General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
Filters (None)
All of the butane gas cartridges I have seen have a screwable top for attaching your stove, however, there are apparently also pierceable cartridges without a screwable top. Source What would t...
In order to charge my electrical equipment while backpacking (GPS, camera for timelapses, phone, etc) I bring along a large battery. To calculate the size of the battery you can figure out how many...
I use pierceable butane canisters for cooking outdoors: Given that butane boiling point is 30 to 34 °F, is it safe to punch a hole in the canister when the outside temperature drops below 30 °F ...
I've enjoyed climbing and cutting trees for many years. I now want to go to higher levels, but safety is a primary concern, because I am afraid of heights. I'm about to order gear for recreation...
Sometimes in areas with sandy/muddy ground, multiple parallel trails will start to form. What is the least impactful way to walk a trail like this? Do you stay on whichever trail shows the most ...
Help me settle an argument. How big a patch of temperate wilderness terrain would you need to produce enough food to feed a family of four (two adults, two teens) indefinitely in an off the grid o...
In one of the gravel parking lots I pass on my way to work there are a number of cotton tail rabbits that hang out there. At one end of parking lot there is piled up gravel from all of the plowing...
In Grand Teton National Park they have Rocky Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep and because they are worried that the goats will spread diseases to the sheep, they want to mountain goats gone from th...
All of the times I have seen Rocky Mountain goats it has been by accident, you come around the corner of the trail in the mountains and there they are. If one were to go deliberately looking for t...
Sometimes it is necessary to cut a climbing rope, either to shorten it or to trim worn ends. If were one to cut a climbing rope, how would one do so?
I did a backpacking trip once where I was above treeline, there was no running water and I was low on fuel for my stove. While some of the snow was melting it was draining into the ground so fast t...
The reel seems to jam when I reel it around and then if I put pressure on the reel handle, or the line, the bail flips open. I’m sure there’s something I am doing wrong. Video attached for referenc...
I have just tried using an automatic belay machine in an indoor climbing gym. I didn't receive any specific safety training, but it seems to be straightforward. So what safety concerns should I pay...
For rain pants, there are both breathable pants that let sweat out and non-breathable ones that do not. The problem with the non-breathable pants is that your sweat can build up inside and then you...
Once a hummingbird feeder is set up and the hummingbirds know about it they will come back over and over again on a regular basis. They even seem to remember after the winter and will come to check...
On my walk around town today I found this small black bug, (keychain carabiner for scale). Closeup It has two antenna and it seems that there is white on the edge of the segments. Does anyon...
We have bird feeders of all shapes, sizes, and types of material. Some we've had for years. We dump out leftover bird seed and shells when we refill them. If there are obvious dangers, like algae, ...
I was doing some target 22 target practice and had three different brands of ammo, supersonic Thunderbolt 35 grain, Aguila 40 grain subsonic and Aguila 60 grain subsonic. The Thunderbolt was the l...
This question is inspired by the question of @Sue on the peripheral vision of squirrels. It is a much less appealing question, but I figure if we can ask about animal behavior at feeding stations,...
I'm looking to buy a new jacket for hiking/traveling during winter in Australia for temps between 8c to 15c and possibly in windy and rainy conditions. I noticed that snow jackets tend to be cheap...
Each year pronghorn shed the outer covering of their horns, and while they don't last as long as deer sheds you can still find them. All of the ones I have found have been by accident, if one was ...
While hiking in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada, I came around the corner and saw several mountain goats who had made several fairly large scrapes (3-4 ft long and a couple feet wide) in the ground. ...
This past weekend, there was a fatal attack on the Appalachian Trail My girlfriend and I are planning a section hike of the AT through the White Mountains of NH and partly through the Maine secti...
There is a spectrum of sole stiffness in boots, from full shank on mountaineering boots to the easily bendable ones on really cheap boots. The way to test is to push in on the shoe lengthwise and s...
I was riding my bike today and I saw a number of these brown caterpillars with white strips and black spots near the head crossing the sidewalk. (Penny for scale) Does anyone know what kind of c...
