General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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...
I live in a downtown urban center. Normally I exercise by going to the gym or by taking long walks around the different neighborhoods or some local hiking trails in parks. Current social distancin...
Once in Nevada, I saw a sign on an old abandoned mine that said two things, Stay out, mines have noxious fumes. Stay out, bats live here. Both of those are good reasons to stay out, but it seem...
If the topographic map is to be believed, there are plenty of streams in Grasslands National Park, but apparently they are saline. Last and Ginn report that there is no other area in the world th...
Thinking hypothetically, person A is taking a paragliding course over the course of a year in three stages. The first two are about mastering ground handling, taking off, basic landing, different a...
In Glacier National Park (USA), there are 63 backcountry campgrounds. I looked at the backcountry campground website including the map and campsite information. Are there bear poles/boxes at back...
I bought new mittens for my kid for the coming winter holiday. They should be waterproof or at least water-resistant. Normally when i buy clothing, i wash it before wearing. The fabric may not hav...
I really need to wax my G-1000 trousers - but I do not own a clothes iron and only a flimsy travel hairdryer. The instructions for the trousers/wax say, I should use either to melt the wax after ap...
While doing some research for my answer in are ski areas shutting down? I was a bit shocked by the American prices for lift tickets. Vail is at $220 and while this may be an exceptionally expensive...
This just crawled out of a houseplant I purchased last weekend. Can anyone help me identify it? I also need to know what to feed it because it probably hasn't eaten in a long time. It's about 4 inc...
I had a near miss yesterday as I tried a strategy of a fellow surfer: I buried my mechanical car key in the sand, put my bag on top of it, and went surfing. A few dogs on the beach must have shifte...
Always drinking pure water can be boring and tasteless, especially when you have to filtrate it or use sterilizer/purification tabs which might cause the water to taste really bad. What are easy (...
Another scary scenario: Let's say you're in a situation where you have to jump off of a cliff into the water to survive. The cliff is at least 100 feet high. What would be the best way to surviv...
Is it possible to climb Mount Teide from sea-level in 2 days for a reasonably fit person? Essentially, I was thinking of walking up to the Altavista mountain refuge on the first day (can that be do...
There are lots of ski models out there, ranging from $60 to $2000. But what difference does price actually have on the performance you get out of the skis? How does one know that it makes sense to ...
Interesting video I ran across. The high point are quotes from sugarbush's president. All the rest information is less important, except for statistics. I'm not sure where they got their stats. NSA...
In addition to "longest walk possible" are there any good guidelines for finding trails/areas in the southeast that are typically less crowded on holidays such as the 4th of July? State parks here...
How do you deal with handling hot pots / cups without using a pot grip (see the picture for an example)? It's inexpensive and rather light-weight, but why add gear if you can use what you already h...
I'm currently trying to remark a trail that seems to be forgotten or had very little use in the past few years. The markers that remain (different types of ribbon) are fraying or crumbling dependin...
I asked a question about marking trails and one of the answers suggested nailing markers to the trees. Does this damage the trees? I'm mostly concerned about long-term infection or rot that will ev...
I did not use to think of geotagging photos as a leave-no-trace issue. In fact, one slogan says leave only footprints, take only photos. Yet the Leave No Trace Social Media Guidance states: T...
This is a very subjective question but the goal is to make a somewhat comprehensive Wiki-style list of, let's call it "mission abandon criteria", that should prompt a team to turn back. In a sieg...
(Use case: A hike to heated waters--hiking with only swimwear for lower attire is not an option.) I find most swimwear is not exactly suitable for wearing under clothing, speedos would work but I...
I have a pretty strong magnet for magnet fishing. The problem that I am running into when taking it places is that I need a way to isolate it from my wallet/phone/compass inside my backpack as othe...
Is there any resource provided by the Georgian government or by any other agencies about the camping in Georgia? I would like to know about the rules and safety aspects. Any resource on these woul...
It's winter. I daydream of trips in various areas. Using Google/Apple/Bing maps is frustrating. Openstreet has trails if you are near civilization, but names are weak. None of them have coordin...
Winter is here and, like every year, I am still thrilled when the extended family rounds up all the little kids and we go sledding. This year we compared our sleds and found that some were signific...
I received an old climbing rope, whose history is unknown. I know this rope should not be used for any situations where a fall is possible since it may have already sustained one. However, can it ...
The most recent (2013) edition of Climbing Anchors, by Long and Gaines, makes some interesting statements in the preface about catastrophic failures of anchors. Long first says that: when belay anc...
Some skis nowadays have a different sidecut radius at the front, center and back of the ski. With the different radius they claim to be suitable for both long and short turns. (So far the theory) ...
Hoping to ask a couple basic Q's before my order arrives, I suspect I may've gotten insufficient gear.. 1 - Is doubling-up ropes, or hardware, ever acceptable in climbing? IE, my 8mm prusik cord ...
Being a climber one aim is to toughen up your hands (related: How to toughen up hands?). Building up callused skin is important but how do you keep it? Having dry hands especially from the climbing...
While hiking Ryan Mountain (elevation 5457 feet) in Joshua Tree National Park last month, I saw several of these grayish plants near the top of the mountain. I did not see any at lower elevations. ...
I am stealing Charlie Brumbaugh's question about canoeing on an open lake, because for kayaking you would get different anwers, and it's important to distinguish those. If you are kayaking on a...
When hiking in Israel I've seen some trails that had information on them to contact IDF first for permission before going on them. How I'm supposed to get the permission? How much in advance you h...
I have started looking at sit on top kayaks. Several have looked promising. Though I just realized, in most of them the lowest point in the boat is where your butt goes. I normally travel in a cano...
I'm going to make a bosun's chair to lift me 40 ft in the air to a tree platform (with at least a 6' clearance, so closer to 50'). Of course I would like the right type of rope with the right tensi...
I own a 1988 Malibu Skier, and one of the things I've been thinking about upgrading on it is the fuel gauge. Specifically, I want to be able to have some kind of digital reading of how much fuel I ...
I got a Fjällräven Barents Trousers for Christmas! Hell yeah! It's made of the "G-1000" material. 65% polyester, 35% cotton. G-1000 Original is the original fabric in Fjällräven’s comfortabl...
I recently began learning to fly fish. However most of the streams I frequent are small creeks in the Southern Appalachians that have a lot of growth on the banks and overhead making casting rathe...
I've been experimenting with tight line nymphing and have had good success in murky/choppy water that allows me to get close to the trout without spooking them. However I'm reluctant to use these t...
I need to replace some guylines on one of my tents. I normally use some paracord lying around but they have been getting tripped over more and more. I found some glow in the dark paracord, but be...
I'm starting to go through the book "freedom of the hills". Somewhere in the initial pages, it states that a climbing party must consist of a minimum of three members. A bit later it states that du...
I am often skiing with some friends, and would love to have some way of communicating. I've seen quite a lot of bluetooth based systems for motorcycles, but not as many for skiing. The ideal syste...
