The US From 'Tip 2 Tip', Injinji Makes Apparel & Strava's 'Performance Predictions'
- colin7931
- Apr 30
- 48 min read
Today on the show Colin is joined by outdoor journalist and author Shawnté Salabert to talk about some recent headlines to come out of the outdoor community!
On today's docket:
Paddler Kyle Parker is looking to paddle across the United States from "Tip 2 Tip"! (06:55)
Injinji released a line of tech tees. Is this a sign they're going to take on apparel? (23:33)
Strava announced a new subscriber feature designed to help runners maximize their potential! Do we give that a 'thumbs up'? (32:30)
New segment... SHAWNTÉ RECOMMENDS! This is a segment where Shawnté recommends things. (38:00)
The Parting Shot! Mt. Everest is back on the menu! (46:58)
Check out hundreds of wildly cool products by visiting and shopping at Garage Grown Gear!
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Episode Transcript:
Colin True
00:00:00.400 - 00:00:44.736
Welcome to the Rock Fight, where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree. This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head.
I'm Colin True, and today Shawnté Salabert and I will be running through some stories that come out of the outdoor community. But before we get to any of that, we have some housekeeping and programming reminders for you.
If you missed Monday's episode of the Rock Fight, go back to learn what we know about NBC's new potential owner, as well as hear an independent retailer respond to those rumors around REI's exclusivity demands. And be sure to come back to the Rock Fight this Friday for a Colin Only solo episode.
And lastly, this is the time when we say to you, please click the Follow button on whatever podcast app you're listening to us on. And if you're feeling even more generous, click that five star review. So stick around. We'll be right back.
Chris DeMakes
00:00:44.808 - 00:00:48.780
Welcome to the Rock Fight. Rock Fight. Rock Fight.
Colin True
00:00:51.960 - 00:02:33.582
All right folks, time to set the record straight. A few weeks back, listeners heard me rant on about a new sandal from Lem's Shoes.
That sandal, the new Switchback Sandal is a classic single strap, single post style that I, without much knowledge, accused of of me tooing. And look, in hindsight it's hard to me to a style that's thousands of years old, right?
What I wasn't informed on was Lem's unique take on making footwear. And let's just say a few rocks were thrown back at me.
And rightly so because Lem's has really elevated the design of minimalist natural movement footwear, anatomically correct fit, zero drop comfort and lightweight outdoor performance. And the Switchb?
It's crafted from a single piece of material and features a unique single strap design with one buckle for super ease of use, added comfort and getting it on outside. You can personally check it out yourself when it becomes available on Wednesday, April 23rd at. Oh hey, retailers.
Did you know that Lemz is looking for wholesale partners? Hit them up@supportemssshoes.com to add a little flavor to your shoe wall.
And be sure to stop by and say hi to the Lemz team at their booth at Switchback in Nashville this June. So to all the Lemz fans I may have offended, my sincerest apologies.
And to Lemz, well, you did pay for this advertisement, but more importantly, you made a believer out of me. I've eaten my words and they tasted like freedom. Check out the new Switchback Sando by heading to lemshoes.com youm're listening to Rock Fight Radio.
Ey ladies germs and groms. It's DJ CT and you're listening to Rock Fight Radio.
Get ready for more of that wholefoot comfort from Fitz because we have the follow up to their massive hit single Bold Sock. Here it is. Lets drop the needle on so many.
FITS!
00:02:33.686 - 00:02:43.182
Fits There's a fish for the snow, the road or the trail like picking a salad from romaine, iceberg or kale.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:43.246 - 00:02:45.886
From small to double XL every size.
FITS!
00:02:45.918 - 00:03:42.290
In a line Custom comfort dressing fits every time Cushion so thin you barely know it's there or max out the pattern worn beyond compare boots to no shows invisibles too Whatever whatever you're after there's a fit for you so many fits to fit you just right hold for comfort day or night from the heel to the toe the solid to the fair Like a sock custom made for you to wear oh so many fits yeah so many fits. No matter.
Your size, no matter your style Fits will take you mile by mile with cushioning choices and sizes galore. Slip them on once and you'll ask for more.
Colin True
00:03:44.750 - 00:03:54.518
And now back to the show. Okay, Chante Salibar, she's here. She's jet lagged but she's ready. I think she's ready to pod. She looks bright eyed, you know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:54.574 - 00:04:03.350
I think so. This is what red lipstick can do for you. It's fake it till you make it.
If you just make your lips really bright then they will outshine the bags under your eyes.
Colin True
00:04:03.430 - 00:04:05.638
Should I try this? We're doing more video stuff now.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:05.694 - 00:04:09.682
You should. I think it would go well with your beard. Your beard is like extra fluff.
Colin True
00:04:09.746 - 00:04:20.834
It is. I'm getting a beard trim tomorrow. Actually we're recording this on Monday. Getting a beard trim tomorrow. I have a guy now.
This is Barbara who's like, I got a beard trim when I got my haircut and it was amazing. Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:20.882 - 00:04:27.634
So I'm like, what were you doing before then? Were you just like rubbing it against a rock wall and hoping some would shear off?
Colin True
00:04:27.722 - 00:04:29.954
Yes, that's the, the manly thing to do.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:30.042 - 00:04:31.106
Just like a bear.
Colin True
00:04:31.218 - 00:04:39.278
Yeah. No, before I just sort of would like grow it and it would have like that window like I like where it is now. It's too long now.
I'm just going to shave it. I don't know how to trim a beard.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:39.334 - 00:04:41.726
There was no in between. It's not something.
Colin True
00:04:41.798 - 00:04:45.182
It's like a play doh. Fun Factory, you know, Just like, you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:45.206 - 00:04:54.718
Know, having not not having facial hair. It's not something that I've really thought about is how does one learn how to trim their facial hair? I did. I am trimming my own bangs, though.
Colin True
00:04:54.774 - 00:04:55.646
How's that going?
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:55.798 - 00:05:12.704
It's all right. I paid a lady to do it the first time because, you know, that could have been scary.
And I noticed they really quickly grow out, and they were kind of like, under my eyebrows. And I have a razor. I took an online class during the panini, and I. They're definitely panini. The panini.
Colin True
00:05:12.752 - 00:05:13.920
Is that the pandemic?
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:14.080 - 00:05:17.216
Yeah. Sometimes. Have a little fun with it, making sure it's clear.
Colin True
00:05:17.288 - 00:05:17.712
Okay.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:17.776 - 00:05:21.860
Yeah. Sometimes the word pandemic, you know, triggers my ptsd.
Colin True
00:05:23.000 - 00:05:24.112
Okay. Sorry.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:24.256 - 00:05:32.528
Anyway, I got panini bangs. But. But. Yeah, so they're. But the nice thing about having curly hair is that you can't tell when I screw mine up.
Colin True
00:05:32.664 - 00:05:33.340
Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:34.280 - 00:05:35.296
Just. Yeah.
Colin True
00:05:35.408 - 00:05:45.292
Those are some of my favorite, like, Tiktoks or reels with the. You see the girls who cut their bangs, but then they immediately realize they cut them too short. And I definitely would like a part two.
Anytime somebody does that, like, what did you do?
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:45.396 - 00:05:52.636
Yeah, that's the unsatisfying thing is we never get to see the rest of it. I'm like, did you go full pixie? Are you. Are you like, GI Jane? What's happening here?
Colin True
00:05:52.708 - 00:06:23.840
That's the move I feel like, you know, it's like, well, all right, guess what? You're really trying something new. But, yeah, the beard thing is probably, like, I would imagine it's a bangs thing for women.
Speaking in broad generalities, anybody can have bangs. And there are some people who have beards who probably. You wouldn't expect them to. But the. It is a. The hair and the lip thing is real.
A lot of times I'll get the beard at the right length, and then now, okay, there's still food that gets into it. And I definitely have a Kurt Russell in Tombstone Fetish where I want a mustache like that pretty much all the time. So eventually.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:23.920 - 00:06:26.240
Does your wife want you to have a mustache like that?
Colin True
00:06:26.360 - 00:06:41.652
She's pretty hard to judge. Sometimes she's like, oh, like longer hair with just stubble. Oh, no, actually, I like the shorter hair with beard. It's never consistent.
