General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Which tree native to Florida produces these seeds? The pods are really long and the seeds inside are in the shape of little hearts.
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'm building a layering system for cold Colorado winters where I will be going from strenuous hiking to standing still in below freezing weather to take photographs. In full my layering system wou...
This has come up a few times in a few other questions, but I've heard varying opinions from different people in a number of answers and comments on here - some saying that just boiling for a moment...
Heavy backpacks can spoil the pleasures of being in the outdoors. There are two ways to resolve this: Carry less Find an alternative to the backpack While the first option is usually the best o...
I would like to understand if skills/experience gained in rock climbing are going to be useful in climbing steep ice/hard-snow. Of course the gear as well as techniques involved in either are diffe...
I am getting into fishing (I bought an entry-level spinner and plan on going to some nearby rivers/lakes) and have been reading a lot of conflicting information in regards to the sequence of events...
We saw this magnificent white tiger in a wildlife rehabilitation center in the United States. I don't like seeing animals out of their natural habitat, but all of these animals were rescued from ci...
I am not sure if this question fits here but since I like to travel and often face difficulties because of different weather conditions in different cities/countries so, I am hoping that somebody c...
I have a pair of nubuck leather mittens that are nice and warm but do not last very long when cycling in the rain in autumn/winter or when building snowmen and throwing snowballs. So now i'm looki...
There are both spray-on and wash-in products available for treating my DWR (Durable Water Repellent), gore-tex, eVent and other garments using products such as nikwax wash-in or nikwax tx-direct. ...
This isn't a question for a real life situation I am in, but more for a simulation that I want to be as accurate as possible. My setting is pre-refrigeration and someone has just successfully hunt...
I have been climbing for more than 10 months now. I had been climbing regularly for 6 months before, unfortunately, I had a 2-3 months break from climbing. When I have gotten back to it now, I find...
So just questioning some advice I received once: When in guide mode when belaying a second from above, is it ok to take the locking carabineer and attach it to your belay loop? The primary benefit...
A page like this one, as well as a number of questions on this site, discuss how to pack food safely from bears. What about other animals? This post advises a pretty sophisticated way to protect ...
On longer climbing sessions I like to keep my cell phone close by, but most of the time I have no backpack with me. So I would like to pack the cell phone in a little case that I can put on my clim...
This Northface backpack has an elastic strap which criss-crosses the back side of the pack. What is this type of strap called? The image below shows what kind of strap I'm talking about:
I have heard about people using electricity to catch worms, mostly around catching worms for fishing. How does this work? Is it safe?
For example, which recommendations should backpackers follow while carrying heavy weights, and should backpack straps be tightened or loosened?
In mountaineering one often encounters snow fields with about knee deep snow that basically needs to be trudged through. This is extremely tiresome, especially at high altitudes. Typically the team...
When I first saw a man get kicked by a kangaroo, I said "nope to Australia" because that is mainly where kangaroos are. Then, I looked on google and it said kangaroos are not dangerous. So now I'm ...
I have this tool on a few Swiss Army knives (though I think I've seen it on other multi-tools as well). What is it and what is it for? On one edge, it has a sharp edge. It also only opens halfwa...
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, ...
Occasionally I've seen skiers free-heeling it down the slopes in telemark style but not understood why they do it. Is the main benefit for exercise, style, control or just to try something different?
I will go for two day hiking on a mountain (intermediate level). The weather will be chilling (3 °C to 5 °C, no snowing,but it may rain). I would like to know what kind of clothing would be better?...
Here is a scary scenario: Let's say you were in a ship or submarine that sunk to the bottom of the ocean. No scuba gear, no oxygen tank, nothing. The depth of the ocean is such that nitrogen le...
I have purchased some outdoor clothing made of 83% merino wool. The manufacturer states in their care instructions to "use regular detergents, not wool detergents". What is the reason for them reco...
I've used these many times before, always followed the instructions (3 tablets/Liter, shake, wait 30 minutes minimum) and never had (or noticed) any issues. I've always been under the impression, ...
I'm relatively new to outdoors wear and was wondering if anyone had any advice on a lightweight outer layer/weatherproof jacket for my specific needs. I'd be layering it over a base layer, mid laye...
I am considering a late October trek through the boundary area between Ticino (Switzerland) and Verbano Cusio Ossola (Italy), including the Valle Cravariola. This takes be along several bivouacs a...
A recent question discussed how to maximize water retention on a desert hike. One answer suggested that 100g of protein lead to 800ml loss through urination, so protein intake has to be minimized....
If you had no sunburn cream, would it work to cover your exposed skin in mud and gunk as a crude way to prevent sunburn? I have never tried it. I have tried using paper tissues on my face as a sun ...
The young of cats are called kittens or cubs, depending partly on how large the cat is, and apparently partly on informal custom. Wikipedia, kitten says: The word "kitten" derives from the Mid...
One of my regular trail running routes goes past a pheasant shoot. The route is on a public footpath and the shooting is usually from the woods nearby towards the direction of the path (ascertained...
I bought a new rucksack. However, how can I tidy up and hide away the myriad straps so they don't flap about and get caught in things?
We had a few white browed bulbuls visit us recently. One of them seemed to have a peculiar interest in the chillies that grew in one of our pots (I believe these are bird's eye chillies [no pun i...
If one needed to hike out and then come back to a certain spot, how could one temporarily mark their trail so that it is easy to follow back to that exact spot when the route back is not obvious? ...
My sunfish got to be over two hundred lbs.I opened up the forward deck to find only expanding foam. No Styrofoam. I see pics of the Styrofoam but need the specs/dimensions of the Styrofoam. I have ...
When it gets colder while walking, I'd add an extra fleece as a mid layer and when we stop to eat, I would put it on too, or I'd wear a down jacket if it's dry. However when it's wet, it seems lik...
So this actually stems from the fact my last two pairs of wellington boots have split - as have my husbands, and his were a different brand - my boots were both Joules (~£45 so low-mid range boots)...
Recently I was part of a wilderness SAR training event where there were drone-based FirstNet cell tower deployed to provide emergency personnel with cellular communications in remote areas. Perha...
I am not interested in camping on a campsite among lots of other people, I want to pitch-up a tent where there is just me and nature around. Are there any areas in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar...
I understand that when you see animal droppings in the wilderness, it's referred to as "scat." I have heard scat referred to when referencing bear, coyote and mountain lion droppings. Is this the...
The ducklings are getting much bigger very quickly, to the point that it's almost hard to tell the mother duck from the ducklings, (mother duck in back of procession) How much bigger are these d...
Last September my wife and I went surfing in Peniche (Portugal). We took a beginners course there. We had a lot of fun but I found the greenwaves and their strength when they come crashing down on ...
One of the hardest routes on El Cap, The Dawn Wall, was done by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson in January 2015. What are some of the reasons to choose to climb such a hard route in winter, when ...
Edit: Thank you for all the helpful replies. I will have to go through them all now, and I will pick the best fitting one for my question. I will go backpacking in the summer of this year, for abo...
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'm working on a story where a character gets trapped in a cave but use his knowledge as a weatherman to navigate and escape! Are the any weather-related clues you could use to escape a cave specif...
I've picked up a hand chainsaw for the woods as it's cheap and an amazing bit of kit. UK law states the legal carry for a knife is less than 3 inches and must be a non-locking folding blade. Wi...
