General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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A few nights ago I saw some minks in the grass right next to a seasonal irrigation canal that is dry most of the year shortly after dark. The irrigation canal has no fish or crawdads in it, because...
As the summer goes on, the cottontail rabbits are getting bigger and at the same time I am seeing fewer of them, presumably as predators whittle their numbers down. What percentage of baby cottonta...
I just saw this small winged bug out in a prairie would anyone know what kind it is? Top view Side view
Sometimes a horse will become what is known as barn sour where all they want to do is hang around the stable/corrals and not go on rides. While on rides, they will keep trying to turn back and once...
Exactly that... I've done some searching and it looks like a catch-22 situation: To be able to move there you need to do commoning already. But to do commoning, you need live there already. (Hmm.....
It looks like I'm going to be living in Nairobi for a few years. Along with all of the other amazing opportunities for adventure around here, there's this giant mountain just over the border. Since...
One should never let middle age men sit around drinking and reliving the glory days of their youth on a holiday weekend. I think I may have agreed to a mid January Presidential traverse in the Whit...
I thought about trying unconventional breeds for hunting. I stumbled across the "Akita", which was initially cultured to hunt. However, it seems that it's pretty much a common house/pet dog nowaday...
The last time I went fishing, there were numerous times where I could tell that the fish were nibbling on the fly because it would move the strike indicator ever so slightly, but they wouldn't actu...
At what temperature does rain gear become a liability? If it is a couple of degrees above freezing and you are wearing rain gear to stay dry. It helps keep hypothermia (too cold) away. If the temp...
The last time I was in looking for fishing gear, they also had a bunch of "tactical" pants. They seemed like they would be decent pants for outdoor activities. What exactly makes a pair of pants "t...
If you have tracking set on your GPS device and you forget to turn it off overnight, for instance, the track distance will continue to increase even though the device is not moving. What is happeni...
I have an Ursack to keep my food safe from bears, but above treeline the problem isn't so much bears as it is marmots (who are unfortunately accustomed to people). Would an Ursack keep the marmots ...
Once in Yosemite Vally, I saw a sign that one fork of a paved trail was marked as handicap accessible because it was less steep than the other fork that led to the same destination. How steep/what ...
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 need to adjust the derailleur on my bike, I don't have a bike stand because I am on the bike trail. I have three options for pedaling while adjusting the the derailleur. Turn the bike upside dow...
When shoveling snow in the winter, if my gloves are warm enough to keep my hands warm, they tend to sweat and get the gloves wet from the inside out. How can I prevent this?
What equipment is necessary for driving on 4x4 trails and rougher forest roads in the Northeast United States? This would include safety equipment, recovery equipment and any other equipment neede...
For short trips, lithium-ion batteries to recharge your camera/phone/GPS make more sense. For something like the Appalachian Trail where batteries aren't going to last the whole trip, a solar charg...
There is a video on reddit where a skunk is chasing a woman around. It's not spraying or even threatening to spray, but it's sure trying to keep up with her. Why would a skunk be doing that?
Rather than take a can of chicken while backpacking, it's possible to open the can, drain the juice and stick the meat into a ziplock which makes it much lighter and a ziplock is much more compact ...
When I have time I like to get my bike and canoe out and do a day trip. Doing a mile or two is not hard but a good day trip is between 8 and 14 miles. When I started at the beginning of the year 6...
Last year one of my CSA boxes contained a basil seedling in a 4" starter pot. I'd never grown herbs before, but I transplanted it to a pot, took care of it, and had a tasty bounty all summer. Thi...
The baskets on trekking poles are very useful while hiking through snow, however, they have a tendency to break. How would one improvise a fix in the outdoors for this?
Sleeping bags have temperature ratings that tell you the aproximate temperature that will be comfortable at. Reflective tarps do not have such ratings, probably because most people don't use them ...
