe. Like maybe this man was, you know, this person. Again, sorry if it was a. Yeah, I don't think it was a woman. I'm just gonna be real.
I wonder if he was flirting. You gotta earn your chance.
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:59.750 - 00:22:19.150
Yeah, they don't really know how to do that. Yeah, I've been to a lot of mountain town bars, so I'm familiar with, with this specific animal. Yeah, they really don't know how to do that.
See, this is why I'm like, maybe we should go back to the beginning and just stick with babies and elderly people and go from there. Maybe build a base. Like a gentle base.
Katie Burrell
00:22:19.150 - 00:23:01.650
Yeah. I mean, here's she's asking where she can meet people to ski and bike with at a more, you know, reasonable. Find the local Lamaze class. Okay.
Who's quite literally about to give birth. Okay. These people have been humbled by their bodies and are ready to participate in activities at a more gentle, with a more gentle approach.
The, the, the, the pool. The pool at like toddler swim hour or whatever it is. These are new moms. Overwhelmed, maybe just want to.
They're just more appreciative just to get out for some fresh air. It's less about Strava at that point. They're just like relieved to be away from their child for 45 minutes to an hour.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:02.130 - 00:23:06.090
I mean, you could even start early and go to like prenatal yoga classes. I would say. Sure.
Katie Burrell
00:23:06.090 - 00:23:06.690
Prenata.
Colin True
00:23:08.190 - 00:23:21.390
Every mountain town has in the summer has like the evening outdoor concerts which are just littered with toddlers running around and empty pizza boxes and families and stuff like that. All of which are probably rode their bikes to get there. So that might be a rich target, rich environment for our.
Katie Burrell
00:23:21.710 - 00:24:04.700
I feel like, I feel like I have more friends with kids than not at this point. Like I'm. I'm kind of like the late bloomer in that, in that area of my life. But I'm like, guys, like let's get real.
Like the three year olds running in circles like while we're at a house music show.
Like nothing kills a vibe more than like your snotty little friggin toddler, like running in circles and crashing it while you're trying to like vibe out to like sexy house. I'm like, what the. No, we need to like delineate. The kids can go to the folk music festivals. Okay, fine, that's the limit.
Fine, I'm not coming anyway. But like when we're at cool DJs like, leave them at home, for the love of God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:04.700 - 00:24:07.300
Like, don't you want these kids to have taste?
Katie Burrell
00:24:08.010 - 00:24:14.330
I mean, they're being raised in mountain towns. Like, them having taste is. Anyway, don't ask me how I really feel.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:16.250 - 00:24:45.310
Oh, that was perfect. Yeah, this is great. We'll workshop this. We'll just keep workshopping this. Cool. Kids, I think you can also keep workshopping this.
So social media, take out an ad at the paper. Just stand in the street maybe and scream. Who has a toddler and wants to hang? You might get some. You might get some action, so.
And you might actually get some action if you start asking people if they're hitting on you. So I think Katie nailed it. So thank Katie. Yeah, that was. That was real expert. It was like talking to a psychiatrist and, oh, thank you.
Katie Burrell
00:24:45.310 - 00:24:47.030
I'm gonna tell my psychiatrist that.
Colin True
00:24:48.790 - 00:24:55.470
I think most people would have said, what do you mean? Everyone in mountain towns are so chill and out there having a good old time. Then Katie's like, no, fuck that. That's actually.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:55.470 - 00:24:59.350
We don't lie on this show. Yeah, we don't kink shame it. We don't lie.
Katie Burrell
00:25:00.790 - 00:25:28.020
I do think that the tides are changing a bit, though. There are, definitely. There's definitely a more welcoming. I mean, I joke, I joke. But also there.
There does seem to be a more welcoming kind of approach to being in the outdoors lately. And say, the last, like two to five years, I would say even, you know, of being like, right. This is an extremely privileged recreational pursuit.
Why are we kink shaming people? That's great.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:28.340 - 00:25:55.040
Thank you. Ah, that's right. Well, if you want to hear more about how not to kink shame, or maybe how to. I don't, you know, Katie does it all.
