General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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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...
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...
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'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, ...
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...
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 ...
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....
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 ...
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'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 have heard that if you drink a lot of water as a habit, the body doesn't do much retention. Therefore, if you are preparing for a hiking in the desert where not much water will be available, is...
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...
I have seen two articles about bloodsucking lampreys in UK rivers, which warn swimmers about the risks of lamprey attacks when swimming in rivers and lakes. Our river lamprey spend their adult live...
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'm going to be doing some winter hiking in parks where there are going to be a lot of hunters. Probably only during bow hunting season for deer in NJ. I'll be getting some blaze hats but for the v...
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...
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 ...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
I've got a comfy pair of runners that I primarily use for walking. I've put them through the wash a few times and they come out spotless. The only ware is on sole, which appears to be 1/2 cm thic...
I recently was bitten several times by a spider or spiders during an outing in southern Virginia, USA. The bites looked really nasty for a couple of days, but are now subsiding and have stopped it...
Inspired by several questions and answers here and also one at Biology SE, I have been looking around to try to find out whether this idea I heard constantly as a youth has any merit, or it just fo...
Me and a group of about twenty of my friends were passing through the ranch of my neighbor. There is a large prairie with his horses. Suddenly, a group of about 10 horses charged us. All of a sudde...
Twice now I have been summitting peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park while getting really early starts to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms. However in both cases I could still see lighting in t...
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...
I have been fishing in a small lake in Southern Indiana. We’ve caught many Bluegill in the same place and caught this small, I’m assuming young Sunfish today. Is this just a Bluegill that happens t...
I have started looking at sit on top kayaks. Several have looked promising. Though I just realized, in most of them the lowest point in the boat is where your butt goes. I normally travel in a cano...
The general internet knowledge says. If there is two puncture wounds it means you got bitten by the fangs of a venomous snake.
I'm currently looking at using colored see-through water bottles. Mold is green because it reflects green light, so I have a theory that a green bottle would grow the least amount of mold because i...
One of my flashlights that has a black anodized aluminum housing has a couple of scratches on it, all of the way through the anodized coating. How can I cover up the scratches so that its complet...
I'm starting to get my first surfboard lessons and wanted to get my own. Should I start off with a soft board or a hardboard?
A recent answer said: Any mains electric (100-240V) going to a tent needs to be GFCI-protected (Europe: RCD) since you will be mixing electricity and water in close quarters. Source I know I ...
Location: UK East Midlands, suburban garden. Bird: possible marsh tits, something in that size range with a black cap. Time: late July. Two similar-looking birds were observed making high-pitched,...
There are many, many articles and web sites that will tell you what to do if you develop a hot spot or blister while on the trail, and need to perform some field treatment to allow you to get back ...
Suggestions on how to backpack with urinary incontinence? Not a fun topic, but I’m headed out on a 5-day backpacking trip and am concerned how to pack out any used products without attracting bears.
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...
Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP) come in both inflatable and rigid. What should I consider when choosing between the two styles?
I was given a St. Croix Avid AS60MLF, and I have no idea why this top guide is on the opposite side. The rest of the guides are on the same side as the lower one in the picture. Only the top one ...
I know that I can significantly improve my hiking efficiency by reducing the weight of my footwear. However, I have historically had trouble with blisters while hiking. I also often do long distanc...
Long story short, I got a huge oily stain on my raincoat. More precisely butter, on the shoulders part. It looks bad, it smells like butter, and I am really not comfortable having it on my clothes ...
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", ...
If animals eat each other daily and defecate, why don't rainforests and the natural world smell like rotten corpses and feces? Wild animals don't have recycling people.
