General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I'm collecting ideas on this topic. I'm using a DIY alcohol stove made of a soda can. I have seen a guy refilling the same stove using this, but he doesn't explain where he found it, or how he bui...
I'm on holiday near Sechelt right now, and have been hiking the trails and powerline right of ways. On several occasions I've come to the end of one trail, and can see the start again on the other...
In Norway, Sweden, and Finland, there are resident bears, but they rarely go near people, nobody practices the kind of bear safety that is necessary in parts of North America, and this does not lea...
We live on 10 acres (very small, I know) but we have got a deer and I was wondering how to bring more deer in. I am looking for advice on land management to achieve this. Some stat: we live in Mich...
There's a couple of small piles, about 3 inches across on my mom's back deck on the outskirts of Terre Haute, Indiana in the US. The pieces are firm but flexible as if they are plant matter, not su...
Hopefully this is acceptable. I figure this could be relevant as my bug out bag is essentially what I would bring on a camping trip (first aid, fire starters, some food, shelter materials, mess kit...
I never seem to find the perfect way to dress for sweat inducing activities in cold weather. By sweat inducing activities I mean mostly activities in the mountains, especially hiking uphill or ski ...
I'm taking inventory on my tree farm. The temperature today is -7 °C with a light breeze. Windchill of -10 °C. I figure that there are lots of people who have this problem. Writing a journal, desc...
About a month ago, my youngest son found a dead rabbit in the woods while camping and brought me to the spot to show it. The rabbit looked like it had just died and didn't show any obvious cause of...
A simple explanation would be great. I am reading a manual for digital compass and there is a paragraph with the following words: The SpeedPuck automatically detects when a sailor is trimmed t...
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...
When I visited Yellowstone National Park, I learned that there was one river that flowed over the exact point where the massive supervolcano would erupt from (if it ever does), OR where fault lines...
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...
If I am going on a 10 mile hike and the book says the hike is 10 miles out and back, how many miles will it be total?
I posted an answer for a recent question about a forest fire that started after your hike began, that said: Presumably you registered at the trailhead, and you have a friend who knows where you...
The situation: you are backpacking and are above timberline. Streams are ubiquitous, you are well equipped so exposure is not a problem, the entire party is uninjured and healthy. But a large, r...
The alcohol used for cooking is poisonous. Denatured alcohol, also called methylated spirit (methylated spirits in Australia and New Zealand) or denatured rectified spirit, is ethanol that has...
My question is motivated by the earlier question How To Quickly Warm A Tent, which generated a lot of interest, and one of the best comments ever on TGO: All I could think about after reading y...
I've read that it is bad to use treated wood for a trailer bunk for a pontoon boat because the chemicals would react with the metal and cause problems. If I am going to put plastic slides on the b...
I live in an area with a lot of lakes/ponds, with many paths around them. Many humans and dogs enjoy walking on these paths. However, the Canada geese have recently set up shop on the lakes. They d...
I have a North Face Big Shot backpack that I purchased around 2003. It was a great general purpose backpack that I used for day hikes, rock climbing, and traveling. Unfortunately time and the abuse...
I've been an avid lover of the outdoors for all of my life, camping in quite varied terrain, but so far in all these locations I've been able to use the usual LNT cat-hole methods to take care of h...
Some time ago, while driving on a snowy road, someone told me a kind of horror story. It involved a guy who was driving alone with an old car on an overland road in Siberia during winter, so the t...
This summer I am heading out with three friends to galavant through the American west on little more than gas money and a dream. The trip is looking like 2 weeks or so. Assuming I already know abou...
In some of the Horatio Hornblower novels, when they want to get the last bit of speed out of a sailing ship, the crew will wet the sails down in order to go faster. For a real example consider, ...
My vehicle has broken down in the middle of a desert, I have some tools but I am out of water. I have the ability to make a fire. I know that drinking antifreeze is fatal, but I am wondering i...
I like to hike, and I have two large dogs (German Shepherd, Presa Canario). After a long hike I look reasonably homeless (long hair, unshaven, muddy). Combined with two large, potentially dangero...
A friend travelled to Alaska last summer, and took several guided trips in areas with large brown bear populations. In each case, according to his report, the guides were armed only with bear spra...
In the largely indoor sport of oneupswomanship, real fur, especially mink, sable or chinchilla, offers a great advantage; no one wearing a synthetic fabric, however stylish the coat or jacket, is i...
A few weeks ago, I strapped a target onto a tree that was about 1.5-2' in diameter to sight my muzzleloader on private property. I fired about a dozen .50 cal bullets into the tree. In addition t...
I have a backpack with emergency survival gear for my car. The scenario being it might take a couple of days of walking to get someplace that money and/or a credit card will increase my chances of...
I have a number of old gas canisters commonly used in camp stoves. They have been around for over 5 years and have rusted - that is to say their condition is questionable. They are all 80% butan...
I saw a Canada goose stuck frozen on Ramapo Lake in the Ramapo Mountain State Forest near Oakland, New Jersey. I was told that it had been dead for a while. Can a goose freeze to the ice and get s...
I have some obsidian and I know that it can be made into knives and other sharp objects such as arrowheads. Historically this was done for a long time in the United States before there were steel b...
Inspired mostly by this answer, if I were to decide to buy a set of throwing knives for just for fun, what exactly should I be looking for? I do realize that throwing knives are not legal everywhe...
I have a multi-tool and I want to disassemble it – not for any repairing just to take it apart and take the blade for other uses – but it has no screws. How can I disassemble it? (See image below)
I'm looking for a small or mini knife for when I don't have a normal sized knife with me. I don't need it for self-defense, but just for cutting things in normal day usage. What features should I ...
I follow the international rock climbing scene, and we constantly hear of repetitions of hard routes on El Capitan. On Youtube, it is possible to find many videos of strong climbers from all over...
Is there a definite way of approximating the time remaining before sun is set and it starts getting dark? I do understand that there is a time difference between 'Sunset' and the 'moment when it g...
The Iditarod sled dog race is a competition that takes place in Alaska, USA. Each team consists of a musher, who drives the sled, and 16 sled dogs. The race usually starts in Anchorage and ends in ...
In a survival situation, lets say post apocalyptic, what are some unconventional ways a campfire could be lit? Obviously there are the classic flint and steel, rod and bow, and of course matches. B...
I have an old Marlin 38.40 lever action rifle and am having trouble finding ammo for it. Can I fire modern .38 cartridges in this rifle?
I got a fairly bad cut on my leg, not quite bad enough for stitches but will probably leave a scar. I have a camping trip planned this weekend at a lake where we will go swimming and kayaking. I ex...
I was recently crossing a lake that is commonly used for swimming and recreation. When I was swimming back to the shore, I was constantly nervous that my bag would be stolen, along with the keys in...
I've been climbing for about 7 years starting when I was 31 years old. Initially I made rapid progress as I learned the various techniques etc, but after about a year I plateaued and I haven't rea...
I have an idea to attach a small spinning reel abu silver max 5, to an ugly stik 7'6" medium light casting reel (which I already own), to fish sub 10 gram lures and live bait. Anyone see a major p...
The mushrooms were picked in a public park in Fukuoka, Japan. Can someone help to identify them please?
I had to tie down a tree last night since recent storms broke the guy lines I had placed when I planted it, and I used a tautline knot how-to I found online to tie it, since I was never a Scout. Af...
I have a short camping trip coming up. This week, from using a wooden tool, I got blisters on my hands at the base of some fingers. In the future, ideally, I would take precaution to not get bliste...