You go across our socials, it's all Katie Burrell TV, visit our website conveniently also named Katie BurrellTV.com check out week layers. And Katie, you're amazing. We'd love to have you back sometime.
People, send us your great questions and Katie, have a great time and I hope you don't run into any children at raves this weekend.
Katie Burrell
00:25:55.440 - 00:25:56.400
I appreciate it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:58.400 - 00:27:57.860
We are so excited to welcome the official Gear Garage of Gear Abby. That's Garage Grown Gear Garage Grown Gear, AKA ggg.
That is a lot of all sentences is here to make sure all of Gear Abby's outdoorsy friends can get the newest outdoor stuff that they need for their next adventure. This week, it's an all food edition of the Gear Garage.
We've got Embark, Coffee, Maple Energy, Freeze Dried cheddar cheese cubes by Foundation Outdoors. That sounds very delightful to me as a Wisconsinite and summit smolder. Powdered hot sauce by Wildfire Spice Company. Oh, yeah, I'm ready.
I'm ready to make a tortilla, but also get real hype on some coffee maple energy. So it's going to be like a manic tortilla making. You know what? It doesn't matter if you're manic or chill.
Garage grown gear and Gear Abbey are the perfect outdoor combo. So get shopping by heading over to garagegrowngear.com right now. Winter's unpredictably mild one week, freezing the next.
I grew up in the Midwest, and every inch of snow is exciting until it melted into a soupy mess. And then to make things worse, it would refreeze on every flat surface, making walking across it impossible.
Going outside became its own adventure, and that includes choosing what to wear. That's why people have trusted Fjallraven jackets for more than 50 years.
Born and tested in Sweden, they're made to handle everything from everyday cold to true arctic extremes. The philosophy is simple. Build outerwear that performs, protects, and lasts.
From the KEB GTX jacket to the expedition pack down hoodie, you'll find something to suit the winter conditions you know are on the way for your neck of the woods. Get ready for winter and make cold optional by heading to fjallraven.com that was awesome. I'm so glad we got Katie. That was Katie. What a delight.
Katie, come back anytime.
Colin True
00:27:58.180 - 00:27:58.930
I know, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:59.000 - 00:27:59.240
Right.
Colin True
00:27:59.560 - 00:28:02.400
Killian and then Katie. Like, we have made it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:02.400 - 00:28:04.680
Now we have to find other. And we had Kristen.
Colin True
00:28:05.480 - 00:28:06.160
Oh, my God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:06.160 - 00:28:08.040
We're going to have to delete the episode with Sam Shield.
Colin True
00:28:08.040 - 00:28:09.680
Sam Shield, you're fired.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:09.680 - 00:28:11.080
That episode is canceled.
Colin True
00:28:11.720 - 00:28:12.720
That's right. You're gone.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:12.720 - 00:28:13.800
Only K names.
Colin True
00:28:13.800 - 00:28:14.600
K names only.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:15.320 - 00:28:21.720
All right, well, I don't know who wrote the next question. Maybe they have a K name, maybe they don't, but why don't you hit me with it?
Colin True
00:28:22.200 - 00:28:31.530
They do not, but we'll allow it. So the question is, Dear Gear Abby, my fiance just said yes to an amazing job in New York City.
A lot of people getting married or trying to get married on Gear Abbey.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:32.090 - 00:28:33.370
This is where we bring people together.
Colin True
00:28:33.930 - 00:28:46.090
Yes, I did this enforcer. Okay, so my fiancee just said yes to an amazing job in New York City.
And I'm happy for him, but I'm also kind of freaked out about the lifestyle change.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:46.170 - 00:28:46.530
Fair.
Colin True
00:28:46.530 - 00:29:07.360
Totally fair. We are both super outdoorsy and Currently live in Asheville, North Carolina.
So it's pretty, pretty easy to get out and run or paddle or even drive up the to Linfield Gorge to climb. Are we gonna hate it up there? For context, we'll be living in Brooklyn and we will have a car. Thanks for any help, Maria. V. Having a car.
