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Your mom knows everything you've ever done. So does ours.


Gear Abby: Sexy Elk, Big Decks & Women Adventure Writers!
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby, host Shawnté Salabert wanders from bookshelves to snowfields to elk harems to satellite signals. “Sexy Elk, Big Decks & Women Adventure Writers!” serves up exactly what it promises: big feelings about representation in outdoor literature, practical beta for winter curious folks, real-talk wildlife etiquette, and a surprisingly heartfelt ode to non-phone electronics in the backcountry. Question 1
6 hours ago


Gear Abby: Permit Rage, Ground Cloth Wars & Creative Freedom
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In this episode, Gear Abby comes in hot with two spicy debates (permits and tent footprints), cool everyone down with plein-air watercolor wisdom from guest artist Latasha Greene (Jitterbug Art) , then map out U.S. options for European-style hut hiking. As always: humor + hard facts + actually useful takeaways. Question 1: “Permits are stupid.” (…and how to talk your brother off that ledge) A listener asks for ammo to convince her
6 days ago


Gear Abby: Bougie Hikers, Dysentery Demons & Busted Gut Feelings
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to enjoy nature and your creature comforts at the same time, this week’s episode of Gear Abby is for you. Shawnté tackles some of the most delightfully disgusting, oddly profound, and completely necessary outdoor questions yet! From redefining what it means to be “outdoorsy” to dealing with backcountry water hazards and an untimely trail shart. Question 1: Can I be outdoorsy if I’m b
Nov 13


Gear Abby: Fear, Friskiness & Filthy Backpacks
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby, host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True celebrate double digits (episode 10) with a mix of trademark chaos, honesty, and hard-earned outdoor wisdom. From spooky trail stories to frisky trailhead advice, this installment swings (sometimes literally) between fear, therapy, and freedom. Question 1: The Scariest Outdoor Moment Listener Jess asks about Shawnté’s scariest outdoor experience. Th
Oct 30


Because It’s Beautiful: The Meaning Behind Kilian Jornet’s States of Elevation
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! When British explorer George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest, he famously replied, “Because it’s there.” But what if the real answer is simpler and potentially more beautiful? Today on Open Container , Doug explores the deeper meaning behind Kilian Jornet’s “States of Elevation” project , a 3,200-mile, human-powered journey linking all 72 fourteeners in the lower 48 states . Jornet ran, climbed, and biked his way
Oct 28


Gear Abby: Kilian Jornet, Bidet Beta & All About Alpha!
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True explore everything from elite mountain running to backcountry bidets and dog-friendly tick prevention then wrap with a deep gear dive into a very fuzzy fabric. Pre-Question: Mindfulness, Meditation & Messy Feeling The show opens with Shawnté confessing that she’s back in therapy and newly into meditation... sort of. Colin teases her about doing it o
Oct 23


The Best Day Ever: Mountain Biking Without Barriers
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! What happens when you build trails that everyone can ride? In this episode of Open Container , host Doug Schnitzspahn talks with Berne Broudy , writer, filmmaker, and director of Best Day Ever , and Greg Durso , adaptive athlete and Senior Program Director at the Kelly Brush Foundation . Together, they share the story behind Best Day Ever, a film and movement that began when a few friends realized their local trails weren’t acce
Oct 21


Gear Abby Episode 8: From Butt Hugs to Bear Hugs: Snakes, Lakes & Wedding Cakes
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! In the latest episode of Gear Abby , host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True tackle the full spectrum of outdoor awkwardness: from trailside wildlife encounters to underwear performance reviews and the ethics of inflatable flamingos. Episode 8 manages to slither, shimmy, and splash through a set of questions that perfectly capture the mix of humor and hard-earned wisdom that makes Gear Abby such a must-listen. Pre-Questio
Oct 16


Gear Abby Episode 7: The Wag Bag Incident: Gear Abby Confesses Her Biggest On Trail Sin!
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On this episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert juggles listener backlash, bear safety,...
Oct 9


Scars and Regrowth
We go to the outdoors to find healing, to find resilience. But how resilient is the natural world on its own? I often think of Gerard...
Oct 7


Gear Abby Episode 6: Gravel Shoes, TP Ethics & How to Name a Mountain
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On Episode 6 of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True dive into another set...
Oct 2


Vermejo, Ted Turner & Nature’s Second Chances
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Welcome to Open Container, where we unpack the most urgent issues facing the outdoor...
Sep 30


Gear Abby Episode 5: Trail Running, $100 at REI, Backpacking With Your Boo & Saying Yes to Yosemite
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On this episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True fielded listener...
Sep 25


Climbing Toward Compassion
Can time in the mountains make you a better person? I think about this question often. My time in wild places—on peaks, in the beautiful...
Sep 24


Who Owns America's Wild Places? Public Lands and the Fight for Truth
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! Welcome to Open Container, where today we're discussing one of the defining features of the...
Sep 23


Gear Abby Episode 4: How to Hike Alone, Pack a Raft, Walk on Ice & Still Have Hope
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On this episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True dig into listener...
Sep 18


Gear Abby Episode 3: Triple Crowns, Strava Shame, Extreme Chafe, and Switchback Crimes
Click to listen on your favorite podcast app! On the third episode of Gear Abby , Shawnté Salabert once again proves she’s the advice...
Sep 11
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