Review: 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent - Part 2

So, if you didn't catch Part 1, 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent got the stink out of Tim's running socks. It was a HUGE accomplishment really. I was ready to throw them in the trash after them having sat lonesome in one of Tim's pair of running shoes for a week.

That got me thinking... I wondered if 2Toms was up to the challenge of getting the STINK out of our shoes - namely Tim's Vasque Mindbenders, Tim's Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves, and my Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves. --- Those barefoot shoes - I don't care who you are or what kind of anti-microbial it's treated with - STINK to high heaven after about 6 wears. 

I threw them in the wash - hot cycle, cold rinse - with half the 2 oz package of 2Toms. And what'd ya know??

They came out clean. Both Merrell's smelled great - fresh even - almost like new shoes. But Tim's Vasques... there's no hope for those. Unless maybe I soak them in a bucket of 2Toms. 

There's just some things better left stinky.

Read about the 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent Specs on Part 1 of this review.

And if you have some stink you need to get out...

Buy some detergent here!

Happy Trails!

Robin & Tim

Review: 2Toms Stink Free Sports Detergent - Part 1

There's one thing about living with a runner that I loathe - his laundry. Typically, I try to wash his running clothes the same day he goes running, because if you don't - well, your nose will pay the price.

More times than not, he'll come home muddy and sweaty, throw his running shoes in the laundry room, and then shower. I'll grab up his clothes that he's placed wherever (it's a hunt every time), and either strategically place them in an area where they can air out or wash them immediately.

Well, this past week my 6-year-old LG front loader decided it was going to quit spinning. Long story short, laundry piled up... and piled up... and piled up while we waited over a week for the part to get here.

At one point, laundry had gotten so out of hand that I took some loads over to my mom's house to wash. That was when I found THE SOCKS.

Happy Fourth of July

It's been a long weekend, and if you're anything like us, you've been busy hiking, attending parties, and cleaning out basements. o_O Well okay, you've only been doing the first two, and maybe enjoying some fireworks. We were able to get out for a hike on Saturday of just over 2 miles at Norris Dam State Park and then attended a big family/friend get together later that day where Robin and I won the "Cornhole" Tournament (don't laugh, it's a real game and not what the name implies). If you don't believe me look it up on Google but do so at your own risk. Oh and we will have a hike report up in a couple of days too.

So today we celebrate our country's independence. We feel very fortunate to live in this great country, that we are free to play silly named games if we want to, or have parties with our friends and family when we want to, and many other things that we take for granted (like running water) and that if we lived in some other country, we could be arrested for doing. For that we are truly thankful that we live in the USA, even if we have some major problems with the economy and plumbing. Anyway for today we will be swimming in the basement - having been overly and prematurely motivated to clean due to the mess that we were blessed with after our party attending festivities on Saturday. I guess that's what we get for playing cornhole, we get cornholed.

We hope you are all having a safe and enjoyable holiday. God Bless the USA and God Bless all of you.

Happy Fourth of July.
Tim and Robin

"Hey! Thiz iz a candlez! I askeded for a bottlez rocketz! 

Oh wellz. Happy Birfday America!" ~ Ms. Coo

National Trails Day is Around the Corner

Saturday June 4th is National Trails Day and there's a lot of hikes and volunteer activities being held all over the place just for this occasion. In addition, our President just declared June as National Great Outdoors Month.




So what are your plans for Trails Day? Are you going on a hike or planning on giving back by volunteering in a trail maintenance activity? Let us know, we'd love to hear your plans. If your having troubles find activities or don't know what's available, check with your local State or National Parks. There's plenty of opportunities and it's not hard to find them. Remember Google is your friend.



For the East Tennessee area there are all sorts of events planned for different parks from hikes to clean ups and even trail maintenance. Tennessee State Parks page has a whole list of events on their website. To name a few, there is a trail work project to celebrate Trails Day at Frozen Head State Park on Saturday. Call the park office at 423-346-3318 for more information.