I don't know, just ditch the car.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:07.440 - 00:29:10.400
But somebody who drove in New York twice while I lived there.
Colin True
00:29:10.400 - 00:29:16.400
Yeah, but I just. Right, like advice. Is the price. Is the cost of parking your car the same as rent of your apartment?
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:16.400 - 00:29:24.590
Maybe, maybe it depends on where they are in Brooklyn, that's for sure. I like that the sign off is just thanks for any help. There's like an air of desperation.
Colin True
00:29:26.350 - 00:29:27.390
Girabi, Help me.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:27.390 - 00:29:40.830
Help me. You know what I love? I actually love that this question comes right after we talk about mountain towns because I am nothing. You know this, Colin.
I am nothing if not a passionate defender of connecting with the outdoors. Exactly where we are. And I believe in urban nature.
Colin True
00:29:41.310 - 00:29:45.470
We don't kink. Shame on giraffe. And we defend urban outdoor locations.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:45.550 - 00:29:46.350
We do it all.
Colin True
00:29:46.590 - 00:29:47.710
We do it all here.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:48.350 - 00:29:50.750
We are the enforcer.
Colin True
00:29:50.910 - 00:29:53.470
Enforcer. How many times are we going to do this? We're done.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:53.710 - 00:30:24.410
That's it. We have to tally in the show notes this week.
If you guys aren't listening to the show notes, you know, every time Colin makes that ding noise, whatever, that's a little thing Colin has written. A pithy little footnote that's in our show notes that you can find on Rockfight Co. I love it.
I look at it every week, even though I obviously know what the podcast is about. I don't know why I just sounded Canadian, but I look at it every week. He is actually. It's funny. He's funny writing and he's funny on the air.
So if you like my mom think Colin, that guy is funny. Check out the show notes.
Colin True
00:30:25.050 - 00:30:26.170
Thanks, G. Rabbi.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:26.170 - 00:30:46.530
Oh, you're welcome. All right. But you know what? Let's help Maria because Maria needs any help now. She does, Right? So, Maria, I am a huge lover of New York.
I'm a defender of New York as an outdoor town, even though I think a lot of people would fight me, you know, tooth and nail on that and not to gloat or drag up sad memories for college.
Colin True
00:30:46.530 - 00:30:47.690
How did. I should have known.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:48.250 - 00:31:13.830
But I did come away with victory when I won the best outdoor town draft he held on the Rock fight earlier this year. If you haven't heard that, go over to the Rock fighter. Just look for best out outdoor town draft. So you can, like, hear my victory in action.
But my final draft list included not just New York City, but also Los Angeles, the two places I've lived for a long time. And there were some people who were really pissed off about that, but obviously enough people loved it because they voted me number one draft.
Colin True
00:31:14.790 - 00:31:21.150
All, you know, the people from, like, Jackson Hole, like, were met, were pissed off about it, whatever. From who had moved on a deer antler.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:21.150 - 00:31:27.290
I don't know. Yeah. Go hang out under the many arches of deer antlers and buy a $12 latte.
Colin True
00:31:27.850 - 00:31:30.330
Remember your youth in Bethesda, Maryland. All right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:30.410 - 00:33:24.090
Bethesda. Wow. So, Maria, Colin's gonna go lick his wounds for a bit, but I'm gonna dig in. And as a lover of New York, I got you.
But it is gonna be a huge adjustment to move to New York City from Asheville, especially. I moved there from Charleston, South Carolina. I lived there for almost five years before I moved to the city. And I loved it.
I was, you know, I would go crabbing, I would go go out to the ocean, like, every single day at the beach, and I bike ride all sorts of things. And I really felt like I was going to miss that living in the city.
But if you go with an open mind, which I think you are, considering you're writing in, I think you're going to be surprised at how much there is to do outside in the city. And I'm going to think about just the things that you mentioned. You mentioned a couple things that you like to do. So first, I would say I'm not.
Don't just go visit Outlandish, which is this really cool outdoor shop in Crown Heights. Sites that I wish existed when I lived there, but also sign up for their mailing list. I get their mailing list.
