General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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In some places in the western United States, game fish are stocked into lakes via planes for fishing (every so often lakes will freeze to the point that it kills the fish). I have heard stories of...
The rains are doing all sorts of things to the landscape in Waterton-Glacier National Park this summer. All of the trails in the park appear to serve as water ways for rain runoff, and the rain app...
Due to forest fires in Sweden, many Swedish counties have issued a total fire ban, such as Västerbotten and Jämtland. In most cases, this includes camping stoves, and therefore has the potential t...
I was searching around after a new hiking tent, when I noticed a specification called "unisex", I know that something is "unisex" if it's suited for all genders. Though it makes me wonder, how on e...
Near Camping la Brise in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France, mosquitos are quite hungry. Which areas around the sea tend to have the least mosquito population? Which characteristics (climate, habita...
I am hoping for more than anecdotal evidence about the negative effects on black bears of the human scent -- ranging from meh to Yecch. This question is prompted by two anecdotes I have to offer:...
I am going to go to the Yellowstone park and other parks in the north-west (e.g., Glacier park); I'll be there for a couple of weeks in the late summer and we will sleep in tents in campgrounds par...
Found this rock on a river bed in north GA while snorkeling. I can not identify it. It appears to be granite with crystal growing inside. There or deep holes and pockets on bothe sides and rathe...
I have an older coleman two burner camp stove, and I am having problems keeping it burning. It will generally light right up, but the flame seems low and it won't stay burning beyound a couple min...
Some friends and I were thinking of doing a one day hike somewhere in Minnesota. I have looked online for places but nothing I have found really gives me a sense of the place. My requirements are...
There was recently a storm near me. T was a lightning storm and I was wondering if it really is true about it only hitting tall things or if it is really just an old wives tale. If it is true why i...
My brother and I are planning to get PADI, (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), certified. The e-learning course in July, 2018 is $180, which isn't super cheap. Can I buy one and re-us...
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...
I mostly climb at a rock climbing gym, and I can climb for hours until my forearms run out of gas. However, when I climb outdoors, usually the reason I have to stop is because the skin of my palm...
I was hiking in Switzerland yesterday and came across a small river which holds very little water on most days (or even none) and grows a lot after rainfall. The day before yesterday it rained for ...
In a couple of weeks my buddy (husband) and I will be doing a few dives on the UK's Jurassic coastline, in Swanage. It's said if the vis (visibility) is good here you can often see seahorses, as t...
Some terms may not be global, inline descriptions for questionable terms A motorhome is RV with an engine (as opposed to a camp trailer that is pulled by another vehicle). Many people will tow a ...
In Malaysia, the country I'm from, almost nobody puts up bird feeders. I have just bought a bird feeder from overseas, but the birds don't seem to know what the feeder even is, as they may not have...
We're going to an area in France where the expected daytime temperature will be 30°C or higher. We use a light brown (beige) coated cotton tent. We have to decide whether to put it up in the mor...
I am going to Philmont Scout Ranch in the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, USA, this August. I am planning on using the Eureka Timberline 4 tent, which weighs about 8 pounds. I am doing a 7 day trek ...
There is a method of finding north with a watch described here So you point the hour hand of your watch at the sun. Halfway between your hour hand and the noon mark is south. How accurate is ...
I bet the first thing that came to your mind, was... because humans are evil and hurt animals because we're bigger than birds because we are louder than birds because of all of the above ...rig...
We have a question about how to store dead bait shrimp, both answers suggest that you can simply eat the bait shrimp, but one says, As for freezing them, they won't be alive anymore but they sh...
A friend said she heard there's a species of bird that hibernates during the winter. I was surprised because I've only heard of birds that either migrate to warm weather as it gets cold; or stay ac...
I'm going to buy a one-man packraft, capable going some wilder stuff. For the beginning I would like to try it with a used one. What should I look for when buying a second hand packraft?
I was reading this answer about how raccoons were introduced into Germany, and after the other questions on this site about the harm caused by non-native species,(grey squirrels, house sparrows, et...
