Posts tagged hiking
In this question, I focus on the fall exposure component. While I understand the perception of danger will vary from person to person, I'm having trouble characterizing mountain exposure. I can see...
I'm an American who moved to the UK 2.5 years ago but didn't start doing a lot of outdoor activities until early this year (here, specifically, as the job that moved me over was very demanding at f...
We have found that almost any place that is interesting to hike, and especially backpack, does not have cell phone reception, or at best lousy cell phone reception. To which I say hallelujah! I d...
We were attacked by Giant Honey Bees (Apis dorsata). A friend and I were ensuring the safety of others and got away with 30 odd stings. We had proper hiking attire, and buffs to cover our faces....
I've spent most of my working life outdoors (forestry mostly), but have not done much hiking, which I now intend to do. When working outdoors, my clothing consisted of a wool shirt and waxed cotton...
I'm looking into buying some chaco sandals and tried on pairs with the extra toe strap and without. I've heard chacos can be uncomfortable to wear in and I'm wondering if the extra security provide...
I posted an answer for a recent question about a forest fire that started after your hike began, that said: Presumably you registered at the trailhead, and you have a friend who knows where you...
When I hunt grouse I usually wear hip waders to be able to cross small creeks and to not get my pants wet from dew. My problem is that I get a lot of junk collected in my waders, and specifically...
I have several paper Ordnance Survey maps, but I don’t know how to easily access the back of the sheet without ripping or damaging my map while trying to unfold a very large area of paper. Are ther...
I've seen cairns while hiking in mountains and they are usually easy to distinguish from natural rock piles. However, I am a bit confused by what makes a duck and what distinguishes it from a cair...
Friend and I had this discussion, and came to no conclusion: Hiking in the mountains. Crossing a range through a pass. Peaks on either side are a good thousand feet higher. Are you at serious r...
I'm looking for recommendations on how I can carry my Canon bridge camera while hiking, so that it doesn't get in the way too much but is easy to get to when I want to take a photo (typically of an...
Bogs on my Lemmenjoki and Hammastunturi map are marked as either easy or hard to traverse. What conditions should I expect from both terrain types in summer (mid August)? Does easy mean one can wal...
The last time I was attacked by leeches I thought I'd taken enough precautions such as pulling my socks over my trousers and avoiding walking through particularly wet areas or long grass but I stil...
I recognize the official system for French waymarks of Grand Randonees and local paths like shown here: but I've also seen large white rectangles with a horizontal red line in the middle. They are ...
Setting aside the benefits of cardiocavascular exercise in general, what are the risks to hikers/climbers with high blood pressure at various altitudes? Is there an upper ceilling/threshold that...
I was planning on a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch this August but it closed the back country for the rest of the summer. My troop already has group tickets on a flight to Colorado with Delta. I was...
I will be hiking the Laugavegur trail alone and have been looking for good hiking maps (1:50 000) online. My google searches yield no good results. Where do you even begin to look?
I've heard this multiple times from different people that while buying a hiking shoe, always go for one size larger than what fits you perfectly. The most recent one being a local store where I wen...
I was wondering if there is a list of the tallest mountains in the world where you can walk or scramble up to the summit? As opposed to using even basic rope skills?
When I go on for a multi-day hiking ( say, 7 or 8 days), my leg muscle will get painful in the middle of the hiking ( say, at the 4th day). Usually the muscle pain will take 5 days to heal, but I s...
Some background: I live in the western part of state of Maharashtra, India. The city of Pune is located on the Deccan Plateau. Deccan plateau itself is huge. The western section of the plateau has...
My friends and I are going on our first hiking expedition through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and I was wondering what type of shoes are recommended by experienced hikers? I have looked up informat...
What's the best way to repel flies and bugs when hiking in summer? Where I hike is not really humid (southern California) but it's hot on summer days and a lot of insects and flies gather around me...
I guess I might be asking for too much but I'm trying to find a very breathable, light, packable waterproof jacket. I'd like to be able to hike in ~75F rain while remaining relatively comfortable f...
My wife and I have been very fortunate in our long distance hikes - we've never been rained on except for our last day on the way out. So, while we have rain jackets that we pack, we've never packe...
We're currently planning a tour in the alps. Nothing too big. Just going uphill with the cable-way and then doing 15 km on top. This is because we've a 2 year and a 5 year old girl with us. We can ...
I've always heard that moss grows on the north side of a tree. Presumably, this is because conditions on the north side, at least in the northern hemisphere, tend to get less sunlight and are damp...
I was out caving yesterday and apparently picked up a passenger on the trail either on the way up or back down the mountain. I discovered it in my hair on the back of my head while showering. It...
I made plans to do some hiking in the mountains of Nevada this weekend. I'll have someone there nearby and a hospital is an hour drive away. We thought it would be fun to uncover rocks and even dig...
I'm wondering what general fitness would suffice to hike to the base camp of Everest? Does it requires special fitness regime and focus on main body parts like legs and core strength?
I've come across a lot of articles talking of breathing techniques while running. However, I've not come across any which talks of breathing techniques for tough hikes (tough in terms of inclinatio...
In the morning on day 1 of my multi-day hike I opened up a one liter plastic bottle of water and drank half the contents. I stored the bottle in a loop on the outside of my pack and promptly forgot...
When hiking in early summer I often come across patches of old snow. Till now I have managed to cross those by cutting my steps in the snow or walking around. And whenever I had my hiking sticks wi...
I feel like I would find a hydration bladder extremely useful. Especially so when going on via ferratas or multipitch climbs. But even when doing simple hikes it would allow me to have a sip of wat...
Me and my wife have never done camping before and always wanted to do it. This time we are planning to go for a small camping trip but have no idea how to prepare for it. We like to hike and are be...
I lost out on the Mt Whitney lottery--dates I was looking for now say R--does that mean I am out of luck or will some slots be available later, like in the April 1 access date?
I would like to hike part of the Alps that go from France to Slovenia, but I'm not sure what type of equipment I'll need. I'm wondering if I need to bring crampons; I have Icetrekkers (Diamond Grip...
A couple of years ago, we hiked up to a place in the western ghats during the month of December (end of it). Which is actually the end of winter in the Indian subcontinent. The biggest problem we f...
DEET is very toxic to dogs. How can I use DEET-based sprays and not poison my dogs? (my dogs often lick me, and they can get poisoned)
I am not sure if 'pre-hydrating' is a valid term to use for this, please correct me if you know the term. While walking down a tiring route, I was so tired and low on water. All I could think of w...
I will go hiking in 2 weeks. Are there any exercises for preparing for it, as last time I carried my pack on a hike for the whole day, my back started to hurt.
One of my more memorable hiking experiences came on the Wonderland Trail in the summer of 1994. The trail is about 93 miles (150 kilometers) long. It's in the Mount Rainier State Park which is loca...
I've been looking at a map of the hot springs in my state, and near my area there are 4 in a 60 mile range. These hot springs all are lined up in a straight line, and so my incredibly wishful think...
I'm heading over to Albufeira and I was just wondering if there are any hiking or mountaineering activities, or outdoor landmarks worth seeing in the area (or close by). I don't want to be stuck ...
I want to hike to the base of this tree (circled in red in the photo). That's a hillside full of full grown trees beneath it, and it looks like over a full tree's height sticking up above the other...
On a recent hike at the Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton, Massachusetts, my husband came across this tree. The trunk is twisted in a spiral/curly fashion. It was in a forest of many other ...
Apart from the obvious advantages of longer strides and reach, does a higher center of gravity make it more difficult for taller people to walk the slopes of a mountain? Or in other terms, do short...
