General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Walking barefoot makes skin on the soles very hard. Indigenous tribes that have no boots are walking barefoot even on the sharp rocks. But after my leg was slightly slit by the seaweed, I wonder i...
I spent much of today cycling around quiet country lanes in South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, and saw at least 6 dead badgers on the road. I saw a few others earlier in the week on ...
Some forests in the Western United States will have been logged at different times and by different methods i.e. clearcut vs selective logging. As time goes by, the trees will grow back but this r...
I love rock climbing and I try to go to my local gym and boulder as often as possible (usually 2-3 times a week). But it's really hard for me to climb for any extended period of time because my arm...
When I first started (indoor) bouldering, I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to commit to it, so I went and bought a pair of shoes in the sale that were relatively cheap (or at least cheaper than c...
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...
Both effectively do the same job, grip a rope as an auto bloc or an ascender. What are the pros and cons of each? Why/when would I choose one over the other?
I'm planning on taking a trip across the US and was planning on doing as much dispersed camping (a.k.a.backcountry camping) as possible. I wanted to educate myself on where it is legal to go off tr...
I was walking my dog along this one stretch of side walk in my neighborhood and there are a few of these trees lined up along it. They have a fuzzy seed pod (or perhaps a flower pod?) that reminds...
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...
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 ...
When I was in Boy Scouts every month we went camping places that seemed to be deep in the woods with no one else around within hiking distance. When I go to reserve a campsite as an adult they're ...
Sometimes when clipping in people who are rappelling, or setting up anchors in some places from above or showing people how to get onto a fixed line, I need an adjustable tether. I often carry a n...
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 ...
I am trying to connect 12lb leadline (lead removed for knot) to a 6lb flurocarbon leader but when I tie them with a double uni knot the flurocarbon breaks when pulling it tight. I have tried a cou...
It's been said by a specialist doctor that any form of mountain descent would affect your knee caps. Do old mountaineers have knee problems? Is it related to the way you descend?
During an internet search for fun places to go in the Western United States, I came across a number of articles about an unusual rock formation in Oregon called Duckbill. It was called iconic, trea...
One of the more useful knots for climbing is the Purcell prusik (related to but not a regular prussik), which can be used as an adjustable tether or for ascending a rope among other things. How wo...
I've got a thermos for coffee and/or water storage that I use on hikes and for bike touring since it keeps things hot for hours. However, it seems like the inside is rusting a bit. Is this safe...
This question is not a duplicate of either (1) Ice skating on a frozen lake -- how thick should the ice be?, which only asks how thick the ice should be; or (2) How to determine the thickness of i...
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...
I've imagined this scenario many times: you break through a snow bridge and fall into a hidden crevasse, how should you react? The fear is, if you're wearing crampons, your foot may snag the ice du...
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...
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 ...
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?
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...
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...
When camping in bad weather I'm always asking myself if it is a good idea to cook in my tent with a gas cooker. Obviously there is the danger of fire. But how dangerous is this really? Can you easi...
Growing up we had an old aluminum canoe. It looked kind of ugly, and had some dents, but it was a great boat. Over the past 5 years I've been in various sporting goods stores in California, Colorad...
A friend of mine told me that elephants used for tourism in Thailand are mistreated. They are taken away from their mothers in the wilderness and brought to a station where they are tortured to mak...
I heard that light colors attract less insects than dark, that dark colors could be warmer, and I was advised against wearing white in the jungle. Where can I get a comprehensive list of the effect...
I have enough experience with mountain hiking, but in the area where I live (the Alps), the wind rarelly gets extremelly strong, so I have no idea about judging when it is actually unsafe to hike b...
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...
Single-wall tents are made from waterproof breathable material, which is heavier and more expensive than a simple impermeable layer. But if a single-wall tent were made of impermeable material, ...
I live in Massachusetts, in the Northeastern region of the United States. As a lover of bees, I'd like to learn how to identify some varieties, including their behavior, and how they're raised. M...
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...
We have a large number of chipmunks, probably mostly Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus, in our yard in Massachusetts. There are different sizes and a large variation in markings. The behavior appea...
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?
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...
My wife likes to shoot arrows at targets. She uses a relatively lightweight draw compound bow now. We have been talking about her trying a crossbow. I did a quick search online and found junior m...
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...
I was out in the woods the other day and I came across a tree. It had all of the bark around the bottom removed, and a good layer of wood removed as well. I estimated the damage was a good 7-8 feet...
How do I pack a backpack to prevent injury to my back and keep it comfortable while hiking?
I have been seeing a bird that looks like a cardinal but has black wings and has an orange-red color. Closest photo I've found is the hooded oriole, but this is Michigan and early March. Any ideas ...
I'm going on a backpacking trip later this summer and on the list of things to bring is 3 yards of duct tape. I don't want to bring an entire roll of duct tape because it would be heavy and cumbers...
I see lots of schools around different states and countries that teach wilderness skills and they seem to vary a lot in their basis (that is, what qualifies them to do what they do). Some are led b...
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 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.
People have speculated that women hiking in bear country during their menstrual cycle might increase their chances of a bear encounter. Is this true? What can be done to minimize risk? Related que...
I'm fascinated by bats. I love to watch them fly around, although I've never seen more than a few at a time where I live in a suburban area in Massachusetts, Northeastern Unites States. I'd love ...