This is my little weird FOMO from having lived there and trying to time travel back. But they are forever doing, like, group trail runs and hikes locally, and then they do these kind of field trips every now and then.
And it is such a great way to plug into outdoor community right away, especially trail runners and hikers.
I would also say two other trail running groups that I know are Brooklyn Trail Club and Asian Trail Mix, both of which are open to all people, whether or not you live in Brooklyn or you're Asian. So it's. It's a. There's already amazing opportunities for plugging in on foot. On foot.
You can also just walk around the city all the time, which I did. But I would say on that Note, get to know the city's parks. I don't know what part of Brooklyn you're in. Brooklyn is very large.
You and your car over there. But Prospect park is amazing and people routinely run loops there. I've actually had friends tell me like, oh, yeah, you should run the hill loop.
You're gonna get. Your quads are gonna get a workout. And I'm like, I run in the Sierra sometimes, but yeah, I can't wait. Wow.
Colin True
00:33:24.090 - 00:33:26.010
Little humble brag, sort of filtered.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:26.310 - 00:34:07.270
Like when I say run in the Sierra, you do know that I'm just dragging my carcass up at like half the speed of, you know, snails pace. Uh, but yeah, so Prospect park is amazing. There's tons of running loops in there. Forest park is a little further, kind of northeast.
But it also has a nice, nice mix of like, paths and trails and paved areas. I also always make time to go run in Central park when I'm in town. It was a very grounding place for me when I lived there.
So if you're feeling a little itchy and like you need to touch nature, go to Central park, especially the area called the Ramble. I would just say don't go running around there in dark unless you want to maybe see people making sweet bare cheeked love in the moonlight.
There are a lot of ass cheeks in the Ramble at night.
Colin True
00:34:07.270 - 00:34:09.430
So is it, is it sweet love?
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:09.910 - 00:34:17.030
No, you know, I think there's a variety that happens there. I don't know, some of it might be a little more slappy. I don't know.
Colin True
00:34:18.790 - 00:34:19.790
No kink shaming.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:19.790 - 00:35:46.220
That's right. But so that, that's not your thing. Don't go there at night. Okay. Yeah, the park is closed anyway, so. All right, let's talk about paddling.
You mentioned the water. So I know some people think that all the water around Manhattan is just a contaminated, like, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style dayglow toxic sludge.
That's the Gowanus Canal. I kid, but ignore the haters and don't drink the water just to be safe.
But there's actually something called the New York City Water Trail, which links about 160 square miles of waterway across all five of the boroughs. Um, Manhattan Kayak Company rents kayaks and paddle boards. They run classes and paddle trips in the warmer months.
And then up in Green Point, if you're in that part of Brooklyn or if you don't mind just going up there, you can become a member of the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse. You and all the hipsters. And they organize Community paddling sessions.
So boom, now you're paddling, all right, you're running, you're walking, you're hiking, you're paddling. What else are you going to do? You want to climb? All right, they are, you know, just like any city. There's plenty of indoor options.
You got bouldering project in Gowanus, Metro Rock, Vital and Greenpoint. These are just some Brooklyn places. There's stuff in Manhattan. There's stuff all around.
For outdoor climbing though, this is the one time you're going to be glad, the one and only time you're going to be glad you have that car. Yeah, yeah, the one. The one and only. Listen, I tried. I didn't have my car. I sold it before I went to New York.
And the two times I ever drove in the city were times I borrowed a car from a friend to go big shopping and it was just pure anxiety. So.
Colin True
00:35:46.540 - 00:35:54.390
Oh, I think driving in New York's not that bad. It is really a grid, but I mean it's overwhelming of just the immensity of it, of it. But especially with GPS and stuff like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:54.390 - 00:36:01.270
That, it's not even immense. The thing is like Manhattan's tiny, but if you have to drive in Manhattan or just on any of the bridges during rush hour anyway.
Colin True
00:36:01.270 - 00:36:02.870
Yeah, no, no, it's not fun.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:03.110 - 00:36:05.430
Save all your driving. 3:00am okay.