Whereas I can be like, here's how I like your hair to look. This is what I like, you know? No, she can do whatever she wants.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:41.776 - 00:06:42.556
A simple man.
Colin True
00:06:42.628 - 00:07:16.744
Yes. I am of simple taste, and this is what I'm looking for. So, anyway.
Anyway, so today, Shantae and I will be talking about some stories come out of the outdoor community. And our top story today is presented by your hub for ultralight gear, our friend over at Garage growing gear.
Head to garagegrowing gear.com to check them out. So first story today, Shantae.
It's from Explorers Web and it describes 23 year old Kyle Parker, who recently set an FKT by paddling a canoe the length of the Wisconsin river, which is about 420 miles. You're from Wisconsin. Are you familiar with the Wisconsin River?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:16.872 - 00:07:18.280
Oh my gosh. Am I?
Colin True
00:07:18.400 - 00:07:22.440
Oh, wow. Sounds like there's either some baggage or some stories in the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:22.560 - 00:07:23.740
You betcha.
Colin True
00:07:24.240 - 00:08:12.660
So Kyle did that in just over five days and he's looking to take to his next adventure which will be paddling the US from tip to tip, meaning from northwestern Washington. Oh, we're going to get to that. To the tip of Florida.
The route will include hundreds of miles of portages over, quote, highways and on one occasion, the Continental Divide. Per the article, Parker was quoted as saying, it's not about the scenery or the wildlife or even the excitement of being absolutely miserable.
It's also about the people I meet and the stories I'll uncover. He is scheduled to depart tomorrow. This airs on the 30th. On May 1st, he takes off.
He's got a blog running, kind of detailing everything that he's doing over there. You know, aside from the poorly named route. I did a workshop. Workshop, Tip to tip. I'm kind of all in on this. What are your thoughts on this endeavor?
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:12.820 - 00:08:16.500
I mean, he could have just gone with just the tip to tip.
Colin True
00:08:16.580 - 00:08:20.116
If you're gonna. That might go there, go there, right? I mean, right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:20.188 - 00:09:15.264
Own it, man. All right. Well, I mean, honestly, I was, I was reading up on this and I have to say, I love chosen misery. I love when the thing is life.
There are so many things in life that cause us misery, that, that cause us suffering. What about sometimes just choosing your own suffering is how I like to put it. So I am always into somebody saying, listen, life throws my way.
I am going to choose my own suffering. And boy howdy, is he. I mean, he's basically doing the opposite of what is my chosen endurance sport, which is backpacking, right?
Where I'm always worrying that, you know, all these weeks that I'm on trail, my arms are going to wither away to nothing. I will lose my guns.
But I guess he will at least have the opportunity to murder his quads while doing all of those portages, which honestly, oh my God, the portages are going to be the worst part of this. Like, why would you want. Canoes are heavy as he's dragging that.
Colin True
00:09:15.352 - 00:09:18.540
I mean, with your wheel thing. Right. But like, oh, my God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:18.700 - 00:09:28.044
Over on a highway over the Continental Divide. That is not where a canoe wants to be. Canoe is not meant for the Continental Divide.
It was not created for the Continental Divide or a highway for that.
Colin True
00:09:28.132 - 00:09:28.428
No.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:28.484 - 00:09:36.908
You know, bless this guy's heart. That's what I gotta say. But, you know, hey, get out. I like that. He's like, yeah, I know it's gonna be miserable and I want that.
Colin True
00:09:36.964 - 00:09:46.732
Yeah. I mean, what is it? What did they say? He's like 23. I mean, this is just perfect. He's right in that perfect zone. Right.
You know, at this point, like, I'm like, you know, the couch is pretty. Have you tried the couch?
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:46.796 - 00:09:50.152
Have you consider extended time horizontal?
Colin True
00:09:50.216 - 00:09:54.648
Did you hear that? Andor Season 2 is out and there's a couch in my living room. My God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:09:54.744 - 00:10:10.056
But listen, I mean, severance. I just finally I've got some couch sitting to do. I'm late to the party.
I had to get my mom's login, but that's all I want to do is lay on the couch and finish that se. Like second series. Right. But why would I. Why would I want a Port a Chickeno?
Colin True
00:10:10.168 - 00:10:33.142
I do think. I mean, look, I get it if you're going to. He's going to do it. He really wants to do the tip to tip.
But it's also like, I would say, I would give him a pass if he decided to say, like, hey, look, man, there's like a 75 mile stretch through Wyoming where you go, whatever. You know, I'm like, take a bus, dude. I don't care.
It's not going to make it any less impressive to me if you skip these incredibly long stretches where you'd have to like be dragging a canoe down the highway.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:33.286 - 00:10:40.406
Yeah, I don't think there's going to be a bunch of judges behind their microphones. Like, you and I are probably the extent of that. So we're giving you a pass and we're.
Colin True
00:10:40.438 - 00:10:41.574
We're on board. So.
Shawnté Salabert
00:10:41.662 - 00:10:43.718
Yeah, we're on board. Skip the miles.
Colin True
00:10:43.814 - 00:11:01.394
I've definitely become more increasingly critical, though, like kind of performance based, big outdoor feats, you know, I think there's a bit of a hangover from like our youth when that was a much bigger deal in like the 90s and stuff like that. I. But I will always back a big adventure swing. I think it's great like, good for you, man. Like, that's awesome. Yeah, this is cool.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:01.442 - 00:12:02.190
Yeah, I mean, I think, I think of it as like, you know, it's pretty cool to push and see what you're capable of. I don't like that shine hasn't worn off for me. I think there's something out there for all of us.
It's like the whole concept of, you know, hike your own hike, you know, I love a hiking reference. I think what I don't like about a lot of the, the big endurance feats that we see is just the weird commercialization that creeps in.
I mean, you're like, you're used to seeing Indy 500 drivers just spackled in logos. That comes with the territory. We're used to seeing that stuff.
But I don't know if you followed, but back in 2022 there was a guy, Timothy Olsen, who announced, and this is what you do for fkts. For the listeners who aren't aware, an FKT is a fastest known time, very common in, in hiking but also running and paddling and things.
But so he, you know, you have to announce it. That's part of the legitimacy. You have to give people a way to follow.
They have to be able to, you know, follow your GPS along the way to see that you're not cheating, that you're not putting that canoe in a truck or whatever. Although we can, we're okay.
Colin True
00:12:02.270 - 00:12:04.366
Do it. Do it. Do it, Kyle. Kyle, do it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:12:04.438 - 00:12:23.358
Do it. Get a big rig to hitch with or something, I don't know.
But so Timothy Olson, this guy was like, hey, I'm going to attempt an FKT of the Pacific Crest Trail. You know, that's a near a 2,650 mile trail. Mexico, Canada. And the thing is like his time, he did set the fkt. It was crazy impressive.
Colin True
00:12:23.454 - 00:12:24.290
Supported.
Shawnté Salabert
00:12:24.790 - 00:12:43.486
Supported, yes. And the support he was, he was plastered in Adidas. That man was just like, like, like all of Adidas's marketing money just went onto his body.
And it was the, you know, he had all these slick socials about his feet and everything like that. And it really took me out of what was a pretty amazing endurance feat.
Colin True
00:12:43.518 - 00:12:45.738
Oh yeah, he ran like 50 miles a day on whatever.
Shawnté Salabert
00:12:45.754 - 00:13:35.670
It was wild. He looked absolutely gaunt at the end of it and you know, he gave it his all.
And that was the thing that bummed me out is that like I, I remember outside asked if I wanted to interview him and write about it. I was like, no. To me it was like, it's not that what he did wasn't impressive.
It's that it was just this big commercial undertaking underwritten by Adidas. And, and that's the thing is that you get into this tricky thing of well, it costs money to do this stuff.
Like I don't begrudge the guy wanting a sponsor but the way they did it I thought was so heavy handed and it really took away from sort of the human endurance magic. But like this guy and his little canoe, you know, tip to tipping, that's pretty cool.
And I like, I don't know if you saw Colin, but he talks about that he is excited to go slow. Like he just did this, but he's excited to go slow. I mean when you're going tip to tip, maybe you want to take it slow.
