General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I was just reading through a couple of posts here on outdoors.SE and saw some advice which was a lot more strict than I am used to. For example, in the country where I hike (central europe, brown b...
I have been climbing (lead-climbing/top-roping/bouldering) for less than a year now but after quickly improving for the first couple of months I have now reached a "plateau" as they say and I don't...
When buying Tyvek online, there appear to be a myriad of options and numbers. Which numbers are suitable for making a tent footprint? Known numbers: 1443R, 1622E, 10G, 10GX, 1460, RV, 14M... (ma...
In Canyoning/Canyoneering, floating ropes are used to make rope management a lot easier. Unfortunately for those of us interested in canyoning who don't live in Europe, specialized canyoning gear i...
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...
There are foam sleeping pads with a reflective surface on one side like this one with instructions to use the reflective side for maximum warmth. I don't doubt that it is warmer, but I do wond...
I've been thinking about buying a canoe for a little while now. Growing up my family had an aluminum canoe so I've been looking at aluminum canoes in addition to the plastic canoes commonly seen in...
The standard mountaineering textbook Freedom of the Hills has a long discussion of fixed lines, and they state simply that you use a mechanical ascender on them. This seems odd to me, since for mos...
The other night I went to the climbing gym, intending to look for a climbing partner once I got there. (My usual gym climbing partner isn't available to climb as often as I want to.) The gym provid...
How can I use horsetail as a indicator plant to find gold while gold pannig? What are Indicator Plants? Indicator plants are peculiar to a certain place. Though they aren’t necessarily rar...
I was recently hiking around Finland with my girlfriend and we came across several trees that seem to have been had at by some sort of animal. I'm quite curious as to what it may be and any help wo...
I am investigating the feasibility of a hike looping around Hofsjökull. The route takes me through the Þjórsárver and Guðlaugstungur og Álfgeirstungur protected areas. The regulations for Þjórsar...
I recently started lead climbing in the gym after taking a lead climbing class. So far, I've only led with someone I know from the class who I watched lead belaying a number of times during the cl...
When on extended outdoor excursions are there any scenarios where you can leverage urine as an efficient tool? An example would be: You're in your sleeping bag in a tent and it's -30*C outside, yo...
So I did a hike in a forest infested with leeches. I ended up with quite a few leech bites (around 20). But, at the same time, another hiker got just one bite! We both were wearing similar shoes,...
What height should a climber consider safe on a boulder such that in case of a fall her/his spotter can guide her/him fall to safely land on feet? Here, safety is for both of them, and not just th...
Is there something that works like epoxy or natural tar that I can apply to the most delicate impact points of my feet (balls and heel) that will form a very durable bond, and let me backpack (i.e....
To simul-rappel, the technique goes as follows: Prepare to rappel as usual, passing the rope through bomber bolts; Tie knots on both ends of the rope; Attach your personal anchoring system (PAS) ...
Are there any maps available that would be useful for walking off-road in southern spain that I can use with my Garmin etrex vista HCX?
I have a cap over the back of my truck and spend many nights a year camping and sleeping in the back rather than setting up a tent. I really like sleeping in it, saves the tent setup effort and gi...
Sometimes people rappel without a backup prussik, such as when canyoning and sometimes an auto block needs to be adjusted. In either of these situations, is there a way to stop yourself in the midd...
I, an experienced climber who knows how to rappel, would like to take some people on a scramble route that requires rappelling into a notch. The other people on the trip have standard top rope clim...
According to the answers at Does water in the sun get purified from or polluted by algae, fungi and bacteria? & Can sunlight be used to purify water? water in special containers can be purified...
One of the arguments made against PLBs is that people will use them in non-emergencies and put rescuers in unnecessary peril. This definitely does happen from time to time as in this case in the G...
Several decades ago, I read a book written by a man who rescued and raised two wolf cubs whose mother had been killed. He was sure his wife would welcome the cubs, but he was apprehensive about the...
What methods can I use to purify water? And what's the difference between those several methods (safety, duration needed, ...)?