Colin True
00:36:05.750 - 00:36:06.550
Yeah, exactly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:06.630 - 00:37:07.440
But one of those drives, like one of the drives that will be worth it is to get in your car and go up to the Sha and Gunks, which most people just call the Gunks. It's less than a two hour drive depending on how you choose to fight your way out of the city.
But, but the cliffs here are amazing and it's really cool because most of the cracks are actually horizontal rather than vertical. So it's a very different style of climbing if you're used to vertical cracks. And it's just really pretty.
There's lots of hiking up there and I would say if you think you're going to go up at least a handful of times, which I'm guessing you probably will since you'll probably have an allergic reaction to the city for a while, get an annual pass to Mohonk Preserve, which has the highest concentration of routes in that area, and it's, it's going to be well worth it. I could go on. I could go on and on and on. There's bird watching. You could ride the train to the beach.
You can hang out in Inwood Hill park, which is super cool, but I'm sure all the Mountain Town folks are getting bored by now, so enjoy New York, Maria, and eat a slice for me. Ask me our final question so that I could go and eat dinner after this.
Colin True
00:37:07.840 - 00:37:25.960
I love that. I want to go eat dinner, too. Okay, here we go. Last question. Dear Gear Abby, I own a big Agnes Copper Spur tent.
Convince me that it's worth the money to upgrade to one of those ultralight Dyneema trekking pole tents. Signed, Kristen from up north. Apparently, Kristen lives up north.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:26.040 - 00:37:27.480
Okay, I like that.
Colin True
00:37:27.560 - 00:37:28.680
Also, another K name.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:28.840 - 00:37:35.880
Oh, you're right. Thank you for specifying Kristen. That's not really a question, by the way. And you've told me pretty much nothing about yourself.
Colin True
00:37:35.880 - 00:37:43.040
So. Wait, did you already pay for the big Agnes? Now you're like, I have some buyer's remorse. Make me feel better about this Gear.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:43.040 - 00:37:45.480
Abby, I need some details. Like, I need a little bit more.
Colin True
00:37:45.950 - 00:37:53.070
What do you think Kristen is hoping for here? That you're like, just don't worry about it. Like, the one you have is great. Or is she gonna be like. And she's like, thank God. Or is it more?
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:53.070 - 00:38:00.510
Is this gonna be something? Like, I know we're getting closer to holiday shopping. Are you gonna give this to somebody and be like, here's proof that you should buy this for me?
Colin True
00:38:01.389 - 00:38:03.230
Is she trying to catch you in a. In something?
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:03.310 - 00:38:04.590
What's happening, Kristen? I knew.
Colin True
00:38:04.590 - 00:38:06.990
I knew you were gonna say that. Gear Abby, how up north?
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:06.990 - 00:38:12.960
Where up north? I've got so many questions for you, Kristen. You didn't ask me a single question, but I've got a lot for you. You.
Colin True
00:38:13.360 - 00:38:16.640
Durston's Canadian. Maybe she's a. A mole from Canada.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:17.040 - 00:38:21.280
Oh, you are thinking about dirt. You know. You know, I'm probably going to talk about my Durston. So that's very.
Colin True
00:38:21.440 - 00:38:24.640
I assume I saw Ultra light dyneema trekking pole 10.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:25.040 - 00:38:26.680
There's lots. There's Z facts.
Colin True
00:38:26.680 - 00:38:27.000
There's.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:27.000 - 00:38:55.820
There's a lot of other bankers. But. But you're right. I'm definitely going to talk about my tan. But anyway, I mean, Kristen, whatever.
I am uniquely qualified and delighted to nerd out on this topic as somebody who once wrote an entire ode to the various tents she slept in, which was actually the very first piece that of mine that ever ran on Journal. So Stephen Kazmiro and I were reminiscing about it recently. But yeah, so I'll have Colin link that in the show notes if you want to see my.
All of the tents I've ever slept in.
Colin True
00:38:56.300 - 00:38:56.940
Certainly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:56.940 - 00:39:07.660
Who doesn't there's somebody with a fetish out there. So. All right, I'm gonna indulge in a little tent talk. Since you asked. Or you didn't really ask, since you just put. You just stated.
