Murder, Fearmongers & Power Banks

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.