I am planning a long bike and canoe trip (bike tows canoe, canoe carries bike and cart), There are a couple of purpose built products for towing a canoe with a bike dumb stick & woody hitch but...
There are a couple of pretty good answers in How to make a cargo trailer?. After looking at those, at the answer to What are the safety concerns of a high vs a low mount trailer hitch? and doing s...
I found these plants while hiking in Colorado, they are pretty small and have red berries slightly larger than peas. The area was old growth that had been burned in a fire at least a few years ago.
Here is a whole bunch of ants gathered on a sidewalk around dusk, I have seen this before so its not totally uncommon. What would lead to ants doing this?
Sometimes a horse/pony will bite humans. They bite each other to establish dominance and sometimes they will bite humans too. How do you train a horse to stop biting humans?
I am very familiar with dumping septic holding tanks in a camper on land. I do it regularly and safely, either at the camp ground or at home. I am considering a boat trip on the Ohio and Mississi...
I've recently bought a pair of PMR446 walkie-talkies with some 5–10 km range, operating at 446 MHz. We've happily used them in Sareks Nationalpark in Sweden. Now I'm moving to Canada, where this ...
I just wanted to know what place in america has forest, temperature ranges from 40°F - 60°F (5°C - 15°C) year round, does NOT rain for days on end, and rarely gets snow. I tried looking around on...
Salmon is an anadromous fish, that means it is born in fresh water, it spends most of its life in the sea and it returns to fresh water to spawn. I was wondering when fishermen fish salmon. I guess...
I've just seen a documentary in which a guy trekks through some rugged terrain while he has his cargo on a donkey. It's a pretty cool and versatile animal overall. What are some pros and cons of t...
We prefer watching animals from a distance, to try and cause them the least disruption. Every so often I've seen an animal in a distant part of a large area that doesn't appear to feel right. For i...
I am wondering how to estimate the needed motor power for boating upstream on big rivers like, for example, Danube. (mean the bottom to middle part, i.e. where the Danube is wide and "slow"?). To ...
tl;dr What is a likely value for fuel consumption for a small portable 4-stroke gasoline-powered inverter power generator in, say, litre / ( kilowatt * hour )? At times I attend music festivals wh...
In all of my Wilderness First Responder classes and books, they have said that people who have been struck by lightning and need CPR have the best chance of it working (in general save rates with C...
For an older guy (say 65+) who likes to hike alone - are a mule or two a help or a hindrance? Maybe a mule for the pack, and a second mule to ride when I get really old? Historically people prefer...
My friend and I are planning to go camping for three days next week. Since it's winter here in the US, we're targeting the south east side (FL, SC, etc.) I am looking for suggestions on camping sit...
My grandpa found this deer skull way out in the back of a golf course (he works there) and brought it home for me. I don't mind leaving the color the way it is, I just wonder, what is the best way...
After reading this question about emergency kits, I noticed that no one mentioned nails. Why shouldn't we include 10 or 12, common 6d (2", 6 penny) nails in the kit? Ten 6d nails weigh about an o...
I've seen small radar reflectors for sale. Should I carry one when kayaking? What else can I do such that boats can use their radar to be aware of my location when they can't see me due to poor v...
On trails that go up steep hills, there are usually switchbacks where the trail goes first one way and then other, resulting in an overall less steep path. In the complete absence of a trail, how ...
I have done lots of hiking on trails with switchbacks and one thing I have noticed is that the length of the legs (how long you walk in one direction before switching back to the other) can vary w...
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...
My backpack has straps that are way too long and I would like to shorten them, both to save weight and to make it more organized. How can I cut the straps and then seal them so the ends don't come...
Yesterday for the first time I turned my canoe over, then I tried to get back in it. I have been thinking about adding a sail to my canoe and now that I know a bit about sailing, I know I need to ...
My team at work has occasional outings and one of the activities we've talked about for the future is kayaking or whitewater rafting. I've never done either and am also dependent on expensive pres...