Is a coyote or pack of coyotes likely to attack my small dog if she is with me on a trail on a leash? I heard of someone's dog being eaten while the woman was walking her pet on a leash. She was a...
Back in the old days, it was recommended that for a snake bite you cut an X and suck the venom out. That is no longer recommended, however, they still sell suction devices such as the Sawyer Extrac...
In an answer on a question about bowlines the following statement is made by @MarkG: All 'Bowlines' have the advantage of being Post Eye Tiable (PET) and totally jam resistant. https://outdoo...
I thought that, according to what I've read from the web, people alternate between sauna and swimming. I tried to do that but people thought that I was in trouble. I posted the whole experience to ...
My wife and I have been watching these magpie Jays for a while and I was just wondering what if all would be the purpose of the plume on their heads. It's strange in it's a single strand with a few...
I found this abandoned building with what looked like some sort of radio gear while hiking near Mono Lake California. The shed on skids Close up of inside Does anyone know what this was or...
According to the Audubon book on bird houses, they should not be constructed under a branch or other support that a squirrel could use to jump down to them. However, in that case, how do I make a ...
Apparently, there is a theory that says Hummingbirds can become hypothermic if they sit on a feeder perch and drink several cropfuls of cold sugar water early in the morning. The birds fall to...
Some time ago I bought Vango F10 Xenon UL 2 tent. Had no chance to use it yet as I had to cancel the trip I was planning on using it on. Now I'm planning something new, but as it's going to be in s...
I saw a bird (the mother) swallow the birdring of another bird it was eating on live camera (while feeding its chicks) link (the site is in Polish) and I am wondering whether: Can it actually cau...
Seen today (5/5/19) in an area north of Boston.
When buying a sleep system it is important to consider the R-rating, referring to the thermal resistance of the product(s) and how that compares to the conditions that one will use them in. Some pe...
I've done a lot of backpacking in my home state of Colorado. My pack and its contents is pretty light but not "ultralight", maybe 20 pounds including food. I'm considering something like these fo...
There is a news story out this week, (The end of April, 2019) about a school resource officer's weapon discharging while in his holster. In my experience as a gun owner and hunter, it's hard for m...
I've noticed when climbing and bouldering I have a tendency to get occasional flappers on my palm. A flapper being a callus or blister that has peeled back and hangs on like a flap of skin. I trim ...
In all of my Wilderness First Responder classes and books, they have said that people who have been struck by lightning and need CPR have the best chance of it working (in general save rates with C...
I live in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, USA. A few days ago I noticed these rodents digging in my compost pile. This was in the early-afternoon. If I got too close (closer than 4 ft) they...
On top of one of the peaks in the Uinta mountain range I found this plastic thing with small black flat glass marbles in it. It was several feet long and there were small holes underneath of the f...
I saw a bird with an injured wing among the rocks on a beach in Portugal (Algarve). The bird has been on the beach since Friday evening, and her wing feathers have completely dropped off by now. I...
This TGO answer recommends putting possibly tick-infested clothing into a dedicated dryer, where they will be killed by desiccation. The source used in the answer, the Appalachian Mountain Club, s...
What type of fish is this? I caught this fish in the Miami River in Southern Florida, USA. This river is brackish I believe, so I am not sure whether it is saltwater or freshwater. It is brown, gr...
What do the red and blue solid curves in this Google Map indicate? This is around Dachstein, Austria. Link: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dachstein+Krippenstein+-+Dachstein+Tourismus+AG/Lodge+...
I want to trek from Obertraun to Lodge am Krippenstein, as indicated in this google map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dachstein+Krippenstein+-+Dachstein+Tourismus+AG/Lodge+am+Krippenstein,+Win...
I'm relatively new to the world of rock climbing, having been bouldering at a gym for a few months. I'm planning on checking out a natural bouldering area (that is, one made of real naturally occur...
I drink canned beverages when I'm gardening and camping. I know several people who have ended up in the hospital due to swallowing bees that were stuck in their beverage (stung in the mouth). How...
