General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Everesting is an activity where the goal is altitude gain of 8848 m or more by repeatedly going up and down a selected route. This is most often attempted by biking; however, hiking/running is pra...
Would anyone know how to identify a good location to catch Cray Fish at the River Don? I live in Doncaster (UK) and so the River Don would be ideal to catch the American Signal Crayfish. Looking ...
My neighbour has an ornamental cherry tree that has died. It is still standing but presumably a dead tree becomes increasingly hazardous and should be felled. I am wondering whether, were I to offe...
I am currently in Denmark without access to a car. During the weekend I use the bus to go to some remote coastal place in order to fish. It takes 1 hour to reach that place. I carry one rod with me...
I need to run a hose from a tap to my campsite. I have a drinking water rated hose, but I'd like to know whether brass splitters and hose fittings (sold as gardening items) are safe -- I believe br...
Deaths from the "brain eating amoeba" Naegleria fowleri are fairly rare but each is highlighted in the press, as headlines containing brain eating beget clicks. While it's not yet understood why t...
Sometimes there are sources of water which are slightly contaminated with salt, such as coastal wells or pools of rainwater in rocks near the coast, or water containers with pinhole leaks which hav...
Handheld desalinators operating on the principle of reverse osmosis are available for emergency use in lifeboats. Sometimes they appear for sale unused in their original packaging at a very steep ...
There are large areas of the ocean that are essentially lifeless, often called ocean deserts. If I am traveling the ocean, and not familiar with potential sea life in the area, can I tell from clu...
Locally Search and Rescue doesn't charge but what happens if you're in an area where they do? They obviously have your name and address but it doesn't seem fair to bill the person who was prepared...
If you are fishing in the ocean off the United States Coast. At what distance from shore do US fishing laws no longer apply? The US Coast Guard listes, boundaries at 12, 24 and 200 Miles. Ma...
From slivers caused by chopping wood, thorns from plants, or bee stings there have been times when out in the woods when a pair of tweezers would come in handy and none where on hand. Are there ar...
If a saltwater angler goes out on a boat, how much could we expect that person to catch during a typical day? I would like to set some personal expectations. Obviously if the variables are against...
My research thus far has acquainted me with a kind of trade-off: one can try to minimize the amount of contamination (from bacteria/parasites) or one can try to minimize the amount of particulates ...
There is a video of a seal sucker punching a kayaker with an octopus, Source I suppose the seal wasn't exactly trying to hit the kayaker, but why would it be flinging the octopus around above t...
Does anyone know what black dots mean on an OS Explorer map? There are a lot of them on the map of Kinder Scout in the Peak District (UK). I know the black dashed line is a footpath, I am asking ...
I was looking into portable desalination hand pumps. and I found this one one Amazon for $959 it says the Katadyn Survivor 06 is the world's smallest hand-operated desalinator and can easily fi...
In the answer to Can I get fresh water from ocean fish flesh? I learned that the water I can get from eating fish has a low enough salt content that it will hydrate me, BUT the high protein count w...
I was recently told that many of the clothes we wear are made up of materials that are dangerous to marine wildlife, and the undersea environment. I'm curious as to whether or not it's true. I kn...
I want to go out in a canoe onto a large lake and stay out for the entire weekend. I have checked the whether and determined that it will definitely be excellent weather and very calm all weekend l...
I have a pair of quite old Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork Flicklock trekking poles. After much use and abuse the tip on one of them has finally gotten bashed in (the carbide tip has either broke...
A comment on a different question suggests that an ice yacht (or iceboat), a boat made for going over ice instead of through water, is not merely a water boat with skates strapped on for ice, but t...
I have lots of these hawthorns in my neighborhood (Mount Lebanon) but I am afraid to eat from them. Are they safe ?
We have a question about desalinating water while stranded at sea, and another that asks if you can get desalinated water from eating fish. However, even if you could get desalinated water from fi...
Ocean water has about 35 Grams of salt per liter. For the human body salt content in body fluids is about 9 Grams per liter. See related question How much sea water can I safely drink? While it ...