Colin True
00:39:07.660 - 00:39:10.140
You stated. Yes, stated. That's what I said.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:12.030 - 00:40:07.350
So I'm going to make my pitch. Pun, absolutely intended. You know I love a pun. So for the uninitiated, because there's people who are probably like, what the hell is a copper spur?
Is that a mining implement? No, it is what we call a freestanding tent.
So that just means that when it's set up, it doesn't need to be staked into the ground to hold its shape because it's got an internal frame created by some kind of pole structure.
And Kristen here wants me to convince them that it's worth spending more money to upgrade to a lighter tent that doesn't come with a pole structure and instead uses trekking poles to maintain the structure.
And Kristen said they want something that's ultralight, made out of a pricey but very lightweight material called dyneema, also known as Cuban fiber or dcf. If you're nasty now. And I am. Colin is silent, laughing and shaking his head right now. Oh, he just rubbed his forehead and covering his eyes. This is.
Listen, you're just glad it's not bear puns. Let me do what I want, man.
Colin True
00:40:07.510 - 00:40:11.270
Good tent. Nasty as a tea. Your Abbey T shirts.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:11.430 - 00:40:38.450
We, we do. We are keeping our ongoing list of band name and T shirts. So that's fine. You could add that one on there.
All right, so I, me and my nasty self, I used a backpack exclusively in a big Agnes. And it was the Fly Creek Ultralight 2, which is a relatively lightweight, freestanding two person tent.
Although let's be real, any tent labeled as a two person tent is lying to you. Unless your idea of a two person tent, like a comfortable tur tent, is spending the night with somebody's knee in your ass. Like, come on.
Colin True
00:40:38.450 - 00:40:39.770
Or they're an infant or they're.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:39.770 - 00:40:43.680
Yeah. If the second person is actually a Lego person person, you'll be fine.
Colin True
00:40:43.680 - 00:40:44.640
Right? Great.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:44.960 - 00:41:58.950
That's right. Or imaginary. Even better if they're imaginary. But I did. You know, eventually I too was like, I'm gonna lighten up a bit.
And I bought gossamer Gears, the one which is an ultralight trekking pole tent. That is not lying when it says it's just for one person. It is a cozy little tent. I appreciate your honesty, Gossamer gear.
But anyway, the Fly Creek was about 2 pounds.
The one which is made out of sil nylon, which is not the ultralight Dyneema sexy fabric, came in just over a pound, which is pretty good weight savings, you know, from what I had before. So I loved saving the space. My bag. I loved just kind of being cozied up in there. I was into it. It converted me into a trekking pole tent user.
The problem is, as I get older, I want even less weight on my back. I've become even more of an ultralight Graham weenie over the years. So for me, bursitis. Wow. Wow. Okay. I unleashed a monster.
And I don't know if maybe I should apologize to everyone at this point for that. No. You know what? We're just going to do a special extended mix and it's just going to be all of your sidebars. But like in that voice.
So at the end of season one of Gear Abbey, whatever that means, the end of this year, we're just going to.
Colin True
00:41:59.590 - 00:42:01.070
So or 40 years from now.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:01.070 - 00:42:15.170
40 years from now. We're never ending this one season, one long season. Oh, man. Okay. But yeah, so for me, because I, me and my bursitis want lighter weight.
Instead of spending money on a chiropractor, I'm like, like, I'll just spend more money on tents and lighter, lighter tents.
Colin True
00:42:15.250 - 00:42:16.530
I co sign that decision.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:16.770 - 00:42:43.200
Right? That's right. Put your money at the things that matter. So I did buy the cult favorite Durston X Mid Pro 1 about just about two years ago.
It's almost my two year Durstonversary and it is made out of that sexy and very expensive Dyneema fabric. And I freaked out for a minute after I hit buy, but then I got it in the mail and I set it up in the front yard and.
And hung out in there so long that I think at least four neighbors walked up to me and were like, what are you doing in there?
Colin True
00:42:44.240 - 00:42:45.840
Did you move out and into your tent?
