General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I live in a rural area around 59° north. When driving around I often see rodents darting across the roads during high winds (20-50mph), but very rarely see them when the weather is calm. Rain doesn...
I've recently learned of a local eagle cam and have been enjoying watching a pair of bald eagles and their three chicks. While I don't have access to many days of video to check (the site buffers ...
It's November, and in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is fast approaching - and with it, the rain. As a cyclist, I do occasionally enjoy taking my road bike out on the roads and just pedaling, wit...
Sometimes a horse will become what is known as barn sour where all they want to do is hang around the stable/corrals and not go on rides. While on rides, they will keep trying to turn back and once...
Here is a whole bunch of ants gathered on a sidewalk around dusk, I have seen this before so its not totally uncommon. What would lead to ants doing this?
I went to get something on my mountain bike checked out at the bike shop, and at the same time they told me that my brake pads were absorbing oil. Short of replacing the disc brake pads, is there ...
I was working today when I saw a small dog run across the road in front of my apartment, narrowly being missed by a car. I went out and lured the dog in with a hotdog, brought her to my apartment, ...
When shoveling snow in the winter, if my gloves are warm enough to keep my hands warm, they tend to sweat and get the gloves wet from the inside out. How can I prevent this?
My bicycle has a hook on the rear tube and one on the front fork. Both are of the same kind, face outside and upwards, and are positioned just above the wheels, as you can see in the pictures belo...
While taking the certification course for working at height, the official recommendation for moving from a cherrypicker / crane device to a tower was to completely detach your fall protective gear ...
A few friends and I regularly play board games and RPGs together. We are planning a casual hiking and camping trip. We will go by car to the trailhead and hike in with our gear, tent camp overnight...
I keep seeing trail runners who instead of a small light backpack, have a running vest with small front pockets and then one on the back. What is the advantage of a running vest over a small backpa...
The last time I was in looking for fishing gear, they also had a bunch of "tactical" pants. They seemed like they would be decent pants for outdoor activities. What exactly makes a pair of pants "t...
Once in Yosemite Vally, I saw a sign that one fork of a paved trail was marked as handicap accessible because it was less steep than the other fork that led to the same destination. How steep/what ...
Two weeks ago I planted two small cherry-tomato seedlings ("tidy treats" variety; the description used words like "small" and "compact") into one 10" pot. I now know that's too close; I'm a beginn...
My backpack has straps that are way too long and I would like to shorten them, both to save weight and to make it more organized. How can I cut the straps and then seal them so the ends don't come...
I'm looking for easily obtained fuels for an open-cup stove, such as a Trangia, in case I need to top up while travelling. I have a small simple DIY open cup spirit stove, for boiling water when b...
When camping in freezing conditions, does normal toothpaste freeze? I imagine it would be hopeless to get it out of the tube.. And in the event that it does indeed freeze, are there some non-freez...
I found the picture below in a stash of things that belonged to my father. My father served in the US army during WWII in the signal corps. He was referred to unofficially as a "radio repairman" ...
Over the weekend I hiked to the site of a crashed F-100 Super Saber. Most of the paint is gone, but there was this insignia with a Minute Man and two fighter jets. The crash is dated to 1967 but...
My parents moved into a new house several years ago. In one of the gardens behind the house, we found this round metal object about the size of a bowling ball: Both my mom and I think that it ...
I need to take either a WFR recert or a WFA before July and am wondering how Covid is affecting them. Both types of classes usually have close contact between participants but I do know they are st...
At what temperature does rain gear become a liability? If it is a couple of degrees above freezing and you are wearing rain gear to stay dry. It helps keep hypothermia (too cold) away. If the temp...
I have 20+ year old space heater that is nearing end of life. 120 volt, 1500 watts We use it in the camper when have electric hookup, and need a little extra heat. I started looking online for a...
Sometimes a horse/pony will bite humans. They bite each other to establish dominance and sometimes they will bite humans too. How do you train a horse to stop biting humans?
On trails that go up steep hills, there are usually switchbacks where the trail goes first one way and then other, resulting in an overall less steep path. In the complete absence of a trail, how ...
Once in Nevada, I saw a sign on an old abandoned mine that said two things, Stay out, mines have noxious fumes. Stay out, bats live here. Both of those are good reasons to stay out, but it seem...
If the topographic map is to be believed, there are plenty of streams in Grasslands National Park, but apparently they are saline. Last and Ginn report that there is no other area in the world th...
I've been hanging these fat balls for a good while and they're intact. Previously I was hanging a feeder filled with seeds (for birds) in front of the window and that was also intact for a while; s...
I've just seen a documentary in which a guy trekks through some rugged terrain while he has his cargo on a donkey. It's a pretty cool and versatile animal overall. What are some pros and cons of t...
Is it warmer to sleep in a car or in a tent? Suppose that our old internal-combustion-engine car breaks down in a remote place at -30°C, -40°C, or -50°C, and the engine won't run at all. Suppose ...
Yesterday for the first time I turned my canoe over, then I tried to get back in it. I have been thinking about adding a sail to my canoe and now that I know a bit about sailing, I know I need to ...
I've recently bought a pair of PMR446 walkie-talkies with some 5–10 km range, operating at 446 MHz. We've happily used them in Sareks Nationalpark in Sweden. Now I'm moving to Canada, where this ...
A sleeping bag will eventually need a cleaning. How do you proceed, in particular according to the different materials?
I take my young children (0-7 years) outside to local trails. It's not remote, virgin wilderness, just a few dozen hectares of forest and stream. The kids enjoy it, and the youngest one is still le...
Some of the Yosemite Valley parking lots have communal bear boxes as do some of the trailheads because you are not supposed to store your extra food in your vehicle while you backpack. Bears can't...
From this question and it's answers it looks like a lot of gear sold online in UK is label as "unisex" when it wouldn't be in the United State. For some gear like climbing harness labeling a harn...
There are several higher altitude forested areas that I go hiking that have burned this summer and I am wondering about how they will be next summer. Dead trees falling on you is always a concern w...
Was using a space blanket for warmth over the weekend and found it to be really crinkly, it was really noisy with any movement at all, even just breathing. Are there less noisy/crinkly space blanke...
I have a camping trailer that we keep stocked with food and beverages. When we head out on an impulse trip, it stocked and ready to go. Most of the supplies are canned or dried, so we don't need to...
I just saw this small winged bug out in a prairie would anyone know what kind it is? Top view Side view
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 need to adjust the derailleur on my bike, I don't have a bike stand because I am on the bike trail. I have three options for pedaling while adjusting the the derailleur. Turn the bike upside dow...
I have some experience towing with an upright bike I am considering getting a recumbent trike, as my back side does not last as long as my legs. With an upright bike I automatically move my weight ...
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 ...
Last year one of my CSA boxes contained a basil seedling in a 4" starter pot. I'd never grown herbs before, but I transplanted it to a pot, took care of it, and had a tasty bounty all summer. Thi...
When you Google for images of "canoe & bike," you find two basic solutions to towing a canoe with a bike: A traditional axle mounted trailer is modified to have a tongue long enough to loa...
I found these plants while hiking in Colorado, they are pretty small and have red berries slightly larger than peas. The area was old growth that had been burned in a fire at least a few years ago.
I live in a downtown urban center. Normally I exercise by going to the gym or by taking long walks around the different neighborhoods or some local hiking trails in parks. Current social distancin...
Thinking hypothetically, person A is taking a paragliding course over the course of a year in three stages. The first two are about mastering ground handling, taking off, basic landing, different a...
