General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
Filters (None)
Once in Nevada, I saw a sign on an old abandoned mine that said two things, Stay out, mines have noxious fumes. Stay out, bats live here. Both of those are good reasons to stay out, but it seem...
An answer to a related post mentions that: It's worth pointing out that these are assisted and not auto belay devices, you can't just not pay attention and expect them to work. Does this mean...
This weekend I was sitting next to a pond and multiple times there was a crow who had something white in his mouth flying down from a tree to within several feet of the pond's surface, drop the whi...
I am always interested in the history of rock climbing. Lately, I tried to collect data about male and female first ascents to visualize progression in rock climbing over time (I have a small blog ...
I have some experience towing with an upright bike I am considering getting a recumbent trike, as my back side does not last as long as my legs. With an upright bike I automatically move my weight ...
I recently heard from a guy who decided to cut a cedar tree from a ditch line for a Christmas tree instead of buying one. He said that after getting it home and decorating it that it started to ha...
I have 20+ year old space heater that is nearing end of life. 120 volt, 1500 watts We use it in the camper when have electric hookup, and need a little extra heat. I started looking online for a...
On trails that go up steep hills, there are usually switchbacks where the trail goes first one way and then other, resulting in an overall less steep path. In the complete absence of a trail, how ...
When shoveling snow in the winter, if my gloves are warm enough to keep my hands warm, they tend to sweat and get the gloves wet from the inside out. How can I prevent this?
We always hear about the importance of drag free drifts so I thought it would be great to create a resource listing techniques for achieving a drag free drift. I've setup a community wiki for thi...
Wolves are going to be removed from the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act (pending litigation). They were already delisted in Montana and Idaho and had a hunting season in Wy...
I have leather gloves and mittens and I want to waterproof them. I usually use mink oil on my leather boots to condition and seal them, Can I do the same for gloves and mittens or should I use som...
Some of the Yosemite Valley parking lots have communal bear boxes as do some of the trailheads because you are not supposed to store your extra food in your vehicle while you backpack. Bears can't...
Once, I had the opportunity to walk on a floating mat on a guided tour with a nature organisation in De Wieden (Dutch: trilveen). On the surface, it looked (to my amateur eye) exactly like other p...
With theis KML circular generator, and this STL generator it is possible to create round 3D printed maps like this one. However, the KML circle isn't perfectly round and that leeds to the bumps on...
My surfboard leash broke at one end and I'd rather repair it than buy a new one. How can I repair it?
There are two main kinds of railed mounting systems for rifle scopes and some other types of rifle attachments like bipods or lights known as Weaver and Picatinny. What is the compatibility betwee...
If one were to go looking for cottontail rabbits, what time of day would be the best? I have noticed that it seems like there are more out and about in the afternoon than in the early morning.
So I have wanted to catch sharks like 7 gill in california and I have some questions about reels and rods. So I want to be able to cast my bait out to where the sharks are but most people seem to ...
Wag bags are used in areas where human waste has to be carried out. How many wag bags should a group pack per day given that plenty of people will try to avoid pooping in the outdoors and that numb...
When I have time I like to get my bike and canoe out and do a day trip. Doing a mile or two is not hard but a good day trip is between 8 and 14 miles. When I started at the beginning of the year 6...
Two weeks ago I planted two small cherry-tomato seedlings ("tidy treats" variety; the description used words like "small" and "compact") into one 10" pot. I now know that's too close; I'm a beginn...
While hiking about a quarter-mile from the South Platte river I found these shells in a gravel bank. Most but not all had turned white, and they were in what looked like a gravel bank/deposit ...
I've used these many times before, always followed the instructions (3 tablets/Liter, shake, wait 30 minutes minimum) and never had (or noticed) any issues. I've always been under the impression, ...
What equipment is necessary for driving on 4x4 trails and rougher forest roads in the Northeast United States? This would include safety equipment, recovery equipment and any other equipment neede...