Colin True
00:13:35.750 - 00:13:40.774
I hope that he's like, he's got to be on the joke, right? Like he's got to be naughty as.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:40.782 - 00:13:42.518
The most young lad ever.
Colin True
00:13:42.574 - 00:13:45.558
Yeah, like buddy, you know, you know what you're doing, right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:45.614 - 00:13:47.098
Ruining his innocence here.
Colin True
00:13:47.234 - 00:13:51.674
I need confirmation that he knows what he's doing. Myrockfight gmail.com please sir.
Shawnté Salabert
00:13:51.802 - 00:13:53.322
Gmail please email us.
Colin True
00:13:53.506 - 00:14:33.606
It's an interesting point about the, the ads because like I, you know, when I was tech repping in the mid-2000s, we would do, we would sponsor stuff and it was always like part of like you get the package. Like, oh, if you sponsor our event, like we'll hang your banner at the event. And it was just like, okay, well yeah, that makes sense. You do that.
Like, okay, but what does that do? Like you know, even Timothy, right? Timothy Olsen being head to toe, like it doesn't do anything for the brand.
Now you want the stories, you want the video footage, there's ways to like g from that and then market it. I get it. But like putting your I, I, if you're Coca Cola and you've like billions of dollars and you want to like plaster a logo on something, fine.
But I don't understand what people think they're getting by just like logoing themselves up anymore. I don't think it works.
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:33.638 - 00:15:09.250
So we're heavy handed. It doesn't work. It reminds me of, and this is a weird parallel but I went to summer camp through the Boys and Girls Club Camp Wickham Mason.
And they had two sides of the camp and the main camp had a lodge called Friendship Lodge. So you'd go to Friendship Lodge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You'd have like rainy day activ activities there.
It was like the gathering place for the camp. And then I remember I was working at the camp as a teen and like in college.
And one day they hung a plaque on and they announced that it was no longer called Friendship Lodge. It was now to be called Miner's Lodge, named for these donors that gave a bunch of money to the camp.
Colin True
00:15:09.290 - 00:15:09.570
Come on.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:09.610 - 00:15:31.694
I was like, it's Friendship Lodge. Don't you think these people want it to be called Friendship Lodge? Like, talk to them.
I mean, put a plaque up if you want to honor them, but don't rename the lodge. It's so goofy to me because it took. It just.
Just like sucked away this very true meaning of, like, oh, it's a gathering place for friends in the woods. And then it was like, rich people were here. You know, that's what it feels like, right? Put your stamp on. Somebody rich was here.
Colin True
00:15:31.782 - 00:15:45.860
Plus, it's cooler to like, you know, to not leave your. To just know that, like, hey, I did that thing, you know, I'm the reason that got to happen. And like, you know, we could.
We named it something cool and maybe there's somebody who knows who will say, like, well, you know how that happened, right? It was that rich guy over there. Like, you know, like, make it be cool.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:45.990 - 00:15:46.872
Make it be cool.
Colin True
00:15:46.936 - 00:15:47.176
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:47.208 - 00:15:53.592
Yeah. I feel like, I feel like our canoeist here. It feels very pure what he is attempting.
Colin True
00:15:53.656 - 00:15:54.104
I agree.
Shawnté Salabert
00:15:54.192 - 00:16:36.142
Like I said, I love that. The whole idea of taking it slow and really enjoying it. I mean, I do think people get fkts wrong in that. Like, I was interviewing Heather Anderson.
She goes by Anish on the trail. She's written a couple books. She set, you know, long trail records.
And she was saying, she's like, what I don't understand is why people think that I can't appreciate a trail at, you know, two miles, three miles or like three miles an hour or whatever it is. Like, I'm appreciating it just like you are. I'm still moving through the scenery. She's not like on a train. She's on her feet.
So, you know, we have this kind of joke in the long distance hiking community that's like on the PCT specifically, last one to Canada wins. And it's. It's bragging rights because, you know, they're appreciating it. So.
Colin True
00:16:36.246 - 00:17:02.980
Yeah. And everything has its kind of its speed, right? I mean, this guy was.
Biking's faster than hiking or running, but it's like there's a way to appreciate from that point of view as well. Right. It's just like that's kind of what makes Everything unique, I guess. Last thing on this is, you know, if you were gonna.
Do you have the stomach for doing a big thing like this? Is there something that you always be, like, kind of hanging out there, like, you know, that thing, that big thing, and it's big by your definition.
Doesn't have to be going tip to tip.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:03.400 - 00:17:08.374
I don't want to go tip to tip. I have not and will not put that on my bucket list.
Colin True
00:17:08.462 - 00:17:08.966
Oh, my God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:08.998 - 00:17:10.518
I mean, honestly, Colin, I.
Colin True
00:17:10.574 - 00:17:12.086
Me on the other hand, sorry, you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:12.158 - 00:17:15.574
Hey, I want that for you if you love me.
Colin True
00:17:15.582 - 00:17:18.342
I don't know if my wife wants that for me, but okay, she may not.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:18.526 - 00:17:24.610
That's something for you guys to discuss in your marriage while I'm shaving my face.
Colin True
00:17:25.310 - 00:17:26.342
My face.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:26.526 - 00:17:33.670
Oh, bless. Sorry, sorry, listeners. I teed that up way too well for him. You think I would have learned by now.
Colin True
00:17:33.790 - 00:17:35.366
Yeah, I know shit, right? Right big.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:35.438 - 00:17:40.502
All these people that were like, oh, it's nice having Shantae in the show are gonna be like, actually, we need.
Colin True
00:17:40.526 - 00:17:41.574
More women on the rock fight.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:41.662 - 00:18:51.608
Well, well, we found. We found one, I guess. Oh, man. Well, okay, I do. I do have bucket. Bucket list items. And I love endurance.
I love the thought that, you know, I mean, hell no. First of all, hell no. Do I want to spend like six to eight months being soggy? That is what this man is going to do. And bless him for it.
But no interest in that. I turn into a prune being in the bathtub for five minutes.
But for me, part of it is I started running at 40, so for me, running has always been a curiosity. What can I do? I played soccer for 13 years, so my knees are jacked. But I always thought I'm like, what could I do the rim to rim?
Could I do the rim to rim to rim? I've done trail halves and I've done up to 18 miles on trail. And so I wanted to do maybe a trail marathon.
But really, really, if you're trail running, you go from like the half marathon to ultra. Nobody, nobody's like, I gotta do a trail marathon. You're either doing a half or you're doing an ultra. So I'm just trying to, like, you know, that.
I mean, the nice thing about trail running, though, is that you can walk the uphills and not feel like a total loser.
Colin True
00:18:51.704 - 00:18:55.464
No. And it's part of what you're supposed to do by a lot of totally.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:55.512 - 00:19:07.996
I learned that from. From Brendan Leonard over at Semi Rad.
We were talking about his first hundred miler was like run, rabbit run or something where he thought he'd book a flat race because then he wouldn't have hills to deal with. But then he's like, oh shit. I felt like I had to actually run them all.
Colin True
00:19:08.148 - 00:19:25.468
No, and even if you talk to people who do things like the Vermont 100, which is more rolling, it's like more relentless in a way because it's more. Even if it's right, it's just like, it's just this constant like steady roll versus a. Oh, we have a two and a half mile uphill climb.
I'm going to power hike this, you know, and then. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:25.564 - 00:19:30.080
How about you? Are you. You have any big aspirations hiding away under your beard?
Colin True
00:19:31.010 - 00:20:20.518
Well, since you asked, yeah. Nothing big. I definitely. Every once in a while the idea of a thru hike comes up.
But I don't know if I have this, if I really want to or if it's just kind of romanticized in my head.
I mean there's definitely stuff like I definitely would like to do like the long paddle through the Grand Canyon, like the month long getting in there, like you really. You're off yourself for a month and like that's awesome. So there's some things like that, but nothing like this anymore.
And I never really had to stomach for this. I mean, you talked to Housman too. Like, I'm not a camper for the most part anymore. I'm sort of. It moved into.
Look, if I'm, I, I don't mind camping in a tent, but if I'm within a couple hours of my house, like, you know, my bed's right there. Like that's kind of where I'm at. So. So I still, I really do hold, you know, like, salute this guy.