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:45.840 - 00:44:58.990
Yeah, I'm trying something new. I've got renters, but yeah. So anyways, that's. That's me and how much I love my tents. Kristen. My personal tent journey. But here's why you. If you.
You demanded I convince you, here's why you might want to swap for a trekking pole tent made out of sexy light fabrics. So I'd say, number one, it's just gonna be lighter in your pack. That is the number one reason anyone should switch.
Switch to a more, you know, a lighter tent is because you want a lighter pack. That is just the simple Simon reason. It's also going to be smaller in your pack. It's going to take up less space. Space.
So if you have, you know, a smaller volume pack, this works. Works. Wow. I'm losing. It's because I'm thinking about noodles. I'm losing my ability to talk. I need carbs. Wow. All right, listen.
It's going to be smaller in your pack. It's going to take up less space. So it'll work great for people who are thinking about ultralighting or even fast packing.
Smaller the shelter, you know, more, whatever. More food you can cram in your pack if you do.
You know, you mentioned spending more money on one of these, but if you get a sil nylon model like the one, it can actually be a lot cheaper than a freestanding tent. Right now I noticed the one is about 255 and the Fly Creek UL2 is almost 450.
So you could actually save quite a bit of money about, you know, sell your old tent, get a new one. There's also a belief the trekking pole tents do have extra stability. I will say that Durston is just rock solid. Um, and.
But both of them, the One and the Durston Xmed have held up in crazy storms above treeline. Um, you just have to really make sure you've got them staked in and stabilized. Right.
I also find that trekking pole tents have more adjustability as far as airflow, which is really important when you think about condensation. Yeah. Cuz those freestanding tents, you kind of set it up and it's, it's one little structure and it's all connected.
And you know, with the, with the trekking pole tents, you can adjust and lift up kind of what would be considered the, the vestibule fly. Almost. Almost. Um, and I find that I just get so much better airflow, especially in the Durston. That is actually. You can make a. You can make a.
It's called the skinny pitch, where you can pitch the whole tent completely differently if you don't have a big space. Like, it's pretty amazing.
But also maybe Kristen, you can also feel very smug about having more than one use for your trekking poles because I know backpackers love feeling smug about multi use items.
Colin True
00:44:59.070 - 00:45:00.750
So until that pole breaks.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:00.750 - 00:45:03.730
Until the pole breaks and you'll freak out. This is my number one fear.
Colin True
00:45:03.970 - 00:45:05.490
I feel less smug now.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:05.650 - 00:45:08.290
Yeah, the smugness has dissipated. I'm going to.
Colin True
00:45:08.290 - 00:45:11.090
As I'm searching for sticks off the side of the trail.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:11.890 - 00:45:29.340
Oh man.
I actually backpacked A friend of mine, MacGyver, who I think I've mentioned on the pod before, he came on the trail with me two summers ago and brought a hammock. And I was like, dude, you know, we're going to be above tree line for a lot of the trail. He's like, no, I'll figure it out. He did.
He slept on the ground quite a few. Few times.
Colin True
00:45:29.580 - 00:45:30.380
Oh, okay.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:30.460 - 00:45:31.180
So, yeah, there's.
Colin True
00:45:31.180 - 00:45:32.220
So he didn't figure it out.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:32.620 - 00:46:29.110
You know, he figured out how to adapt to sleeping on the ground like a small animal. So, yeah, there's a learning curve with anything, really. Listen, anything you pick, there's going to be a learning curve.
Site selection becomes a bit more important. You know, the Durston does have a big footprint, so I always had to be a little more thoughtful about it. The one had a smaller.
So I could just kind of, you know, shove it into small spots.
And learning, like I said, learning how to properly tension this thing is key because this could be very hard and really soft sand or really soft gravel. And I have definitely done some lazy pitches and had my tent on my face in the middle of the night. So, you know, you got to think about that.
But, Kristen, here's the thing. At the end of the day, do you need a trekking pole tent? I don't know. I don't know. You gave me nothing to go off of. I have no idea. Do you.
You already have a tent. Does it work? Is anything broken on it? I don't know. If it works for you, that's great.