Many but not all sailboats have numbers displayed on their sail, what do those numbers mean? I am looking for a general answer, not one specific to the random example image below. example image f...
I know that rabbits eat their droppings (cecotropes) and I have heard of feeding rabbit droppings to pigs. Rabbits are vegetarians. There droppings do not have the same consistency or negative sec...
In recent news reports that all seem to be saying the same things: Jakarta Post Indonesian teenager survives 49 days adrift in Guam waters NPR: 19-Year-Old Survives 49 Days At Sea After Floating ...
I am currently stuck in the wilderness, and I have been out here for a while. I want to focus light. There are various reasons for wanting to do this, with the two biggest reasons being for vision ...
As seen in the picture, this sail boat is sliding over ice rather than sailing through water. If I were to try this ice sailing, would I need to follow boating regulations? This might not be th...
NOTE the following is while the camper is unoccupied and stored in my back yard. The Propane/CO detector in my camper started going off randomly a few weeks ago. I thought it was from some random ...
Related to this question, there are people advocating that most of the Grand Canyon National park be designated as Wilderness. What exactly would change in the allowed activities (some say it woul...
I see lots of mention on sailing forums about standing on the bow and "pumping" the sail on a sunfish or other small boat to get going under your own power. However, I can't seem to find any video...
Have heard great things about diving in the Red Sea. However, Egypt's not the most stable and safe place to visit. What are the alternative locations for diving in the European side of the Medit...
A recent question got me wondering if there are Takedown Compound Bows. I Googled around and found several longbows, (recurves, etc) that can be taken down for travel. But I did not find any comp...
For some reason I have had multiple encounters with mountain lions. In my 20's while camping in a somewhat remote campground near the continental divide in CO I woke to a large mountain lion layin...
When coming back from a day of hiking and eating I often notice that the top of the straw of my water bottle is dirty on the inside. I've come across quite a few options to clean the inside of the...
It has the characteristics of lemon balm / mint, with square stems, but it doesn't have the lemon / mint smell. Also, its leaves seem to be more rounded, where lemon balm leaves have more of a poin...
I’m looking for a bag to help carry my bow. Not that hard in huge forums to find some good suggestions but the think is I’m looking specifically to carry a compound bow without exposing any of the ...
There are two types of rifle scopes when it comes to which focal plane the reticle is etched on and they are called first or second focal plane scopes. What is the difference between the two types...
I believe it to be a polypore, but was unable to identify the exact type.
My rucksack has a small pocket on the hip belt, but I can’t think of anything useful to keep in it while day hiking. What types of things is such a pocket intended for? If there is no common purpos...
Someone suggested using a Safety Spark Bunsen Burner/Laboratory Lighter with 5 Flints to start tinder for an emergency fire. I don't currently own one so can't try it. I have used them to light f...
My inexpensive nail clippers are chrome plated steel. All the keys on my key ring are brass or some other non-ferrous metal (I checked with a magnet). The nail clippers have that small nail file ...
I am aware that the statistics regarding a 40ft climbing fall, which result in "decking-out" are not favorable. I survived such a fall only recently. Major injuries seem to have only been a broken ...
This is going out primarily to those who have been climbing for 20yrs + Back in the day, helmet use was optional and not particularly popular. These days, things seemed to have taken a dramatic cha...
We know that you can start a fire with a battery. the better prepared you are the easier it is going to be. I am not prepared and all I have in my pockets is my car keys, which includes a keyless ...
I'm looking for hiking trails in Zion National Park in Utah, USA. Here are the criteria: 5-8 miles Moderate skill level (prefer not too easy, but not too strenuous) Prefer no more than 2000 feet...
After tying on a new fly when fly fishing, you need to trim the excess string. As this needs to happen every time, what tool(s) would make the job easier?
I have raised cross bar on my SUV roof as the image shows: I also got a couple 15ft. long Thule ratchet straps for tie-down canoes. Now my question is, can I tie down ski and snowboards on the ...