I mean like, I love hearing about this and I don't think we hear about these kinds of things as much as we used to. And so you know what?
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:20.574 - 00:20:54.760
Yeah, they're not as sexy as those big sponsored ones. It's not like, you know, there's something and it. But it should be. You're right. I absolutely think.
There's this guy, Art Housonica, who goes by Karts, is his trail name K A R T S? He's an older gentleman, he lives in Arizona and he is always out there doing just like wild. He's paddling across Canada and stuff like that.
It's all really lowkey, but he's just. You meet this guy.
This guy is just like a, a fountain of energy and also an inspiration that you can keep doing Stuff like this when you're older too, you don't have to be like, you know, 24 doing this. You can keep doing it on your own terms. But yeah, I say bravo to this dude.
Colin True
00:20:55.740 - 00:20:59.720
Well, hey, Shantae, are you looking to lighten your load?
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:00.140 - 00:21:00.692
Always.
Colin True
00:21:00.796 - 00:21:25.274
Well, garage grown gear is your go to hub for ultralight backpacking gear from the coolest small and ultralight brands out there. Whether you're through hiking, overnighting, backpacking is more comfortable when you're carrying less weight.
With free shipping on orders over $50, GGG makes lightening your pack an easy and fun experience. Check out the most specialty of specialty check shops@garagegrowngear.com I should put that on a T shirt. The most specialty is specialty.
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:25.402 - 00:21:43.610
You know what? I, I just got an order in from them. I, I, I order from garage grown gear probably three times a year, if not more.
I'm very excited about these, these street corn grits by a brand. A new brand or a brand new to me called bowl and kettle. Anyway, they have the best name brands.
Colin True
00:21:43.770 - 00:21:44.106
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:44.138 - 00:22:06.068
Oh, my gosh, they've got everything thing but this stuff.
My friend I was backpacking with Liz Thomas over at Treeline and we were on the PCT last month and she had these and I was like, where did you get that? It's delicious. Anyway, it was garage grown gear.
So I went and bought some and I'm very tempted to just make them at home because my big backpacking trip isn't until June. So I'm like, oh, yeah, make them. Can I hold on to these?
Colin True
00:22:06.124 - 00:22:11.252
Will they taste as good? Were they that good? Because you were backpacking and you were outside and then you have it home.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:11.276 - 00:22:13.140
And you're like, do I want to be be disappointed?
Colin True
00:22:13.220 - 00:22:13.796
Right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:13.948 - 00:22:14.644
We'll see.
Colin True
00:22:14.732 - 00:22:51.920
My favorite story from that was my first adventure race, which I did in Tennessee. And I remember at the end of it, I was working for Chamberlain.
We had a sponsor team who came to do the race and they put together a team of like some locals so I could do it as well. And it was Tennessee in August. Not the coolest place in the world. And I remember we getting the finish line.
One of the guys on the Timberland team was like, hey, man, drink, hand me a glass bottle of ice cold Coca Cola. And it was the best coke I had ever had in my time. Like, oh, my God, this is just amaz.
And the next day we're like driving to the airport and we stopped at like, you know, the gas station or whatever. I'm like, I'm gonna have another Coke. And it was fine. Then it was just Coke again.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:51.960 - 00:22:54.000
You know, law of diminishing returns, right?
Colin True
00:22:54.040 - 00:22:59.100
It's like, oh, oh. It's because I just done doing a 12 hour adventure race. That's why it was so good.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:59.560 - 00:23:00.304
That's right.
Colin True
00:23:00.392 - 00:23:00.944
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:01.072 - 00:23:04.064
We would probably like each other better if we did a 12 hour adventure race.
Colin True
00:23:04.112 - 00:23:06.832
We should do an adventure racing. Have you ever done an adventure race?
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:06.976 - 00:23:07.936
No, I haven't, actually.
Colin True
00:23:08.008 - 00:23:10.382
They're really. The sprint ones are really fun. Fun.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:10.486 - 00:23:14.270
I do it. I do it. Who do you think would do it? Doug would. I feel like Doug would do it.
Colin True
00:23:14.310 - 00:23:15.566
Schnitzman would do it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:15.718 - 00:23:19.742
Yeah, he would do it. I don't know about Housman or producer.
Colin True
00:23:19.806 - 00:23:26.222
Housman might, depending on what it was because he might. For the social aspect, I don't think we could get Dave to do it. Dave would probably want to come though.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:26.406 - 00:23:27.598
He would snark at us.
Colin True
00:23:27.654 - 00:23:30.850
Our first rock fight. Team building. We're doing an adventure race.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:31.430 - 00:23:32.462
It's a great idea.
Colin True
00:23:32.526 - 00:23:47.690
It is. All right. Hey, so next story. This one, I was very excited knowing that you were going to be on with here with me for Wednesday.
According to a press release and from a post on their blog from last week, toe sock maker Nginji not in Jiji.
Shawnté Salabert
00:23:47.850 - 00:23:48.986
Hush your mouth.
Colin True
00:23:49.098 - 00:24:22.070
Has released the performance shirt collection.
The collection is being marketed towards a variety of outdoorsy activities with all the markers of a modern tech tea, soft, quick drying, travel friendly, versatile, all ranging between 40 and 45. Like I said, this caught my eye because especially knowing you were going to be here today.
Two things at play here because I know you're an injinji fan is why I say it that number one, does your love of injinji transfer beyond socks? And two, oh, my God, why? But anyway, let's start with. With the brand. Does your affinity for toe socks make this an easier sell for someone like you?
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:22.850 - 00:24:24.154
All right, short answer.
Colin True
00:24:24.202 - 00:24:29.098
You misspelled it in the outline. Did you do that on purpose?
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:29.194 - 00:24:40.398
I. I did not do that on purpose. In my head. The listener needs to know. In my head and. And out loud. Apparently, many, multiple times for years. Apparently.
I.
Colin True
00:24:40.514 - 00:24:43.878
This brand in Gigi, that second N is just a ball buster for you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:43.934 - 00:24:45.814
You know, it's just extra.
Colin True
00:24:45.862 - 00:24:50.182
Nobody needs it in jiji. I kind of like that better. I gotta be honest.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:50.326 - 00:24:51.222
It sounds almost like.
Colin True
00:24:51.246 - 00:24:51.382
Like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:51.406 - 00:25:20.872
Oh. Yep. Wow. Yeah, they're not. I'm never getting. I'm never getting socks from them ever. They are never.
They're not sending me their Performance tease, I'll tell you that. No, I mean, here's the thing. I think of Injinji as sock people, just like I think of darn tough as sock people.
I mean, do I want or expect darn tough to start making rain jackets? Not. Not really. Unless they offer that same sort of, you know, generous return policy that they have. You know, Return or replacement.
Colin True
00:25:20.936 - 00:25:21.496
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:21.608 - 00:25:31.208
I mean, second, when I think of Injinji, I think specifically of toes, not just socks. This is me. This is my weird brain. So then I.
Colin True
00:25:31.264 - 00:25:40.632
That's not your weird brain. Me too. I mean, it's a toe sock. Bam. Toe sock. Yes, you have. And that's a rare thing that you have.
Your brand is, like, associated with something that quickly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:40.696 - 00:25:43.076
Specific. Yeah, yeah. Not just socks. It's toe socks.
Colin True
00:25:43.108 - 00:25:43.604
Toe socks.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:43.652 - 00:26:10.400
So I had a split second where I wondered, okay, are they getting into the finger market now? Like, is. Are they making running shirts that have built in gloves or something? I mean, it's.
It's deeply creepy to think about that on one, you know, sort of literal, metaphoric hand, but integrated sun protection on the other. So that's not bad. Yeah. But then finally, here's the other thing that. That happened in my brain.
I'm really taking you on a journey through my brain here. It's weird in there.
Colin True
00:26:11.300 - 00:26:13.004
Willy Wonka, like the boat ride, you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:13.012 - 00:26:29.388
Know, Much, much worse. Not as sweet. My brain sees the word in Gingi, apparently reads it as in Gigi.
But also when I see apparel like I did on this press release, then my brain thinks of Janji or Janji. How do you say that?
