General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I've been looking into making an oilcloth tarp. All the sources I have read so far seem to consider linseed oil the only oil to use, and I'm wondering why that is. So, what, if anything, is it abo...
Magnet fishing is when you take go fishing with a magnet trying to find metal objects that people have lost into bodies of water such as cellphones, knives, bikes, etc. What would make a location ...
I just found this toad on a sidewalk near a lake the elevation was probably somewhere around 4800 ft (1500m). Does anybody know what kind it is?
I am going to go backpacking this summer, and my goal is Sweden. Looking around, I have grown to like the landscapes of Abisko in the north of Sweden. But, because it is rather far away from where ...
There's a dispute in my climbing group whether a "large" eye of the tie-in knot can be considered dangerous. While I don't see a problem with a loop that is about 10 cm across, others argue that th...
I went on a weeklong backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevadas and in the third or fourth night while we were camping next to the Kern River we heard this odd noise. At around 5-10 PM we would here ...
I've been walking the Kungsleden in the Sweden Lapland recently and I enjoyed it very much. I'd like to try again a similar trek but this time I'd love to go to either Kamchatka or South Siberia (n...
If you buy a box of ammunition, it usually says the muzzle velocity on the box in addition to the bullet weight (or you can find the information online). Given that bullet velocity depends on the ...
Looking at buying additional accessories or making some for my car's roof rack, which uses Whispbar brand crossbars. I'm wondering if other brands use the same size t-track slots and whether they'd...
Sometimes, if your knock is too high or too low or your rest is not perfectly in line with the string, your arrows will fly at a slight angle to the direction of travel instead of perfectly straigh...
Has anyone experience with attaching a hammock to roof rails of a regular car? I just bought a hammock for my next camping trip. I will be traveling mostly by car and sleep in a tent but wanted so...
I’m wondering does anyone know what this part of a Click Up is for: I’m taking about the rounded cutouts on each side of the device on the climber side. In the normal position I can’t see what t...
For some reason, once in a while I get confused if you add magnetic declination to magnetic bearings to get true bearings, or if you add magnetic declination to true bearings to get magnetic bearin...
I've been climbing off and on for about 3 years now, but only started going regularly in the last 6 months. I've had the same pair of shoes for about 2 years now. My brother recently pointed out th...
Around my work I walk in local parks for a couple of hours a day, and I've noticed we have Green Woodpeckers, and I've seen them quite a few times and can now recognise them rather easily. Recentl...
Once a year I go on a backpacking trip with a friend of mine who lives near Sacramento, California. He likes to bring his dog. The trip lengths typically range from 2-5 days (including car travel),...
I'm currently planning a trekking trip in the north of Norway in September/early October. Because most of my current gear is way to heavy or only for hot weather I'm buying a new set of camping eq...
On official USGS topo maps, vegetation is represented by green, and non vegetation by white as you can see below. How much vegetation does an area need to be colored green? Are short bushes enou...
I have a magnet and line setup to go magnet fishing and I would like to make some sweeps around one the docks Chatfield Reservoir on where it's likely that people have dropped gear/cellphones into ...
(to be clear, I know I can just check knot-strengths for a general end-of-line attachment, it's the inclusion of the steel thimble - I'll find a link to add to end of post - it's that inclusion tha...
I was reading: “The larger the foot-holds, the more beginners tend to put as much of their shoes onto them. Instead, also when the foot-hold offers more space, we must still use only the forefo...
I am considering a solo three-day trip in the Uinta Mountains in Utah in August. I have lots of experience backpacking but I've never soloed before and so am thinking of ways to shed some weight. M...
It's possible to buy tea that is loose leaf instead on in the tea bags and use it while in the outdoors such as cold brewing in a Nalgene. Coffee grounds need to be packed out but what about tea le...
In the United States, there are a couple of excise taxes on outdoor gear that goes towards conservation, Pittman–Robertson Act which taxes firearms, ammunition and archery equipment and the Dingell...