But if you want a lighter pack, you know, go for a trekking pole tent. If you want a lighter pack and a lighter wallet, go for one made out of Dynamics.
Colin True
00:46:30.380 - 00:46:34.300
Yeah, I don't want to listen or shame Kristen here, but it is a little like, what are you doing?
Shawnté Salabert
00:46:34.940 - 00:46:38.380
We don't kink shame. Your kink is demanding me tell you things.
Colin True
00:46:39.020 - 00:47:22.680
Well, the thing about a lot of camping gear, I mean, because I. Because I don't camp that much. I have a pretty old camping setup back from when I worked for go Light in 2007. I had the same sleeping bag.
It has worked for me since 2007 because of the type of camping I do and how often I go. I have a couple of. Yeah, pretty much. It's pretty fair weather, right? So it's not. It's not like it doesn't need to perform all that well.
It just needs to kind of, you know, fit in the bottom of the. Of the, you know, the stuff sack on a River trip or in the back of the car for a car camping trip, whatever it is. But.
And the tent's kind of the same thing. Like, you know, unless something tears or rips or whatever, it's gonna.
I. I could have this gear specifically for another 20, 30 years if I really want to. So, Kristen, what are you doing with your tent? Is really the question.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:22.680 - 00:47:23.980
Send me a follow up email, Kristin.
Colin True
00:47:24.610 - 00:47:25.530
Yeah, Kristin, come on.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:25.530 - 00:47:27.130
Send me a DM on Instagram. Send me.
Colin True
00:47:27.130 - 00:47:28.010
I'll give you a second chance.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:28.010 - 00:47:31.890
I'd like. You can send me physical mail if you want the email.
Colin True
00:47:31.890 - 00:47:32.610
Send a raven.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:32.610 - 00:47:47.730
Yeah. Ooh, I'd love that. Like an owl or something. Some mystical bird. Just send me like a mystical raptor. That would be really.
If anybody wants to send a mystical raptor, send me an email first and then I'll give you my address and you can send a mystical raptor to me.
Colin True
00:47:48.290 - 00:47:53.170
I. I'm going to just correct you this one time, Gear Abby. What you want them to send is the marmot with the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:54.310 - 00:48:05.710
Oh, my goodness. I still. Nobody has emailed yet about marmots.
There's got to be someone out there who works at like a marmot rescue, who has a marmot that I can come visit, who has a cat dressed up as a marmot.
Colin True
00:48:05.710 - 00:48:07.670
I'll take that for Halloween.
Shawnté Salabert
00:48:07.750 - 00:48:12.070
For Halloween, I'll dress up as a marmot. Oh, man.
Colin True
00:48:12.710 - 00:48:14.870
Gear Abby's a furry. You heard it here first.
Shawnté Salabert
00:48:16.390 - 00:48:26.100
Wow. Well, I'm, I'm not a furry. I just feel like people need to know that. But then that is it for this episode of Gear Abby Action packed.
Full of the Enforcer.
Colin True
00:48:27.060 - 00:48:28.180
Action packed.
Shawnté Salabert
00:48:28.500 - 00:49:29.080
Thank you. Until next time, you're going to send your burning questions and your marmots, but send your questions about your relationship, your burning marmots.
Don't send burning marmots. Just don't send. Actually, don't mail. Don't mail any marmots. Okay, let me do my outro.
Colin, you have your own full podcast in which you get to outro to your heart's content. Your car. I almost said your heart's discontent. Which may be true if you're talking about E Bikes.
But yeah, listen, send your questions to me at Dear Gear Abby, mail dot com. I'm going to do my best to answer them or bring somebody else like Katie, who can.
And of course head over to your podcast listening service of choice and subscribe, rate and review to support the pod and personally make my day. And of course, follow us on Instagram at Gear Abby Pod.
And you might get lucky and see pictures of me floating in a flamingo like I posted a few weeks ago. In the meantime, today's episode was produced by David Karstad and my buddy here, Colin True, the Enforcer. Art direction provided by Sarah Gensert.
I'm Shantae Salibair. And remember, there are no dumb questions, just smart advice.