Colin True
00:26:29.444 - 00:26:31.692
Interesting. No, you're right. That's a really good point.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:31.796 - 00:26:43.916
It's like the same letters, different order. They make running specific apparel. So NG is for toes, Janji is for butts. Like, that's, you know, I guess. I guess in Gigi wants to be in Gingi.
In Gingi. Jesus.
Colin True
00:26:44.028 - 00:26:44.720
Wow.
Shawnté Salabert
00:26:45.140 - 00:26:59.260
Wants to be for your shoulders and your torso as well. But I. That's the thing is, like, I. My brain just can't compute. I love their socks. I will keep purchasing their socks.
I will keep evangelizing their socks, but I don't need them to make shirts.
Colin True
00:26:59.420 - 00:28:06.804
Well, and that's it. I mean, and this is a point I've made many times on the show, like expansion into a new category, even when it seems like this makes sense.
And for a sock company, like, apparel makes sense. Right? Smartwool makes apparel. I'm sure there's somebody else I'm not thinking of. Actually, I don't Know if there's that many other examples. But.
But it does make sense to make that leap if you're going to.
But to your point, there is so much brand equity and product equity wrapped up in not only just socks, but this very specific sock that, I mean, it really depends on what their goals are. Like, when I say, oh, my God, why, Like, I'm being purposely hyperbolic because of, like, that thing is, like, that is a hard thing to do.
If this is part of a. Just a bigger apparel push. Like, hey, man, and Gingi's coming for apparel. We're starting with the tech tee, where, by the way, there's a.
Plenty of that out there. There's plenty of tech tees to buy. I'm a little dubious if this is like, them sort of like, hey, listen, we can make this shirt.
Let's kind of dip our toe into the, you know, apparel waters and see if Nginji fans like it enough to support it then. Okay, I'm, I'm open to the idea if this is sort of a slow play into that world. But if it's, say, the, The. The.
The tip of the spear to a larger sort of initiative to tip of.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:06.812 - 00:28:11.396
The spear, I love nothing more than a callback.
Colin True
00:28:11.508 - 00:28:22.724
Welcome back to the Tip to Tip podcast. So anyway, yeah, I'm open to it. I guess if it's more of. It's just kind of like, hey, let's. Let's do something for our fans. But.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:22.892 - 00:28:25.460
Right. That's the thing. It's. What is the intention here?
Colin True
00:28:25.500 - 00:28:25.876
Yeah, exactly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:25.908 - 00:28:40.632
Is it, you know, are they going to launch a larger collection? Is the. Are they just, you know, treading it. The toes dip, which I really appreciated, by the way, into the waters.
They're starting with shirts for some random reason. I mean, in my, in my head, why not start with gloves? I go back to toes.
Colin True
00:28:40.696 - 00:28:44.584
That's a great point. You're already an accessory. Accessory company. Make more accessories.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:44.712 - 00:28:59.060
Make some good. I honestly, I think, you know, I love outdoor research. I think we've discussed this in the top five accessories episode. But I love their. They are.
They do great. Gloves, hats, all that jazz. But it doesn't mean there can't be competitors doing great things. I'd love to see more options out there.
Colin True
00:28:59.360 - 00:29:46.948
Yeah, it's the. And the name kind of play. It's a great name, despite your trouble with it kind of. You're not locked in. Like, there's that.
There's a example somebody told me about where, like, there's a time when, like, m. Like, I think it was Mr. Coffee wanted to make another appliance. Like, it was either toothbrush, electric toothbrushes, or toasters or something.
But it's like, yeah, but, dude, your company name is Mr. Coffee. Like, you're not. You're kind of locked in the one thing. But, but on that point, though, I did.
If you look at the blog post they put up about it or on Gingi's website, they do state, and I'm quoting it here, every runner needs dur versatile layers that complement their active lifestyle. And these shirts do that. And I'm like, yeah, but.
Yeah, that exists in a lot of different ways and a lot of different from the cheapest of the cheap to some really expensive ones. We got the. That's the category is kind of covered, is my point.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:47.004 - 00:30:15.760
It is. This isn't in this. They're not innovating anything. And that's where I'm like, why wouldn't you make a sun hoodie with integrated gloves? And you can.
Listen, Gingi, I'm apparently giving you this idea for free. Think about how we all have like the little thumb loopy thingies.
What if you integrated a glove that covers the fingers much like the socks encase the toes like little warm sausages and then you could fold back the glove when you don't want the full glove. It, like, maybe there's a little, you know, is it like the Velcro thing.
Colin True
00:30:15.800 - 00:30:17.296
With like the mitten over your.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:17.448 - 00:30:34.428
Yeah, yeah, I think there's options here. But, but listen, like, all right, every runner also needs some type of shoe. Unless they're kind of hardcore, you know, running barefoot.
Every runner needs to eventually hydrate and fuel. Every runner probably needs to cover their genitals unless they're running at a nudist resort. But I just don't get like, okay.
Colin True
00:30:34.444 - 00:30:41.212
Everyone is that limited only to runners, is it? I mean, like, oh, cycle, you're fine. You can be naked, it's fine.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:41.276 - 00:30:55.868
You guys can let it. Let it flow in the wind if you want. But yeah, I just. I just think it's like such a weird. I saw that too, and I was like, well, what?
This was the worst Mark. Why didn't you hire me? This is the worst marketing company. Because it doesn't tell me anything. It doesn't tell me.
Colin True
00:30:55.924 - 00:30:57.004
It's like, we made some shirts.
Shawnté Salabert
00:30:57.132 - 00:31:24.296
You made some. So what? Everybody made shirts. I mean, honestly, when I'm running, I run in like, ratty T shirts or tank tops or my sports bra.
And I only, only use tech shirts if I'm in The mountains and I, you know, so I use like a, A lightweight wool sun hoodie. But. And it's not that I wouldn't like. I'm sure these shirts feel nice. You could send me one. I'll try it. But I don't understand why. Right.
I want to know, like, why? Really why? Because that answer on the website is not the real.
Colin True
00:31:24.368 - 00:31:34.052
That's it. And this is a classic case of we love you and Gingy. You especially your fan. I have enjoyed in wearing Gingy products.
We're just like, yeah, I've got like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:34.076 - 00:31:40.516
20 pairs of gingi socks that I. Yeah. In my drawer. Like I, I love them. I wear them backpacking. It's, you know, running everything.
Colin True
00:31:40.588 - 00:31:41.124
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:41.252 - 00:31:47.284
Yeah. Help us help you share the gospel of your expanding line by explaining better why.
Colin True
00:31:47.372 - 00:31:49.684
Yes. I think they're San Diego company.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:49.852 - 00:31:51.604
Oh, maybe a field trip.
Colin True
00:31:51.652 - 00:31:54.420
Yeah. Shantae's in la. I'm in San Diego.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:54.500 - 00:31:55.012
I'm ready.
Colin True
00:31:55.076 - 00:32:01.720
We will come on and go on a hike with you in the engine and in Gingi and she will talk you into calling yourselves in Gigi.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:02.140 - 00:32:03.764
I'll wear shorts.
Colin True
00:32:03.812 - 00:32:04.036
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:04.068 - 00:32:05.696
And I'll we Gigi shirts.
Colin True
00:32:05.808 - 00:32:09.248
We can meet up like over like Julian or something like that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:09.304 - 00:32:11.460
And then. Oh, and we'd have some pie afterwards.
Colin True
00:32:11.800 - 00:32:13.024
My daughter every time.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:13.112 - 00:32:13.968
Gluten free pie.
Colin True
00:32:14.064 - 00:32:15.728
Can we go hiking and then get by?
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:15.864 - 00:32:18.080
That's what you're supposed to do. Your daughter is a good kid.
Colin True
00:32:18.160 - 00:33:18.540
She is a good kid. All right, next story. Which is kind of funny because we just got done recording another podcast and this sort of came up.
But also according to a press release last week, Strava has added a new subscriber feature that quote, delivers personally personalized and estimated finish times for popular race distances from 5K to a marathon.
The Performance predictions, that's what they're calling this feature, looks at your recent activities to predict where you'll need, where you'll finish and what your pace will be. Personally, I kind of want to hear from someone like that something like this actually works.