Spring Cleaning Your Gear: Trekking Poles

So how many of you actually clean your trekking poles after every use? *insert oooopsy look here* Yeah, neither does Tim. I don't have trekking poles, but Tim uses two Leki Makalu Ultralite Titaniums (discontinued now). I use one of his occasionally, but I usually just deem anything extra in my hands as unnecessary. I am a photographer after all, and a camera is a permanently attached appendage. That doesn't leave much room for a pole or stick.

After last weekend's hike, Tim decided that the filthy things needed a good cleaning. So yesterday, during the gloomy, cold weather we were having (as opposed to the weekend's near 90's), Tim embarked on the retractable-pole-cleaning-quest. I thought it best to sit back and enjoy watching him clean something for once, then attempt to describe to you what I observed.



First things first: gather all the things you'll need one item at a time. This includes a pole cleaning kit, a towel, a thin old rag, a piece of fine grit sandpaper, a large bowl, water, fabric softener, and some mild detergent and a sponge (or go the quick route and use baby wipes). Make sure when you're fetching these items that you become engrossed in a rerun of SNL and promptly forget what you were after, twice per item. Add a few miscellaneous items into the mix to confuse anyone looking at the pictures.

After being reminded four times, put the towel down so your wife doesn't kill you to catch the mess and protect the table surface. Better yet, have her give up and do that part for you. Next, wait for the pizza to be ready. A man needs fuel, and this is going to be a half-evening job. After that, be a hero and disassemble your poles.

Once you've accomplished this daunting task - which I'm sure is easier if they're not as filthy as Tim's - you'll need to remove each retainer clip from the plug and screw. Fiddle with this about six times just because it's a neat little contraption.

If your poles are like Tim's, they'll be four screw sets total, and each will be two separate parts. It could be one piece on yours, in which you will remove it from the screw and treat it the same way. Clean the threads of the screw thoroughly in between ginormous bites of pizza.

Next, sand the top of the clip (or your one piece plug/clip) a bit with some fine grit sandpaper and place it back on the screw. Realize you were supposed to sand the plug instead, and sand it too. This provides a better seat for the screw - so says Tim. It also improves friction and the performance - so says Leki. Honestly, I can't see how it made that much of a difference.


The next step will require the trekking pole cleaning kit, but a gun cleaning kit may work just as well if you happen to have one. You'll want to use this to clean the insides of the shafts after you've smeared more pizza on your cheeks.

Notes on this: If you have titanium poles like Tim, then it's probable that the insides have been anodized for anti-corrosion and wear-resistance properties. The cleaning kit came with brass cleaning brushes, but I wouldn't recommend using them on anything. They will damage the anodized surface of titanium, and will shred carbon fiber. I would suggest you use the loop attachments that come with the cleaning kit and a soft piece of fabric, like a handkerchief.

So, cut a small piece of fabric to fit the shaft cleaner loop attachment that took you ten minutes to find the adapter for, then run the cleaner up into the shaft. Realize that you may have cut the fabric a bit too large, and ascertain that the cleaning wand and the pole have now become fused as one. Point the metal tip at your belly, and puppy-eye your wife into a tug-o-war to get the wand out. Let her remind you that you're going to stab yourself in the gut, move the pole to your side, then laugh hardily when she nearly topples over from having to put all her weight into pulling the cleaning wand out.


Cut the fabric into a smaller piece, rethread it into the loop attachment and then clean throughout the shaft making sure to "dump" any dirt out that has become loose. Repeat this step a few times because it's just too darn fun not too. Grin at your wife in the middle of the pumping motion. Give her the eye. She'll love it.

By the way, never use a lubricant on your poles - inside or out. I have seen some people recommend using WD-40 to wipe down rust, but it would be better to call the manufacturer and discuss replacing the section that has rusted.


Next, clean the entire pole with the mild detergent and sponge - or do like Tim did and use baby wipes. They are mild, easy to use, disposable, and we have a ton of them lying around because Q likes to sleep in baby wipe boxes houses.







Make sure to wipe the grip, too. Then, eat more pizza (is this humanly possible?!) while you allow the sections to dry.