Stallions will kill unrelated foals, but I have heard that male mountain lions will kill their own kittens, ostensibly to bring the females back into heat so they can breed again. (Bears will do th...
The ducklings are getting much bigger very quickly, to the point that it's almost hard to tell the mother duck from the ducklings, (mother duck in back of procession) How much bigger are these d...
One of the older fairy tales is The Ugly Duckling where the one oddball of the bunch is considered ugly by the other ducks but turns out to be a swan at the end of the story. From what I have read...
Are there any weather, or at least temperature, archives for mountains? I have read that this information is very spotty, that it is not recorded for many mountains. In searching for this data, ho...
Growing up in the Midwest, USA I have heard of being able to hear corn grow on a quiet night. I believe I may have actually experienced this at one time while waiting for some co-workers in the mi...
I don't know many fish so I am trying to get names of fish as I catch them. Can you tell from these pictures what type of fish this is? Unfortunately, I gut hooked this one. It was caught in a rive...
When shooting it is a good idea to wear eye protection, most ranges and shooting competitions require them. There are two basic kinds, clear plastic, and amber/yellow tinted ones. From what I have...
Is there any sort of mini heater that can be powered from a powerbank to be used in a tent (or anything similar)?
As indicated in Have there been any studies done on how fluorescent pink compares to fluorescent orange?, fluorescent pink is becoming accepted as a new safety color for hunting. Given that we have...
Do you know where I can get a 20-shot magazine for a 1917 303 MKIII Lee-Enfield rifle? I currently have a 10-shot magazine. I have searched the internet and I've seen a picture of one but have n...
I have a hydration bladder with a screw on the drinking hose, and the problem is that given enough time it will come unscrewed and then leak inside my backpack. I have tried tightening it as hard ...
I'm going on a 2-day backpacking trip. I have a CamelBak that I haven't used in 4 years. I saw zero mold in it, it smelled fine. I flushed it a few times, including the lines and mouthpiece, with n...
While bears are located all along the Appalachian trail, in most sections they are rarely seen. During prime season there is enough use of the trail that hikers are often aware of problematic areas...
In addition to sunglasses, you can get clear safety glasses that claim "Blocks 99.9% of harmful UV rays". The advantage of clear safety glasses is that they can be worn both during dusk and after d...
Nevada State Parks have the most numerically precise characterisation of hiking trails I have yet seen. For example, see this map and list for Valley of Fire State Park or this one for Beaver Dam ...
I'm going on a long sailing trip in Netherlands. I would like my family to be able to contact me in case of an emergency, but we'll be outside of mobile network range most of the time. Along the G...
Someone was telling me that elk were solely plains animals before they were driven to the Rocky Mountains. They mentioned the account of Lewis and Clark and that they said there were no elk in the ...
In addition to space blankets, you can get reusable tarps with a reflective coating on one side. For the most part, they are just like regular tarps with grommets for tie downs and are big enough t...
There are pictures of bobcats climbing on top of really tall cacti, the one story I read says that the reason the bobcat climbed the tree was to get away from a mountian lion who was trying give it...
I thought that Les Stroud was about to make a taut line hitch. But at the end he did a couple of things a little different. What is this knot? Does it hold better than a taut line hitch?
I have a rope of 10 m which supports 3 kN (300 kg) strength. I will abseil with it as a single rope. I want to know what is the recommended knot to use when attaching the top with my anchor's cara...
Where can I find free electronic topographic map that cover the entire West Coast Trail in Canada? I'm trying to print them and bring them for my thru hike.
Assume that the victim is a healthy rational adult. I've chanced on snakes while trekking in nature. So I was stunned to read about this tragedy where: Not realising she had been attacked, th...
I'm interested in building a small Lincoln-log style cabin (more like a shed, <200 square feet) in hardiness zone 4/5 of northeast USA. Available timbers are mostly red spruce, some eastern heml...