And maybe you're that person because I think you had some experience with this on the watch side of things and like on GPS side of things. But I. Who's the 5k runner out there that wants to pay for this? And I don't know if they have to pay for this.
Maybe this is just a built in feature now. But like, you know, why, why, why? Why? Okay, now I gotta look at my phone more. Like, well, you could actually be doing more or you're not.
You're not keeping up with your pace here. It's like, just go out and go for a run, man. Just go for a run. Track your distance if you want.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:18.660 - 00:33:56.380
Yeah. Even if you are. So here's the thing. You're saying it's a new subscriber feature that means you do have to pay for it.
I mean, Strava has this whole list of features that are supposed to justify the very high annual cost of that app. Now. I mean, here's the thing. The Garmin app, which I use for my, I've got two Garmin watches, but the Garmin app already does this.
They have a race Predictor feature. It's a free app. It's built into the app. Why would I pay extra to be able to do it?
And second, you know the thing about the race predictor, so it builds over time.
So if you use Strava every day, you're running every day, it'll build your data in there just like it would in a Garmin app or Coros app, any of those, you know, GPS enabled apps.
Colin True
00:33:56.470 - 00:33:56.864
Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:56.952 - 00:35:05.588
And, and so it's, it's a tool for, it's a training tool to push yourself. So if you, if you're, you start off and it's like it's going to take you 45 minutes to run a 5K, you lazy sloth. Cool.
You get the satisfaction of seeing yourself do better. That is, there's something to be said for that, seeing improvement over time. Right.
And I've used the Garmin one, so I have seen improvement over time and it is kind of satisfying.
I mean, you get that little thrill of like, oh, am I actually improving and not just, you know, part of a rapidly deteriorating corpse running through this world. That's exciting to think that I can still improve and not just slowly die.
So it's, it's one of those things that I don't think it's worth extra money. But if you're already paying for the Strava app and you're not using something else, if you're already paying that ransom.
There you go, a free feature for you. But yeah, whether or not it's worthwhile, it just, you know your pace.
Like if you're somebody who runs a lot, you know your pace, you know your goal pace.
So it's not giving you a goal pace, it's just telling you like, if you keep running at this level, this is probably how long it'll take you to finish. So you can.
Colin True
00:35:05.644 - 00:35:08.260
Okay, you know, maybe I'm overreacting to it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:08.380 - 00:35:16.356
Your snacks oh, if it's gonna take me, if I run a 5k at this. Let's say you run a. You run a 10 minute mile 5k.
Colin True
00:35:16.428 - 00:35:16.724
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:16.772 - 00:35:31.172
Here's what it's estimating for a marathon and then you can kind of plan, like if you're doing your own marathon in the, you know, whatever in the mountains or something, you could plan for how many snacks you carry. Like that's useful. Snacks are useful. What was your planning, what was your.
Colin True
00:35:31.196 - 00:35:34.880
Breaking point with Strava where you're like, okay, I'm out, I'm done with this.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:35.420 - 00:35:49.444
You know, I realized that it wasn't adding anything to the experience of running. Yeah, I hate to. I love. Like, I was enjoying. I got the little thrill when I'd become a local legend or something like that.
That's all ego based, right?
Colin True
00:35:49.612 - 00:35:54.560
It's because you're one of like four people who go to this place. Which is why I got it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:55.020 - 00:35:57.060
There's a ton of people. It's satisfying.
Colin True
00:35:57.140 - 00:35:57.800
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:58.480 - 00:36:50.222
But yeah, it made me real. I really had to sit down and think, what am I trying to get out of this? I still use Strava, but I use it just as a log. Just as a straight up log.
It's like, here's the miles.
I can go back sometimes and see routes that I ran that I might want to run again and kind of get a sense of, oh, this is how long it took me that time. This is how long I should allot. But from a paid perspective.
I think the paid perspective works for people who want to set their own routes in that app. People who are in fact trying to compete and like, like that. That motivation of competing against other people.
Because then you can participate in the leaderboards where it's like, oh, you are the person who's run this segment the fastest or something. I think there's something to be said for that. I am not that person.
I'm just trying to make it through the run and get myself home so I could eat a lot of food.
Colin True
00:36:50.326 - 00:36:56.158
That's. That's the second I get out there. Bike, run, hike, whatever. It's like, what am I going to eat when I'm done? Done with this.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:56.294 - 00:36:57.886
It's important. That's why we do this.
Colin True
00:36:57.958 - 00:37:05.194
I am like, I become a dog, like, entirely food motivated. Like, yeah, what do you want me to do? I'll do it. Am I gonna get food? All right, I'm in.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:05.282 - 00:37:06.730
Have you never used Strava before?
Colin True
00:37:06.770 - 00:37:41.052
Oh, no, no, I have.
I punted on it when it was the social aspect of it when like, you kind of fall into the routine of like, here's my local trail, here's my local gravel ride, here's the hike I go on. And 99.9% of my things on there are just those.
And then like, oh, and here are the same six people who are giving me a thumbs up and I'm still open it up and I'm looking for it and I'm like, there are a billion, like mileage tracker apps out there that I could be using. So. And I have a bike, like, I'm a bike computer when I'm riding my bike that I could just. So I'm like, I'm good. I don't need to pay for this.
This is silly. Like, what am I getting?
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:41.156 - 00:37:46.040
We are all Pavlov's dogs. Just like, did somebody give me a red circle on my.
Colin True
00:37:47.620 - 00:37:51.720
Shanta gave me kudos for my 2 1/2 mile hike that I did at lunch today.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:52.180 - 00:37:55.292
I'm just trying to, you know, improve your self esteem, Colin.
Colin True
00:37:55.356 - 00:37:56.200
I know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:56.900 - 00:37:59.920
Increment by increment, leaderboard by leaderboard.
Colin True
00:38:00.900 - 00:38:13.948
All right, well, let's get into our, our next segment, which we're calling Shantae Recommends, and it's brought to you by Oboz. This is a new segment because we've never done it before. Shantae, what are you going to recommend today?
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:14.084 - 00:38:17.360
That's what new means. It means you've never done it before. Excellent.
Colin True
00:38:17.780 - 00:38:20.460
That's right. You see how I connected those dots?
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:20.620 - 00:38:25.080
You are the brain trust behind this whole operation. That is, that is evident.
Colin True
00:38:25.420 - 00:38:27.360
Well, you know, do what I can.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:27.660 - 00:38:37.508
Well, Colin, can I ask you before I launch into what I, what I, how I'm going to answer that is how did you intend for me to answer this question? What about what? Or like, what do you want me to be recommending to people?
Colin True
00:38:37.564 - 00:38:44.244
I'm pretty sure this came out of a brainstorm where you're like, yeah, we can do something where I recommend something. And I'm like, ashanti Recommends. That sounds pretty good.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:44.332 - 00:38:46.340
Cheese. That's my recommendation, y'all.
Colin True
00:38:46.420 - 00:38:53.958
Oh, okay. All right. That segment was brought to you by because I agree, cheese is always the answer. Recommendation cheese is so, so good.
Shawnté Salabert
00:38:54.094 - 00:38:54.966
Mic drop.
Colin True
00:38:55.078 - 00:39:03.558
What is, what is it? I don't like milk. I get grossed out by drinking milk. Yeah, but cheese, I'll just, I'll eat like, just put a pile of cheese in front of me.
I'll just eat it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:03.694 - 00:39:28.776
I once went to see the Blue Man Group in New York back when I lived there. This is A long time ago, I went with my. The guy I was dating at the time, and we got kind of high.
So first, you have to understand, his mom had given us free tickets to the Blue Man Group and before that, paid for us to go to a nice dinner. So she gave us like a 200 gift certificate to this fancy restaurant. And then we had Blue Man Group.
And in between the fancy restaurant and the Blue Man Group, we got real high.
Colin True
00:39:28.848 - 00:39:29.144
Nice.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:29.192 - 00:39:37.560
And then we bought a wedge of. I think it was Colby cheese. Like a. Like a rectangle of Colby cheese at a bodega. And then we just sat there and ate it.
Colin True
00:39:37.600 - 00:39:39.272
Like taking bites from the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:39.376 - 00:39:40.136
Yes.
