Gear Abby: An Outdoor Advice Column For Your Ears

What's the most haunted trail in America? What should you do if someone steals your backpack while you're using a backcountry privy? And does writing a personal comment actually make a difference when it comes to protecting public lands?

It's Spooky Season on Gear Abby, and Shawnté is exploring some of America's most haunted trails! From the Grand Canyon's Wailing Woman and the ghosts of Mammoth Cave to the Jersey Devil and the tragic history of Washington's Iron Goat Trail.

Then things get scary in a different way when a listener shares how his backpack was stolen mid-thru-hike. Shawnté offers advice on keeping your gear safe, while Colin questions the business model of stealing filthy backpacks.

Plus: a heated Roadless Rule debate, ghost-hunting park rangers, a suspiciously sharp portable bidet, and a proposed presidential ticket nobody asked for.

Gear Abby: Advice that doesn't suck.

Send your questions for Gear Abby to [email protected].

Topics and time codes

04:07: Roadless Rule feedback: Do public comments matter?

10:08: Spooky Season: What's America's most haunted trail?

19:25: The Jersey Devil and the Batona Trail

24:49: Washington's haunted Iron Goat Trail

26:45: A backpack stolen during a bathroom break

28:41: How to keep your backpack safe on a thru-hike

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Should you dump your boyfriend if he criticizes your camping outfit? How the hell do you handle dirty diapers while backpacking with a baby? And can a bear canister actually shrink as you eat your way through your food?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté tackles a camping relationship that's waving some serious red flags, shares advice for parents who want to take their diaper-wearing little ones into the backcountry, and puts an innovative bear canister to the test in another edition of What's In Your Pack?

Plus: the history of going commando, fake nails on trail, and one Baby Beefcake.

Gear Abby: Advice that doesn't suck.

Send your questions to Gear Abby by emailing us at [email protected]

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Is Bigfoot just a West Coast thing? What the hell is a Wood Booger? And why should outdoor lovers care about the Roadless Rule?

It's Spooky Season on Gear Abby, and Shawnté heads east in search of Bigfoot's lesser-known cousins: Florida's stinky Skunk Ape and Virginia's magnificently named Wood Booger. She digs into their lore, the gloriously terrible videos that supposedly captured them on film, and whether she and Colin actually believe any of this stuff. Spoiler: they want to believe.

Then Gear Abby debuts a new segment where Shawnté and Colin tackle the questions they want answered, starting with something genuinely scary: What is the Roadless Rule, why could it go away, and what can outdoor lovers do about it?

Plus: we're now an award-winning podcast, sexy Bigfoot, Shawnté's inability to understand acronyms, Colin's refusal to believe in cryptids, and the sentence “Skunk Ape is my safe word.”

Send your questions to Gear Abby! [email protected]

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC!

Who investigates a murder in a national park? How do you separate legitimate trail warnings from good old fashioned fear mongering? And for a month on the Appalachian Trail, should you carry a power bank or go solar?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté investigates the National Park Service's unfortunately acronymed IBS (listen to find out what that means - it's not what you think), including the real-life murder case that shows how these backcountry detectives work. Then she tackles the fine line between useful trail intel and letting someone else's fears become your own because when it comes to risk, every hiker is their own little “risk management snowflake.”

Plus: power banks vs. solar chargers, why the sun is apparently a diva, gram weenies, Mountain Daddy, questionable and some unfortunate Australian accents.

Send Gear Abby your outdoor questions! [email protected]

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Who empties a toilet in the middle of the wilderness? Is there actually a benefit to hiking commando? And what finally turned technophobe Shawnté into an adventure-watch convert?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté digs into the surprisingly fascinating history of toilets on Mount Whitney, from summit outhouses and solar composters to helicopters hauling away “honey buckets”, before tackling the pros and cons of letting it all hang out on trail.

Then What’s In Your Pack? returns with Shawnté’s new favorite adventure watch, the COROS Apex 4, and why its huge battery life, improved GPS and better maps have won her over.

Plus: fecal fairy godmothers, sweaty balls, Goonies trail names and more literal shit than Colin ever wanted to discuss.

Send your questions to Gear Abby! Email us at [email protected].

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

Where can you go to find real silence in the outdoors? Which lodge kicked off the grand tradition of national park lodging? And is buying an ultralight backpack actually worth the money?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté searches for the quietest places in America including the famous “One Square Inch of Silence” in Olympic National Park, dives into the history of Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn, and explains why the lightest backpack isn't necessarily the best backpack.

Plus: Bluetooth-speaker rage, Colin's refusal to visit Yellowstone, backpack “mammary pouches,” and the disturbing realization that last week's tarantula sex conversation apparently isn't over yet.

Gear Abby can answer your questions! Send them to [email protected].

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

How exactly do tarantulas mate? Is Walmart’s Ozark Trail camping gear actually good enough for beginners? And has Shawnté found a water filter she likes even more than the Platypus QuickDraw?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté celebrates the show’s first anniversary by diving way too deep into tarantula mating season, explaining why inexpensive camping gear can be perfectly fine for casual car campers, and revealing her newest What’s In Your Pack? favorite: the LifeStraw Peak Solo water filter.

Plus: marmot slander, Glory Hole Falls, forgotten bidets, and more discussion of pedipalps than anyone asked for.

Send your questions to [email protected].

See all the Oboz has to offer by heading to www.obozfootwear.com

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté tackles three very different outdoor dilemmas:

• What should you actually do if a wildfire breaks out while you’re deep in the backcountry?
• Should you worry if your spouse takes off their wedding ring whenever they hike, climb or backpack?
• And which women-owned outdoor brands are doing great work around sustainability, accessibility and giving back?

Plus: marmot slander, sausage fingers, silicone wedding bands and a whole lot of sweating. Advice that doesn’t suck.

Send your questions and spooky stories to [email protected]!

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté digs into what happens when airplanes crash in national parks, including the absolutely wild story of Yosemite’s infamous Dope Lake, before settling an important outdoor relationship dispute: are fanny packs dorky overkill or ridiculously useful?

Then Shawnté and Colin face a truly devious question: if you could only eat one protein bar for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Plane wrecks, waist packs, weed, snack fatigue and more outdoor advice that doesn’t suck.

Ask Gear Abby your burning outdoor question! Email the show at [email protected]

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.

What should you do if a ghost steals your Garmin on trail? Which of your favorite movies were actually filmed inside national parks? And just how desperate do you have to be before stale tortillas, canned chicken and sun-melted Kraft Singles qualify as a gourmet meal?

This week on Gear Abby, Shawnté shares some haunted Sierra lore and offers up her best ghost etiquette, then takes a trip through national park movie history from Star Trek and Star Wars to Indiana Jones and The Shining.

Plus, she digs into the weirdest things she’s eaten while backpacking, the foods she’ll never touch again, and the one meal she still dreams about on trail: enchiladas.

And Gear Abby wants your outdoor ghost stories for October send them in now.

Gear Abby is a production of Rock Fight, LLC.