Here is a whole bunch of ants gathered on a sidewalk around dusk, I have seen this before so its not totally uncommon. What would lead to ants doing this?
The last time I went fishing, there were numerous times where I could tell that the fish were nibbling on the fly because it would move the strike indicator ever so slightly, but they wouldn't actu...
This is a very subjective question but the goal is to make a somewhat comprehensive Wiki-style list of, let's call it "mission abandon criteria", that should prompt a team to turn back. In a sieg...
I'm working on a story where a character gets trapped in a cave but use his knowledge as a weatherman to navigate and escape! Are the any weather-related clues you could use to escape a cave specif...
Another scary scenario: Let's say you're in a situation where you have to jump off of a cliff into the water to survive. The cliff is at least 100 feet high. What would be the best way to surviv...
I'm looking for a decent source to know winter road conditions for various Adirondacks access roads. First level of interest would be just what is or isn't being maintained. A better yet answer w...
My team at work has occasional outings and one of the activities we've talked about for the future is kayaking or whitewater rafting. I've never done either and am also dependent on expensive pres...
I've been having a problem where my hand skin starts to crack and peel on extended climbing trips and I can't get it heal, even by taking several rest days in a row. Instead, it just gets worse and...
After reading this question about emergency kits, I noticed that no one mentioned nails. Why shouldn't we include 10 or 12, common 6d (2", 6 penny) nails in the kit? Ten 6d nails weigh about an o...
I am a long time gym climber, and I climbed outdoors for a couple of times. I fail to understand why climbing outdoors is more appealing than climbing indoors. If the goal is to climb harder, whi...
My wife and I are new to foraging. We recently found a large number of what we believe to be puffballs in a field. They look like this: From the information on the Wild Food UK site it sounds...
I'm starting to do some solo hiking here in Italy, and I'm going to buy a PLB soon. I was wondering if I went to Germany or Australia for example, if I activate the beacon will the beacon still get...
I have been climbing for more than 10 months now. I had been climbing regularly for 6 months before, unfortunately, I had a 2-3 months break from climbing. When I have gotten back to it now, I find...
For trip planning and navigation during my outdoors trip, I would like to load a track into my GPS (or GNSS) receiver. Where can I find websites that gather user-contributed GPS tracks?
Sit-on-top kayaks are a popular alternative to traditional sit-inside kayaks. One advantage is that they sometimes come with a foot pedals for propulsion. The foot pedals are linked, via gears, eit...
Lately there has been so much wildfire smoke that it was unpleasant if not quite harmful to go outside. I was looking at the weather websites for a forecast to try and predict when it would be bett...
How do you deal with handling hot pots / cups without using a pot grip (see the picture for an example)? It's inexpensive and rather light-weight, but why add gear if you can use what you already h...
I've been using various map apps with offline storage on my smartphone(s) for several years now. The main problem with them is the battery drain. I've searched for e-ink devices with GPS but only f...
With modern high strength, small diameter lines, spinning and bait casting reels can hold a tremendous amount of line. I usually spool up about half capacity with an inexpensive monofilament then f...
Inspired by several questions and answers here and also one at Biology SE, I have been looking around to try to find out whether this idea I heard constantly as a youth has any merit, or it just fo...
I'm looking at getting into sea fishing, I used to do coarse fishing. I'd like an all rounder rod to try pier fishing and maybe some beach casting or fishing from a sea wall. What should I look ...
I've noticed that the vegetation in the subalpine forest is very different between the Alps, the Urals, Scandinavia, or the Canadian Rockies. In the latter, I didn't find any at all. In the Alps,...
When you Google for images of "canoe & bike," you find two basic solutions to towing a canoe with a bike: A traditional axle mounted trailer is modified to have a tongue long enough to loa...
The general internet knowledge says. If there is two puncture wounds it means you got bitten by the fangs of a venomous snake.
Went on a snow trip this weekend at Fall Creeks(VIC), it was my first time in snow and first time skiing (cross-country) , the only problem I had was my feet started getting cold occasionally and f...