If one makes coffee in the backcountry, there will be used grounds. Coffee grounds are biodegradable, but should one instead pack them out completely? What is the Leave No Trace way to deal with u...
I got some 1/2" steel-thimbles for my climbing-rope but sadly I'm not sure how to safely use them, I'd thought "I can just tie a knot at just the right spot so that the thimble is securely nested i...
I'm looking to get myself a kayak, but weight limits are an issue for me. I like the ascend kayaks from Cabala's because of the high back seats. I'm undecided if i want to get a 10' hybrid kayak or...
I want to know the major differences between these two systems.
Related to this question where the difference in size might possibly be due to one of the 3 peregrine falcon chicks being male, how do they tell whether a peregrine chick is male or female? Eventu...
It has become a bit of a fad in the last few days at my current workplace to open a browser tab to either http://www.lbwl.com/falcon.htm or http://www.lbwl.com/falcon2.htm , take a quick look now a...
How do people deal with sweating and 'feeling hot' at high altitude climbs (above 5500m)?? Just a background on myself: I've done hikes/climbs up to 3000m where temps hit at the lowest of around ...
I'm planning on hiking the PCT next summer (April 2020-August 2020). I have nearly eleven months to prepare, physically and mentally, and nearly eleven months to read up on the PCT. I have a lot ...
On my hike through the Uinta mountains, I came across this greyish bird and her 3-4 chicks. The timelapse I took of the birds can be seen here. It looks like some sort of grouse, does anybody kn...
Definitely not a duplicated question to this one... Rather a much more specific question... The situation arises when there are bolted anchors at foot level on the edge of the cliff: The issue ...
I'm using a rappel extension similar to what is shown in this video and that one. When the rappel start is a straight drop-off from a ledge and the anchor is low to the ground, I find it difficult...
My first question on TGO was about low altitude trips that have the feel of much higher elevations. I asked that question because of the declining physical capacity of my husband. I received spect...
If the cooler is packed full of frozen food, does it need ice to stay frozen for 3 weeks or does ice somehow stay colder longer than frozen steak, sausage, hamburger etc.? I'm going on a 18 day Gra...
I am planning a trip to Berlin together with my wife for a week. Initially we wanted to do Berlin-Hamburg on the bicycle, but the plane connections are awful and we decided to do a loopback from an...
We have often used the large snow free circles that form in the spring around the trunks of large trees as camping spots. Even in an area blanketed with deep snow, there will be such bare, dry gro...
This woodchuck has been in and out of our yard in Massachusetts, United States, for a few weeks, since early May. It comes out from under our large rhododendrons which have a small area of woods be...
I am looking for an overnight backpacking trip to do in the next few weeks somewhere in western Washington. But I am worried about deep snow remaining on the trails. Based on last winter's snowpac...
Can you please help me identify what is leaving these piles in my detached garage in Northern New Jersey? In case the photo doesn't do it justice, the scat is in piles, against the exterior walls, ...
We had birds (blue tits) at who work last year nested in a metal wall mounted cigarette bin, this year we provided a hand-made wooden bird box specifically designed for blue tits and then blocked u...
A pair of cardinals have nested in my yard for years. Yesterday found a young one in the yard, made it comfortable, just didnt want a cat to get it. Still alive, cant fly. What to do?
Which tree native to Florida produces these seeds? The pods are really long and the seeds inside are in the shape of little hearts.
I am looking at a new pair of suede leather walking boots. Price is low due to one boot being in a shop window and so is faded and doesn't match the other boot. My question is: would the light dam...
I have been trying to find the "canonical" post on this topic without success - each post has its own take on the issue. And I understand that opinions and preferences abound - but I'm looking for ...
Hoping to ask a couple basic Q's before my order arrives, I suspect I may've gotten insufficient gear.. 1 - Is doubling-up ropes, or hardware, ever acceptable in climbing? IE, my 8mm prusik cord ...
I live in Chicago and would like to get a foldable kayak. As far as I can tell the only thing I need to do to be able to use it in Lake Michigan is get a watercraft registration. Once I have that ...
