General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Snow blindness, also known as photokeratitis, is predominately caused by the sun's reflection off of snow. If one is caught out in the wild, ill prepared for snow, what could one find in a tempera...
I've been hanging these fat balls for a good while and they're intact. Previously I was hanging a feeder filled with seeds (for birds) in front of the window and that was also intact for a while; s...
I have a propane/120 volt refrigerator/freezer in my camper. For safety reasons I turn off the propane when moving. I keep the freezer section mostly full of the blue ice containers, which keeps t...
In the Instinctive Bow Division of World Archery, you can either release in the Mediterranean style with one finger above the knock and two fingers below, or you can shoot 3 under, where all three ...
I'm crew on a boat (wooden 8.5m from 1973) which has a GPS and a tiller pilot that seem to work fine separately, but don't seem to want to talk to one-another. My captain is adamant this combinatio...
I'm currently thinking about switching to three under (3 fingers under the arrow knock when releasing). I ordered a new bow and wanted to take this as a chance to change or try out a few things. H...
On April 12, 2019, my sister-in-law was hiking on a mountain close to our home in Central Massachusetts, USA. There was a pond at the end of an established trail. Near the water's edge were jelly...
I have been climbing for a short while and loving it. Now that I've gotten a fair bit of practice with indoor climbing I'm thinking about where this new love of mine can take me. The obvious answer...
I currently have the Canada NTS 1:50,000 maps, and the 1990 revision of the complete park map. They don't agree on details, and so far the NTS maps have higher error rates. I also have a couple o...
I am looking for a way into alpinism. The most common route I've found is signing up for a multi-day guided group course in a place like Chamonix, culminating in a small summit like Petite Aiguille...
Some knives have gut hooks, and some have line cutters, Source It basically the same notch just optimized for different purposes. How exactly would one sharpen the gut hook/line cutter? Its...
I recently bought a knife that near the handle end of the blade has a sharp, curved part: I don’t think it’s a choil because it’s sharp. What is its use? I thought something to do with stripping...
I was wondering if there is a way to sight in a rifle scope without firing a shot. There are some reasons why I think it would useful to be able to do this. One depending on the scope you may hav...
For those of you who haven't noticed, your GPS may have become a time traveler this week. Background The GPS system was invented in the 1980s and uses an epoch of Jan 1, 1980 as the starting poin...
While hiking to see the Grand Canyon on the North side, I found this grey and orange lizard running through some downed brush and logs (center of picture). Would anyone know what type of lizar...
I live in Berlin, Germany and in the last couple of years it's been know as 'wild boar capital' since there are lots of wild boars in the surroundings. I wanted to start camping and bushcrafting an...
What is the risk from being exposed to chronic wasting disease (CWD) from hunting Elk, Deer or Moose as a hunter in the United States?
Is altitude a problem in this area - Sapa is at 1500m so any thing over that is going to be heading into intermediate altitude territory. We are trekking with a 13 year old and hope to do 14 Km to...
In this question a couple years ago: What do life jacket ratings mean (Type I, Type II, etc)?, we see the traditional types many of us learned about in Boating Safety courses, or in Scout/ Youth ca...
I want to go camping in the wilderness on my own, without anyone else around for miles. Is that even possible? I know a lot of national parks have designated areas, but surely they can't enforce th...
I will have a trip by the end of this month to a northern country to "escape the heat" where I live in, and I would definitely want to do some swimming at some best beaches there. The expected wate...
RIMO III is one the 6 peaks of the Rimo mountain massif, situated in Indian Kashmir. First ascent: 1985, by an Indian/ British expedition led by Harish Kapadia. Can't find the exact date of this ...
I've asked all of my trail running friends and the general consensus is to simply hose them off in the sink (some even just wear them in the shower...). I'm concerned that leaving soaking wet shoes...
I'm am amateur orienteer that does a fair chunk of races. I'm reasonably decent at navigating - using attack points, bearings, contours, catching features etc. But I cannot follow a bearing accur...
I would like to enjoy autumn in Yugyd Va National Park. In Northern Scandinavia, I have experienced that the peak autumn colours are approximately 25 August to 15 September in the Swedish and Finn...
