General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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How do I get rid of bad smell of mountaineering boots / skiing boots which comes from sweaty feet? I know the best way is preventing that smell by putting them in a ventilated area, but sometimes ...
In Colorado outdoor stores its not uncommon to see these small canisters of 95% percent oxygen that's sold to help people cope with high altitude. Is there any evidence that these actually help wi...
Raccoons are creating ridiculous problems in our house. They used to eat our garbage and destroyed our vegetable garden. Once we tried to trap them with metal box by placing peanut butter in the mi...
I'm new to rope-climbing, I have made some slings to use as false-crotches/cambium-savers/friction-savers that act as my "canopy anchor" when climbing. These were all made with lengths of my 11.7 m...
I'm using a rappel extension similar to what is shown in this video and that one. When the rappel start is a straight drop-off from a ledge and the anchor is low to the ground, I find it difficult...
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...
While hiking to see the Grand Canyon on the North side, I found this grey and orange lizard running through some downed brush and logs (center of picture). Would anyone know what type of lizar...
TL;DR: How can I pack my food so that it isn't an odor nuisance in my backpack, in a lightweight manner if animals are no issue. In a month I will be going on a 14-day trekking trip, completely ...
The general internet knowledge says. If there is two puncture wounds it means you got bitten by the fangs of a venomous snake.
I am a long time gym climber, and I climbed outdoors for a couple of times. I fail to understand why climbing outdoors is more appealing than climbing indoors. If the goal is to climb harder, whi...
In an answer on a question about bowlines the following statement is made by @MarkG: All 'Bowlines' have the advantage of being Post Eye Tiable (PET) and totally jam resistant. https://outdoo...
If I go fishing in the UK (West Yorkshire), am I allowed to eat the fish I catch? I was told that you’re not allowed to eat/kill the fish and must return it to the water after the catch. Any help...
I will have a trip by the end of this month to a northern country to "escape the heat" where I live in, and I would definitely want to do some swimming at some best beaches there. The expected wate...
The reel seems to jam when I reel it around and then if I put pressure on the reel handle, or the line, the bail flips open. I’m sure there’s something I am doing wrong. Video attached for referenc...
My wife and I started hiking this season (we have been cycling for 10 years before that). We have pretty light and compact gear, except for the backpack. We carried Osprey Atmos 50 and Osprey Talon...
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 ...
I've been paddling three times (one week each) in rental (Canadian) canoes. My girlfriend and me brought all gear and food with us and there still was plenty of room for our dog in the boat. I kno...
It's possible to buy tea that is loose leaf instead on in the tea bags and use it while in the outdoors such as cold brewing in a Nalgene. Coffee grounds need to be packed out but what about tea le...
(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 just tried using an automatic belay machine in an indoor climbing gym. I didn't receive any specific safety training, but it seems to be straightforward. So what safety concerns should I pay...
I have a subscription service from komoot for maps. Is there any GPS device that supports offline maps and GPX, preferably with android OS integration. Example scenario would be: Use an android bas...
Let's say your plane crashes and you end up in a forest in a cold Russian winter miles away from civilization. You have lost all your clothing; completely butt naked. You manage to get fire and m...
We always hear about the importance of drag free drifts so I thought it would be great to create a resource listing techniques for achieving a drag free drift. I've setup a community wiki for thi...
My surfboard leash broke at one end and I'd rather repair it than buy a new one. How can I repair it?
Spotting scopes are used for all sorts of things in the outdoors, from watching climbers on big walls to observing wildlife. Usually, the reason for using one instead of a pair of binoculars is the...
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...
Sometimes in areas with sandy/muddy ground, multiple parallel trails will start to form. What is the least impactful way to walk a trail like this? Do you stay on whichever trail shows the most ...
I'll be going pretty deep into the woods with some buddies and staying in a cabin; I'll have access to a campfire and a wood stove. Can also bring batteries of any kind with me. I'd love to bring ...
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?
I am looking at a new pair of suede leather walking boots. Price is low due to one boot being in a shop window and so is faded and doesn't match the other boot. My question is: would the light dam...
I have a magnet and line setup to go magnet fishing and I would like to make some sweeps around one the docks Chatfield Reservoir on where it's likely that people have dropped gear/cellphones into ...
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...
There is a video going round of two guys flipping a sea turtle that had ended up on its back so it could get back into the water. How would a sea turtle end up on its back in the first place (it s...
What is the simplest setup for rappelling that is fully redundant? The most common system seems to be rappelling off of both strands of a rope passing through two rappel rings on separate anchors....
I read on https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sun_protective_clothing&oldid=930941768: A relatively new rating designation for sun protective textiles and clothing is UPF (Ultraviole...
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). ...
Once, I had the opportunity to walk on a floating mat on a guided tour with a nature organisation in De Wieden (Dutch: trilveen). On the surface, it looked (to my amateur eye) exactly like other p...
Is there a well-known free webpage in Europe where you can find hiking partners to go on > 4000 m mountains? For bouldering and climbing it is usually not a problem to find "new friends", since...
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.
I saw a bird (the mother) swallow the birdring of another bird it was eating on live camera (while feeding its chicks) link (the site is in Polish) and I am wondering whether: Can it actually cau...
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...
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 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?
It has become a bit of a fad in the last few days at my current workplace to open a browser tab to either http://www.lbwl.com/falcon.htm or http://www.lbwl.com/falcon2.htm , take a quick look now a...
Can anyone tell me what type of bug this is? I found two of them in my bed in Tennessee, United States. It's not a tick. The shell is hard. It was alive and you could see it moving. It's .016", ...
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 nested my 110g gas canister inside my stainless steel mug for a hike. I used it about halfway through for lunch, and when I was done put it back in the way I had packed it (upside down). Now it i...
Magnet fishing is when you take go fishing with a magnet trying to find metal objects that people have lost into bodies of water such as cellphones, knives, bikes, etc. What would make a location ...
When learning to sport climb, I was taught not to pass any of my fingers through the gate of the carabiner when clipping into a quickdraw. Lest any of my fingers get stuck and degloved in the case ...