Colin True
00:39:40.328 - 00:39:42.600
Just passing the block of cheese.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:42.680 - 00:39:51.056
Passing the block? Yeah, past the block on the left hand side. It was. Honestly, that's the only way you should watch Blue Man Group.
Colin True
00:39:51.128 - 00:39:52.096
Pie with cheese.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:52.208 - 00:39:53.040
Pie with cheese.
Colin True
00:39:53.120 - 00:40:11.184
But there's something really satisfying about doing the. The bite from the block that you're not technically supposed to do. Right? You're supposed to like. And like, I'll do this.
I make a lot of homemade pizza, and if I get like a ball of like just the. The fresh mozzarella, and if I have a. If I don't make all of it, I've got one left. I'll just take a big bite. I get apple out. It's so good.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:11.272 - 00:40:14.580
It's so good to eat it that way. I would do that. You're my people, Colin.
Colin True
00:40:15.160 - 00:40:16.528
I'm not even from Wisconsin.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:16.704 - 00:40:19.456
No, you're honorary. I'm gifting you honorary stats.
Colin True
00:40:19.488 - 00:40:21.568
I've had my share of nuke Laras, so it's fine.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:21.664 - 00:40:22.064
Okay.
Colin True
00:40:22.112 - 00:40:23.552
Yeah. Spotted cow. Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:23.616 - 00:40:24.096
Very good.
Colin True
00:40:24.168 - 00:40:25.104
Yeah. Yep.
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:25.232 - 00:40:42.560
All right. Well, I kind of went. I went in a direction because that's the only option I had was to pick a direction and roll with it. And so I.
I got some mail today, and it was a clean object that I had sent to be cleaned, so. Okay. Regular listeners of the rock fight may have surmised at this point that I like to backpack.
Colin True
00:40:42.720 - 00:40:44.160
Because you say that a lot, is that right?
Shawnté Salabert
00:40:44.200 - 00:42:23.628
Because I say it a lot. I write books about it. But I'm also just generally kind of a feral person. And my sleeping quilt, it's a. It's an enlightened equipment enigma.
So it's a quilt, not a sleeping bag. So that means it doesn't. It's sewn up just to the foot box, the toe box, foot box. And then it's kind of open. Because the whole point, if you.
If you're not aware of sleeping bags Is like the loft on top is the only thing actually keeping you warm. The loft on the bottom, you're compressing. It doesn't really do anything. So this lightens the load, yada yada, whatever. Anyway, that thing was rank.
I've had it for over a decade at this point. It's been on many long trails like Colorado Trail, Pct. J Trail, New Poyo, etc and I, I, I try to clean it.
You know, they're like put the down, use the down wash, put it in the dryer with the tennis balls. No, that's not, Whenever I cleaned it last, I did a terrible job.
And this summer it was just all kind of flat and weird and I really thought that was the end of the sleeping bag. And they're not cheap to replace like a sleeping quilt. It's like a 300 plus dollar situation.
Anyway, so I looked at the enlightened equipment website and they recommend either A, trying yourself or B this family run sort of eco friendly dry cleaning specialty service called E Clean. Very generic name. Interesting. But I just got my quilt back from them.
It spent a few weeks in their loving hands and honestly this is the cleanest it's been since I bought it, you know, over a decade ago. So this was my revelation. I mean I think that jackets, I'll keep cleaning, I use Nik wax down direct.
Like I'll keep doing that stuff myself because they're small enough to put in the dryer and, and break up the baffles or break, you know, break up the feathers from clumping. But the sleeping bag, if you screw that up, it is not going to keep you warm because you're going to have all clumpiness in there.
Colin True
00:42:23.684 - 00:42:28.220
Different levels of, of consequences here if you screw it up.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:28.260 - 00:42:29.756
That's right. You might die.
Colin True
00:42:29.868 - 00:42:34.332
Yeah. Or be exceptionally uncomfortable, which is maybe worse than dying frankly.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:34.396 - 00:42:51.830
Yeah, that would be awful. Awful. God. But yeah, I cannot recommend enough. Just taking care of your gear.
This is one of the things I always used to tell people when I taught backpacking and backcountry skills is like, yeah, just take care of that so it lasts as long as possible. A, it's expensive and B, let's, let's keep things out of the landfills. There's just so much crap out there.
Colin True
00:42:51.950 - 00:43:14.668
Tera Solutions, the CEO of that was on the show a few months back and I think he said because they do cleaning for like secondhand stores, like they work with gear trade. Right. So like, so it's a little more commercial. Commercial.
But I am like 98 positive he said on the show that like you could send something to them and they would clean it for you. I believe that's a thing. Maybe they don't do that anymore. But like, but that there are options, I guess. To your.
Shawnté Salabert
00:43:14.724 - 00:43:54.716
There are options out there. I think if people aren't comfortable cleaning stuff themselves, like, don't throw it away. Just try to find, try.
You know, there's all these gear repair things online now. There's this. I cannot remember her name. We'll later on, I'll figure it out.
But there's a woman on Instagram who's based in like Arizona or something and she does, she's just like, send me your crap and I will fix it, you know, for a fee. But she does these really cool fixes where she's putting colorful patches and you know, she's got all different kinds of techy materials.
She can fix your puffy whatever. Yeah, I just, I think that's so much more interesting than just constantly buying new crap.
I mean, it's the conundrum of like, oh, sure, there's exciting stuff in the world, but also we have all of this other stuff that's already great. We just need to take care of it.
Colin True
00:43:54.788 - 00:44:00.350
Well, and then the age of Donald Trump's tariff rifts. Let's just buy what we've already made.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:00.730 - 00:44:01.346
Yeah.
Colin True
00:44:01.458 - 00:44:03.410
And fix what we already have. How about that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:03.450 - 00:44:05.470
Exactly. Yeah. How about it?
Colin True
00:44:06.170 - 00:44:26.470
Well, that segment Shantae recommends is brought to you by Oboz, who wants to share the love of hiking. And we want to help them by uncovering all the different reasons we love to take the long walk.
So we have five reasons that we're going to talk about why we love to go hiking today. Number one on today's list is stress relief. Stress relief. Excuse me. Until you hear a twig snap and convince yourself it's a bear.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:27.690 - 00:44:29.970
This is why I wear earplugs when I sleep on trail.
Colin True
00:44:30.050 - 00:44:32.034
Because I won't listen, I won't hear the bear. The bear.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:32.082 - 00:44:34.034
Yep. I don't want to hear it's coming for me in the night.
Colin True
00:44:34.122 - 00:44:35.670
I'll just like, oh, look, I'm dead.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:36.090 - 00:44:37.954
Number two, I won't even know because I'll be dead.
Colin True
00:44:38.002 - 00:44:45.282
Exactly. Number two, no emails on the trail. Unless you're that one guy who rod a satellite hotspot. Knock it off, Greg. Fucking Greg.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:45.426 - 00:44:47.442
He's a one syllable man, right?
Colin True
00:44:47.546 - 00:44:48.904
It is one syllable.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:49.032 - 00:44:50.984
Yeah, you're excused because you're two syllables.
Colin True
00:44:51.032 - 00:44:51.496
I got lucky.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:51.528 - 00:44:52.056
You would never.
Colin True
00:44:52.128 - 00:44:53.624
You're two syllables too, Right. Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:53.672 - 00:44:54.104
Thank You.
Colin True
00:44:54.192 - 00:45:01.528
There you go. There you go. Number three, wildlife encounters. A deer. Magical. A snake. Nature saying.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:01.584 - 00:45:03.048
Boo. Danger. Noodle.
Colin True
00:45:03.144 - 00:45:05.432
I love snakes, though actually, I'm kind of down with it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:05.616 - 00:45:10.376
I do too. I mean, I've almost sat on a rattlesnake before, so other than that, I'm into it.
Colin True
00:45:10.448 - 00:45:15.850
Nice. Number four, Trail snacks taste better because hungry finger is the best seasoning.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:16.590 - 00:45:21.462
Did I write that line? It sounds like something I'd say at Number five.
Colin True
00:45:21.486 - 00:45:59.750
Hiking means the Bridger Ridge boot, which is there to help you smooth out the rough trails in front of you.
