General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Target shooting is expressly permitted on National Forest Lands. However, finding a good place to do it is not necessarily straightforward. What would be good strategies to find a place to target ...
I live near Pittsburgh PA, and I just saw a stink bug, possibly the first one I have seen all year. In the last couple of years they have been a major pest. Now they seem to be mostly gone. Where...
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...
A strap running through a buckle is typically easy to loosen and tighten as desired. Usually, it stays in place. Sometimes, however, it slowly (or quickly) works its way loose, as though the thickn...
This is a follow up on question that my friend asked earlier, but I can't comment on. My friend and I have an ongoing argument about a question : During cold winter camping (-20C air temperature, ...
My friend and I had an argument about this topic. He says that the cold air in the mattress will stay at the ambient temperature, so if it's -20 outside the air in the mattress will stay at -20 so ...
I have Osprey Atmos AG 50 and I am trying to buy a rain cover for it. There are two sizes in Ultralight rain cover model.One is 'M' size (upto 50 L) and another is 'L' size (50-75 L). Have anyone b...
Where I work, there is a rather large population of Spotted Lanternflies around our office building. From what I've read, they are considered invasive species and quite a problem this year in ...
On the river I have been fishing, there is a section where the road was rerouted, and another where a dam was torn out. In both cases, those sections of river have fewer bushes and trees and the gr...
I'm working on a survival story and want to make it authentic. If you were stranded on a mountain trying to get down as fast as possible, what would you do? EDIT: What if this was after a plane cr...
I often need to tension a rope between two trees, usually 20-30 ft apart. I am not skilled with knots so it is often sloppy and the tension doesn't hold even very modest weight (such as clothes or ...
I have been trying to find a list of water sources that should be avoided. I have checked online and looked at several water companies, e.g. Scottish Water. I haven't found any information on which...
Rather than shining in all directions, lighthouses usually produce a directed beam of light that continuously sweeps in a circle. This allows: the light to be more concentrated and so appear brig...
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two airplanes flew into the "Twin Towers," part of the hub of the World Trade Center in New York City, United States. The towers, which at one time had been th...
There are a lot of interesting things in nature, but of all land vertebrates, birding has highly disproportionate attention. People (perhaps including birding enthusiasts) may note and appreciate m...
In Poland Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK), has created set of badges that can be awarded to tourists for various achievements in different activities (hiking, skiing, kayaking, etc). ...
I was recently backpacking in Olympic National Park. I didn't have a tarp with me (was being cheap. Bought one shortly after the trip) but had a $5 umbrella. It rained a bit during one the mornings...
Garmin inReach devices and its subscription plans seems to offer (optional?) rescue/evacuation insurance already: Does mountaineering organization membership such as Sierra Club from California,...
I asked around (including on this site: Hiking with a mule or two?) about hiking with a mule or a horse. Some people on other sites actually suggested hiking with pack goats. (for weights on the o...
My daughter and I were going to hike the AT through Maryland. She goes to school there and really wanted to do a muli-day hike. We recently gave up on the idea b/c the logistics of the end to end...
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...
If one were to get started fly fishing what gear would one need just to start with? Of course, there is all sorts of gear and better gear, but what would the minimum gear to start with be?
Which would be the main advantages and drawbacks of trying to sail a cruising trimaran in summer from the Azores to the Arctic, well past Svalbard but not quite to the pole? From the experienced s...
It is possible to use a dry fly as a strike indicator for your wet fly while also catching the fish that would go for a surface bug at the same time. Is the casting technique any different as it s...
My knees aren’t in the best shape, one in particular. I had a rather devastating 13 hour up-and-down hike on day two of a three day hike, and the last day my knees were hurting every step. What are...
I have a stand up paddle board (14'0") and I am looking for an easier way to pump it up. I found some cordless handheld inflators for tyres, which are rated at 120W and maximum pressure is 150psi. ...
United States (and more, specifically, NY state -- though that shouldn't matter at all) here. I am brand new to hunting, and in a few weeks I will be going out into the woods and hunting public ...
The sole of my trekking boots get separated from the boot body. Since the boots would be otherwise usable - they are more than ten years old but without much use - repairing them would be an option...
Let me know how many species (birds and others) are permited to hunt in england and wales for the year 2019.
I'll be driving to Norway in November and intend to sleep in my car on a few nights. For myself I have a sleeping bag and a few blankets, so the temperature should be no problem for me, but I will ...
Sometimes when fly fishing in canyons the wind will start coming down the canyon and it makes it that much harder to cast. It doesn't take a whole lot of wind to completely stop one from further fi...
I read about the murders of Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and Maren Ueland. What safety mistakes these girls did during their camping trip? What could have been done to avoid this situation? How ca...
I plan to visit a summit which involves a few hours of easy scrambling, with a slightly more technical part at the end, which is very short (2-3 m) but exposed. I expect no problems on the way up b...
Can a cormorant really manage to digest a huge, living eel, bones and all? Does the poor eel (it was quite a bright/pretty green color) stand any slim chance of escaping (that thrashing, biting, e...
I hiked Mount Hoffman in Yosemite today and at the top there was this metal plate bolted to the rock with 4 metal rods welded to it. On the side you can also see some rivets so possibly there was s...
the "politicised" debate of female clothing not having pockets (it is especially about skirts and dresses) left aside, I wonder if there are any cotton climbing pants left on the market that have a...
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...
Sometimes on a hot, humid day, we see lightning off in the distance. If we're out on a trail or camping in the evening, it's even brighter. It seems to be traveling in almost a sideways motion. We ...
Due to some peculiar health issues, for the time being I cannot study around people. I've found a secluded place in my college, it's outdoors, no one goes there and still catches wi-fi. However, ...
U.S. here (and specifically New York state but that's probably irrelevant). Is anyone aware of any websites, apps or DEC resources that allow you to look up what fish species live in any given lake...
I am planning to spend about a week in Italian/Swiss border Alps in late October. The base plan is to hire a 4WD and drive along the border slowly, stopping a lot for less-than-a-day hikes (staying...
I want to buy myself a Shakespeare Oracle 11' #7/8 EXP switch rod to get started in two-handed casting for large-sized local rainbow trout at a wide water body where back room for casting is scarce...
Most fly fishing with wet flies is done with just single wet fly and a strike indicator but it's also possible to do it with a dry fly instead of a strike indicator (this lets you do both at the sa...
I've just recently moved to Europe (southern Germany), so this might be a common sight to someone who has been living here for longer. Yesterday I noticed dozens of these insects walking on the si...
Smaller streams are easy to tell where to cast when fly fishing given fish's tendency to hang out in pools or hole or undercut banks. It easy to decide where you need to cast and approximately wher...
This National Geographic article describes how feeding ducks bread is actually harmful. Among the items listed as safe to feed to ducks it lists corn. Does this mean that cornbread is an acceptab...
Many, many companies offer 3 liter bladders. Only the dromedary units go above that and the reviews say they're hard to clean and in general are negative about using them as hydration bladders rat...
Strike indicators are basically the fly fishing version of bobbers and they come in different colors white, yellow, orange, etc. When fishing streams that have a big of disturbance and the sun is ...
In recent years, my wife and I completed a few long distances hikes together, for instance: Kungsleden from Nikkaluokta to Abisko, 105 km (Sweden) Landmannalaugar to Skogar via Laugavegur and Fim...
I'm looking for a good longer rope (e.g. 70m or so) to use for rappeling during canyoneering trips. Most of the ropes on Amazon or REI are dynamic, and my understanding is that static ropes are gen...