While the bottom sections are drying, soak the straps in a bowl of warm water with about 1/4 cap full of fabric softener. Put the Hercules-death-grip on the cap of the softener so wifey can't get it open on laundry day. Let them sit for 10-20 minutes while you finish off the pizza.



Then rinse well, squeeze out the remaining water, and hang to dry on your wife's kitchen curtains which has become a catchall for anything outdoorsy that needs to dry out.









Wipe down all the parts in their entirety once more with a dry, soft rag, then reassemble the poles. Stand back and be proud. You may have cleaned some poles, but be real - you just devoured a whole pizza!

Now get out there and work it off with a long walk in the woods.

Happy Cleaning!

Robin & Tim

From the Backyard

Explored the backyard this beautiful afternoon taking "inventory" of everything coming to life, and thus all the work that will need to be done.

There's a million and one baby box elders that will need to be plucked.
Here's the "one."

The strawberries are starting to spring back to life. Going to have to trim them up and cut off any new runners soon.

Our tiny azaleas have started to bloom. They'll need to be fed some acidic vitamin goodness.

The "Sweet Williams" are blooming, and I can smell them as soon as I walk out the back door (as long as my Claritin-D has kicked in). I don't think that's really what they're called, but everyone I know calls them that - so I guess we'll just chalk it up to being Appalachian. They also pronounce Clematis vines as "Clem-nis."

The red raspberries have leafed out. We cut them back every year. They keep taking over.

Here's a very small portion of the majestic "Raspberry Forest" in the backyard. About half of our five acres consists of wild red raspberries.

The dandelions have taken over, too. They're even growing out of the rocks!

The honey bees don't seem to mind. It's nice to see them out and about! Come on honey bees! Survive!!

The grass was climbing up my legs. Tim's already mowed once this year. Guess I know what he'll be doing tonight.

Clover and I decided to take a minute to check our hot houses where we attempted to overwinter some vegetables.

There was so much condensation! And you could see the green peeking through the plastic. I knew it was probably all weeds.

So, I think my heart skipped about four beats when I opened the plastic and found baby lettuces! Not only did the seedlings we planted survive the winter, but now they're growing strong (amongst the weeds) and we're ahead of schedule for fresh greens.

The parsnips survived, too! They're the long stalky plants. You can just ignore those weeds. hehe

Add... to top it off and make me one proud garden mommy: the baby spinach is growing strong, too. Not all of it survived, but that's actually a good thing. With all the spacing now, maybe we'll get spinach before they bolt.

And these little flowers were taking over the greens' bed. Too bad they'll have to be pulled. They are quite pretty.

Spring Cleaning Your Gear: Sleeping Bags

Clean, clean, clean. Don't neglect your gear! It's time to get that musty, storage smell out of your bags! I know it was time for ours to go through a good cleaning.

This is a very delicate topic. Most people are more than a little timid about washing their own sleeping bags, and for good reason! You spend good money on them, they work wonders to keep you warm, they fluff well, they're cozy and perfect, and one bad washing cycle will have you shopping for a new bag. Oh Nooooooo! But it's not as complicated as it's made out to be, and if you're still uncomfortable with it, there are professional bag cleaning services available.

First, the do NOT's:

• Never put a sleeping bag in a machine with an agitator. 
• Never dry clean a sleeping bag. The chemicals are just too harsh.
• Never use harsh detergents.
• Never use any detergent in high quantity.
• Avoid washing with hot temperatures.
• Never dry your bag on a hot setting.
• Never use dryer sheets.

Now, the do's:

• Do use a large capacity front loader. This may mean going to a laundry mat.
• Do spot clean any hard-to-remove stains prior to washing the bag in the machine.
• Do use a gentle liquid fabric softener in the wash.
• Do an extra rinse to make sure all the detergents are rinsed out.
• Do press extra liquid out - don't wring.

Those rules apply regardless of fill type. Tim and I have synthetic-fill bags. Down bags have a couple extra guidelines to follow (like using down soap), but generally - if your cleaning in a delicate way, it will all be okay.