How do different ski characteristics relate to the skiing ability and snow conditions? Also how do these relate with ski durability in time? Ski characteristics: Front tip width Middle width Bac...
Currently bicycles are prohibited in federal wilderness areas in the United States. However there is a bill in the House of Representatives that would remove the prohibition. As one can imagine, t...
I'm going to be participating in the UK National Three Peaks Challenge at the end of next month. For those who are unaware; the Three Peaks consists of hiking the highest peak in England, Scotland ...
Sometimes while navigating with map and compass, the advice is to aim off i.e. to aim either to the left or right of the intended destination, as opposed to straight for it. Why and when would one...
I am most interested in setting up a top rope anchor on 2 bolts side by side. I feel like in this case you almost have to be more careful using bolts for a top rope than sport climbing because in s...
While backpacking in the Wind River Range in Wyoming, I had to cross this bridge. The piece of paper on the left support said, Due to recent high water events, this bridge may be damaged. As...
Here is what I would consider a regular Bic butane lighter. However I have noticed that you can buy High Altitude lighters such as this one. Is that just marketing or would a regular lighter n...
A noted authority (Ben Crowell) stated in a comment on What sleep quality do you get in the outdoors? A properly pitched tarp works fine in a heavy rain. It just requires practice to set it u...
My hiking boots got soaked multiple times during our last trip in Scotland. The water got in via my pants, behind my gaiters and on my socks. This happened multiple times on the trip with no opport...
Basically, I have one large backpack and if I end up going for a much shorter trip, say for 3 days instead of 2+ weeks, I am going to end up with empty space in the backpack. From a stability and ...
Looking for solutions for screen covers for the inspection port on a sunfish. In the Q&A What to look for in Marine Grade Expanding Foams we learn that water in the hull of sunfish can be an i...
We're planning to do a dayhike on a mountain almost two thousand meters above sea level (Mt. Tapulao). The trail is almost 20 kilometers to the summit, and me and my fellow hikers are pretty slow...
My down sleeping bag smelled like a wet dog after a damp night out. By reading this forum thread. I realized that it probably didn't dry enough after the trip. So I let it out at the air, and the ...
Most (if not all) the big rock climbing brands do manufacture their gear in China - carabiners, cams, slings, whatever. Now, I stumbled on this: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Climbings/14...
Simple question, which has been prompted from this answer. What is a bloquers? I'm guessing it's some kind of prussik and it's a French term. But I'm not familiar with it. A quick google search ...
I've grabbed some neodymium magnets as a cheap way of attaching small geocaches to metallic objects such as road signs and poles. However, I'm not sure of the best way of attaching the magnets - t...
I live in a region where you have trails that are open any time of the year, some of the other trails are usable throughout the year except rainy (monsoon) season. There are also rare cases of the ...
Now that it is starting to get cold it is more difficult to use touchscreens while outdoors. I use both an iPhone and a Garmin GPS to geocache and both have touchscreens that require me to take my ...
There is this one tree (I believe an oak tree) near my road that is very large in size. Practically at the base of its trunk, it diverges into four other large trunks: What causes this phenomen...
How to make ice axe protectors yourself? I have few ideas from using duck tape to 3D printing, but it would be nice to hear about methods proven to work. The reason I want to add protectors is a ...
Recently on one of the jungle trails we came across a colony of termites and we went ahead and tasted them (Bear Grylls style?). We did the same with the weaver ants which are quite common in the S...
I have quite unfortunately found out several months ago that I'm gluten sensitive. Nearly all my meals I've planned and eaten on the trail have included wheat, and thus gluten, in some fashion. I'm...
Are there any foods that should be off-limits when backpacking because they have a negative impact on performance or well-being? I am thinking that candy-bars and very greasy foods might be candida...
I've been climbing 1-2 times / week (usually once) for about a month. After each time I climb, I feel joint pain in my elbows. From my understanding, this is likely Tennis Elbow. Slowly but surely...
