General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
Filters (None)
Is it safe to cook and or heat using "cow chips"? Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow pies or cow manure is and has been used to fuel fires where firewood is not available. Ruminant manure co...
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...
I posted an answer for a recent question about a forest fire that started after your hike began, that said: Presumably you registered at the trailhead, and you have a friend who knows where you...
What are the different names for camping stove alcohol and where can I get such a fuel? Note, this is not about white gas (aka "Coleman" fuel).
There are a number of "survival" products on the market that integrate "extra" strands into the standard paracord (US MIL spec, ~4mm accessory cord, usually 7 strand nylon or cotton) Most of them...
I have been fishing in a small lake in Southern Indiana. We’ve caught many Bluegill in the same place and caught this small, I’m assuming young Sunfish today. Is this just a Bluegill that happens t...
In most national parks in the United States, campfires are prohibited above certain elevations (9,600 ft for Yosemite,10,000 ft for Ansel Adams with exceptions). This is a good thing because after...
I heard two terms 'back country camping' and 'front country camping' but I don't know what the difference between the two is. How are they different.
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...
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...
This symbol appears on a forest in an OS 1:50,000 Landranger map at SO 24799 27221. It doesn't appear in the map legend. It does not appear at the same point on the equivalent 1:25,000 Explorer map...
If you have full stuffed bag full of laundry with two handles, how would you tie the handles?
String walking is, Having a 3-under allows for string walking. What this is, is basically the ability to pull the string at a different position hence changing the distance of your shot. Sou...
Is there any effective repellent against deer flies (Lipoptena cervi)? It should be safe for humans as well as dogs. All related information I could find is about a different deer fly (Chrysops).
This morning when out on one of my usual walks I discovered an Amphibian / Lizard on the path - I did not take a picture as it had clearly been attacked at some point, it was not alive at this time...
Last September my wife and I went surfing in Peniche (Portugal). We took a beginners course there. We had a lot of fun but I found the greenwaves and their strength when they come crashing down on ...
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. ...
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 ...
We have a question about the cost of through-hiking the AT and another about the cost of through hiking the CDT but not one about the PCT which is the other big trail in the United States. What is...
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...
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...
This question is prompted by a real accident, in which a young, healthy and experienced hiker I knew was found dead from hypothermia ridiculously close to civilization. The assumptions behind it:...
Me and a group of about twenty of my friends were passing through the ranch of my neighbor. There is a large prairie with his horses. Suddenly, a group of about 10 horses charged us. All of a sudde...
Twice now I have been summitting peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park while getting really early starts to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms. However in both cases I could still see lighting in t...
I have a cut in the ankle of my boot (see pic). I'm concerned that any glueing/patching will not hold due to movement and flexing while walking. What is the proper method of gluing and patching t...
Last spring, we went to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, United States. We don't like places with captive animals, unless they're work is essential for the survival of life on the planet. We m...
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...
Most fly fishing with wet flies is done with just single wet fly and a strike indicator but it's also possible to do it with a dry fly instead of a strike indicator (this lets you do both at the sa...
I am about to start a long backpacking trip through South America, and I would like to take as little weight as possible. I have the rest of my stuff more or less sorted out, but I am a bit at a lo...
I've rendered my Sangean MMR-88 DAB radio (alias Sangean Survivor DAB+) unusable by selecting "System" -> "Software Upgrade". The display says "PC wizard.." and the radio is unresponsive. I've ...
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...
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 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...
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...
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 have lots of these hawthorns in my neighborhood (Mount Lebanon) but I am afraid to eat from them. Are they safe ?
I know a training line + slackline would cost more than a slack-line itself, but I'm wondering if I didn't buy a slackline+training line I'd have to step on and fall off before I'm able to balance ...
I have seen a survival kit that has been spoken well of by many reviewers: the SERE Air Force Survival Kit. SERE stands for: survival, evasion, resistance, escape. It is a rather small kit fitting...
I recently visited a local outfitter upon whose walls hang various pieces of vintage outdoor equipment. I was unable to identify these, or even guess which outdoor activity they might have been rel...
Which is the best knot to use as a stopper in the upper & lower part of a beads T - Holes? Also which knot is preferable for the horizontal line?
I occasionally place slings on rock spikes as trad climbing protection. If the spike is not very tall or thick the slings can become easily dislodged as the rope passes though the quickdraw/carabin...
I would like to go for a week on skialp tour with kids (3 adults, 3 kids ~8 years old) this winter (end of December to January). I would like to go from hut to hut as some kids are too small to sta...
For some time, I have been following both European and American long distance hikers and a few things stood out to me, gear wise, and I was curious if someone could shed some light on it. For examp...
So this actually stems from the fact my last two pairs of wellington boots have split - as have my husbands, and his were a different brand - my boots were both Joules (~£45 so low-mid range boots)...
NPS has opened Tioga Pass for through traffic but not for day use recreation. I can't find any historical information about how long after the initial opening it typically opens for day use. Anyone...
Most hearing muffs/earplugs have a noise reduction rating of between 22 to 35 NRR. OSHA says, Impulse Noise: The standard states that exposure to impulsive or impact noise should not exceed 14...
This question was prompted by the advice to "follow the existing angles" in this answer on sharpening ice screws. I have heard the same advice when it comes to resharpening knives. Of course, there...
Setting aside the benefits of cardiocavascular exercise in general, what are the risks to hikers/climbers with high blood pressure at various altitudes? Is there an upper ceilling/threshold that...
On longer dives, let's say over an hour long, the air from the cylinder becomes rather dry and can cause a dry throat - what are possible ways to have a drink when scuba diving? Are there alternati...
When wild camping, the general advice I've heard is to pitch up late and leave early. However, what times are considered "late" and "early"? One thought is that sunrise and sunset would be sensibl...