I'm lucky enough to have a ultra capacity front loader (4 cu. ft.). When we shopped for new washing appliances, I wanted the ability to wash comforters, quilts, and pillows. It was a bonus that a sleeping bag would fit comfortably as well! So thankfully, I don't have to make a trip out in order to wash our bags. Most sleeping bag guides are going to suggest you use a front loader, but that's because they don't have an agitator. If you happen to have one of the newer, top-loading machines that doesn't have an agitator, you can use that as long as the capacity is large enough for the bag. Your bathtub also makes a great vat to hand wash a bag.

When I wash our bags, I unzip them all the way and turn them inside out (even unzipped, ours still stay together at the foot). Then I tuck them inside the washer, and set it for a delicate cycle with a gentle spin and an extra rinse.

I use a little less than 1/2 cup of Borax for the wash cycle, a half-cap-full of gentle fabric softener, and if the bag is particularly smelly, I'll use just a teeny-tiny bit of HE detergent in the pre-wash slot. Woolite is really nice to use (I've read), but I've had allergy issues with it in the past.

After the washing is complete, I usually run an extra spin cycle set on gentle or low to get any extra water out.

You can choose to tumble dry your bag with the lowest heat setting. Just add a tennis ball to the dryer to fluff up the bag. I choose to line dry our bags, and it is the safest way to dry. Plus, the dryer takes just as long on that lowest setting, and then I'm not consuming any unnecessary energy!

Spring Cleaning Your Gear: Water Bladders

It's monsoon season here apparently. We've had nothing but rain for most of this week and last week. Plus, it's turned cold on us again. People are saying it's Dogwood Winter, but I don't think so. The dogwoods bloomed about two weeks early this year, and at the same time as the Redbuds. I, personally, think this is Redbud Winter, and we're still going to have a Dogwood Winter around mid-April, like usual.

So, while it's rainy and cold, I've decided to do a little spring cleaning around the house. In general, I'm the type that believes at the start of Spring everything has to be gone over with a fine toothed comb (or toothbrush, ha!). That does not exclude all our gear. All of that needs an extra cleaning, too. Today, I tackled the water bladders for a thorough cleaning. I'd suggest you rinse them with hot, hot water and air them out after every use. There's a gazillion ways to clean your hydration bladder, but here's how I do the deep cleaning on them.

First, I don't have any fancy water bladder cleaning utensils, so I use what I have. Vinegar and baking soda are staple cleaners in my house. They're safe to use on just about anything, not harsh, and they are awesome deodorizers. So, for cleaning the bladders, I gathered the two - plus a sanitized bottle brush, sanitized cleaning toothbrush, a pipe cleaner, a bag clip, a wire coat hanger, and a pair of pliers.

I opened the bladder, eyeballed about two cups of distilled white vinegar and added about a teaspoon or so of baking soda. Now, you'll want to keep your bladder open because of the CO2 by-product. Wouldn't want to risk the bladder popping. After the fizzies have settled down, I use the bottle brush to scrub, scrub, scrub the insides of the bag. I use the toothbrush to get in the crevices and close to the seams.

Next you'll want to prop open the drinking spout with a bag clip and let the vinegar solution run down into the tube. This will loosen any algae that may have built up there.

Afterwards, fill the bag with the hottest water out of the tap and let it flow out the tube. Repeat this step a couple of times to rinse out all the vinegar and baking soda.

Next, use a pipe cleaner (make sure you fold over the end so it's blunt and the wire isn't sticking out) to clean inside the mouth piece and up the tube where any build-up is. If you have excessive algae build-up, you may want to use a bleach solution and use a special cleaning kit, or just get a new bladder. We've never had this problem though.

Do one more quick rinse, then use the pliers to undo the coat hanger and turn the end in so it's not going to poke the bag. Then wind it up a bit, and stuff it inside.

Hang to dry, leaving the bag clip on the end so water can drip out and the tube can dry out.

Ta-da! Clean water bladder!

Happy Cleaning!