We're an Aussie family heading over to the USA in September. We're hoping to go hiking/camping at Yosemite. :) We looking to hire a car from San Fran, drive to Yosemite and then: Hike day 1 and ...
Sometimes natural building techniques just aren't suited for a certain environment. For example, an exposed cob oven in vermont vs. a stone oven would turn out very differently, the cob falling apa...
This is a follow on from my answer here. I took this photo of my belay and shared it on Facebook, where I friend of mine (A qualified climbing instructor) pulled me up on it as I'd made one or two...
I'm planning a Yosemite trip for this summer. In reading up on the rules on fire restrictions, I saw this: When and where fire restrictions are not in effect, wood fires are allowed in existing...
The picture below was taken at the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek, a park with lots of flowers and vegetatation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Can anyone identify the bug I found there, shown in the picture be...
An example of the earthen material I have in mind, this video shows some daub prepared for a wattle-and-daub house at timestamp 7:45: https://youtu.be/wPWLlVVVDN0 Cob, cobb or clom (in Wales) i...
I was lucky enough to spot an unusual animal in my back yard this evening, here's a photo... ... well I say unusual, but that is because this is the first one I've ever seen in my back garden. T...
Take for example the picture below, taken in the Erawan National Park. The surface of the waterfall is a shade of white, maybe from calcium(?) and it actually very coarse. Even though it's somewhat...
Doing a Prussik with a small cordellete that is tied together in a O is relatively easy. Now some maneuvers require to do a Prussik/blocking knot with only one side of a long cordelete... how do yo...
Long & Gaines Climbing Anchors says: Jim Bridwell, one of the most experienced climbers in the history of the sport, uses only four knots for any and all climbing situations. Better to ...
I was taking a hike through Khao Yai National Park when I came across the centipede below. Can anyone identify what animal it is more specifically? It's been a few years and I only took this pic...
There are two "rules" which are commonly stated with how to wear an avalanche beacon which are closely related, but not quite the same: You should wear it over your bottom layer. The avalanche be...
In order for knives to be useful, they need to be sharp. If I am sharpening one myself, how do I know when I am done? What would be a simple easy test of whether a knife is sharp enough?
In answers to a recent question, ultrasonic dog repellers were suggested as a means of self defence against stray dogs rather than weapons. I'm also concerned with loose farm dogs, and live somewhe...
There is a video where a couple of people are walking on extremely clear lake ice. Usually, lake ice is far less clear, what conditions on this lake would lead to the unusual clarity?
Some places I travel to have stray dogs in the city. Can a knife be used effectively if attacked by one or more of them? I've had creepy close encounters.
I just purchased some Motion skis from Costco with Tyrolia PowerRail PR 10 bindings. Watching YouTube videos, I adjusted the bindings to the boot length and DIN but there's no screw on the front of...
Some hunting rifles come with a 20 MOA rail on top for mounting the scope or you can purchase the rails separately. What is the point of a 20 MOA rail?
I was snowshoeing in Quebec and saw these birch trees completely removed. There were fine what appeared to be teeth marks. The was moss that was left trees.
Can anyone help me find more of these lures? I love them so much but can’t find them anywhere. Does anyone know where to get these or what they are called. It has a paddle tail and a ribbon tail ...
I need to bring two branches of a palm tree/bush together. So I need a knot that is secure under tension but can also be progressively tightened. What knot would you recommend?
Knowing how many mountain lions are in an area is important for conservation, as it would be important to know if the population was in decline or to set the number that can be taken by hunters in ...
Molded kayaks are usually made of polyethylene, an otherwise extremely durable material which can be damaged by the sun. The used market is full of kayaks manufactured ten or twenty years ago whic...
Mt St. Elias is a mountain on the border of Canada and Alaska. I believe it has the fastest relief from sea level of any mountain in the world. I've read somewhere that it has a higher mortality ...
Cedar is a great example of a log that makes a good log cabin foundation. Solid and naturally rot resistant. Are there other species' logs suitable as foundations in northeast USA? Rocks can also b...