This hiking appreciation moment is brought to you by oboz of Bozeman, Montana, certified B Corp 6 million tree planter and inhabitant of the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Oboz is the maker of premium quality footwear for the trail and the cupid to the outdoor world. Hobos love hiking.
Hey everyone, let's dial things back. It's time for a new segment we're calling Catalog Lullaby. And today we're featuring catalog copy for the Arn Packs Mountain Magic 50 Pro Backpack.
Aarn Packs!
00:46:00.890 - 00:46:46.060
The Arn Mountain Magic 50 Pro. It is no surprise that this pack. Is a through hiker favorite.
It weighs just around 1kg. It weighs just around 1kg and has a free flowing heart system and comfy dual adjustment hip belt. This is your catalog lullaby. Sweet dreams.
Colin True
00:46:47.200 - 00:46:57.860
Plan to visit ARN at Switchback or Geoa Connect this June. If you can't make it there and you're not too sleepy, head to arnpacks.com and hey, sweet dreams everyone.
Chris DeMakes
00:46:59.040 - 00:47:01.500
It's time for a party shop.
Colin True
00:47:03.400 - 00:47:07.408
All right. It's time for the parting shot. Did you decide to do. Are you doing a parting shot? I didn't tell you yet.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:07.464 - 00:47:08.368
Oh, I didn't even think of it.
Colin True
00:47:08.424 - 00:47:08.656
Okay.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:08.688 - 00:47:09.312
I think you're gonna be.
Colin True
00:47:09.336 - 00:47:10.896
Well, we had your recommends. That was the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:10.968 - 00:47:12.768
Yeah, that's my parting shot.
Colin True
00:47:12.944 - 00:47:39.924
So for my parting shot today, it's become a tradition this time of the year where our. This is the. We're in our third year, right?
So now we can truly say we have a tradition, right so of being on the rock flight and me saying that I'm tired of talking about the craziness of Mount Everest, of the Mount Everest climbing season, only to then be sucked in by the stories coming out of Mount Everest. Everest. So happy Everest days, everybody. It's that time of year.
We should go to the grocery store, have like a display, like someone falling off a mountain.
Shawnté Salabert
00:47:39.972 - 00:47:43.040
I don't know, some vodka or something, right?
Colin True
00:47:43.660 - 00:49:04.710
So last Friday it was reported that a Huge serac collapsed in the Khumbu Icefall, and there were no injuries. But the collapse took out some of the Everest ice doctors. Good work.
And the Everest ice doctors are the ones who set up the ropes and do all the fixed ropes on Everest through the Khumbu Icefall and up the mountain on the south side. And they had to rush down.
Apparently they were on their way to Camp 2 and they had to rush down to fix the damage, which was mostly some ladders, multiple ladders. It was a very big crevasse that they had ladders across that had to be fixed.
So to kind of recap that in arguably the most dangerous part of any alpine approach in the world, a bunch of Sherpa had to stop the work they were doing to get a camp ready for wealthy Everest glory seat so they could go back down to that dangerous approach and reaffix ladders so that rich people could continue their quest to stand in line and wait their turn to stand on the summit.
And I know, I'm sure there are some very well intended people in there who have saved all their pennies to go do this, but that really feels like what it's become there. And it's also all happening in this incredibly oxygenless world that is the Himalaya.
So I feel like we should make the Everest climbers pay their fee and. And fix their own ladders. Right? You carry a ladder around and put it down when it. When a serac topples it over and crushes it.
So that's my suggestion and my parting shot.
Shawnté Salabert
00:49:04.870 - 00:49:05.810
Nice work.
Colin True
00:49:06.350 - 00:49:07.942
Do you. Do you. Do you agree?
Shawnté Salabert
00:49:08.046 - 00:49:17.654
Do I agree? I. You know, I don't think it's a bad idea. I would, you know, what I would much rather, though, is that the climbers that go to Everest have.
They just need to have skills. Like I feel in general, that's kind.
Colin True
00:49:17.662 - 00:49:18.902
Of what I'm getting at. Right.
Shawnté Salabert
00:49:19.006 - 00:49:55.718
Yeah, it's what you're getting at.
It's the commercial clients these days don't seem to have skills to use, you know, the basic tools of what they're doing out there, the crampons, ice axes. And I'm all for. I'm a big advocate of opening up places to people.
I think we should all have an opportunity to connect to different places in different ways. But we don't all need to be in all places. Like, I know my. My limits. I know where I do and do not belong. And I'm willing to.
You know, I've been to Kilimanjaro, and I paid Porters because you have to, you can't just go that you're a foreigner. You have to pay and use a guide. But yeah, it's. I have feelings about Everest and none of them are.
Colin True
00:49:55.774 - 00:50:15.138
Justin said that he's like, can we just shut it down for a few years? I mean, like, there's too much money to be lost. I get all that. I think it's a. Yeah, exactly. But then to your point though, about learning the skills.
And again, if it's somebody's dream, like, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yum, like, hey man, go stand on top of Mount Everest. I think at this point it sounds miserable to me.
Not just because it is miserable to climb that mountain, but because you have to stand in line, which is horrible.
Shawnté Salabert
00:50:15.234 - 00:50:17.666
Standing in line. I mean, what, where is the.
Colin True
00:50:17.818 - 00:50:29.410
I don't want to stand in line at like at Disney world when it's 74 degrees outside, you know, like, let alone there. But it kind of to tie it back around to our first story and our, our guy Kyle and his tip to tip Kyle.
Shawnté Salabert
00:50:29.490 - 00:50:30.562
Kyle and his tips.
Colin True
00:50:30.626 - 00:51:13.806
It's the adventure, right? I mean, think about.
So if you want to climb Everest, well, great, go, go take a guided trip up Rainier then, okay, well, now you have those basic skills. Okay? Now go do something somewhere else and learn how to fix a rope, learn how to do these things, build that skill set. That's the journey.
It's not just about, I'm going to go stand on this mountain. It's like, no, man, it's that self discovery and learning the skills.
I said to my wife the other day, as I get older, I kind of want to learn some martial art just because, not necessarily for any of the reason that I want something that's strength based, but that is also a new skill I can learn. This is something new I'm learning. So I just don't see. Maybe that's it.
It's just the attraction of, well, I pay this money and I worked stood on a StairMaster for six months and now I get to go hike up Mount Everest. Like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:51:13.878 - 00:51:37.416
Right, but don't you want a deeper connection? Like, I think about that. Don't you want, you know, learning, learning some additional skills?
Even if you are using the local, you know, the local guides with their knowledge, the Sherpa, you, you know, having some sense of understanding where you are and how it works and knowing this activity and knowing this place on a deeper level, I think that makes it more special, you know, it does. I don't know. Why wouldn't you want to know? Why wouldn't you want to understand what you're doing?
Colin True
00:51:37.568 - 00:51:41.780
And there's about 100% chance that I've said these exact words on this podcast before.
Shawnté Salabert
00:51:42.080 - 00:51:43.384
Every single year.
Colin True
00:51:43.472 - 00:52:18.498
It's the time of year, so you love it. All right, well, that's the show for today. We want your emails, by the way.
Everybody send them to myrockfightmail.com did you like Shantae recommends? You know what you think? My stuff was all good. What do you think about Shantae's stuff?
Let's hear about no senior revolution emails to myrockfightmail.com the Rock Fight's a production of Rock Fight LLC for Shantae Salibair. I'm Colin True. Thank you for listening. And here to take us out. It's Krista Makes it's going to sing the Rock Fight Fight song.
We'll see you next time, Rock fighters. Great job.
Chris DeMakes
00:52:18.554 - 00:53:14.450
Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. The rock bike where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows and sometimes agree to disagree.
We talk about human powered outdoor activities and big bites about topics that we find interesting like pop culture music, the latest movie reviews, ideas that aim for the head. This is where we speak our truth. This is where we speak our truth. Rock flight. Rock flight. Rock fight. Welcome to the Rock flight. Rock fight.
Rock fight. Welcome to the Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock flight. Rock fight. Rock fight. Welcome to the Rock fight. Rock fight. Rock fight.
Colin True
00:53:16.670 - 00:53:17.310
Rock fight.
