General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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When travelling the backcountry in high snow, do snow shoes or skis perform better? By "perform better" I mean how tiring and fast travel is. Is there a general answer, or does it depend on the co...
I understand how noodling for flathead catfish can be hazardous for the human. This activity has resulted in bloody knuckles, broken wrists and even death. These hazards do not even include those...
I'm doing downhill (alpine) skiing on the piste. The slopes I'm on range from blue (easiest) to black (hardest). I have been taught something called "the basic position"? (described below) How do...
Most hearing muffs/earplugs have a noise reduction rating of between 22 to 35 NRR. OSHA says, Impulse Noise: The standard states that exposure to impulsive or impact noise should not exceed 14...
I am going to go backpacking this summer, and my goal is Sweden. Looking around, I have grown to like the landscapes of Abisko in the north of Sweden. But, because it is rather far away from where ...
How do people deal with sweating and 'feeling hot' at high altitude climbs (above 5500m)?? Just a background on myself: I've done hikes/climbs up to 3000m where temps hit at the lowest of around ...
I am considering a solo three-day trip in the Uinta Mountains in Utah in August. I have lots of experience backpacking but I've never soloed before and so am thinking of ways to shed some weight. M...
What do the red and blue solid curves in this Google Map indicate? This is around Dachstein, Austria. Link: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dachstein+Krippenstein+-+Dachstein+Tourismus+AG/Lodge+...
This is a follow on from my answer here. I took this photo of my belay and shared it on Facebook, where I friend of mine (A qualified climbing instructor) pulled me up on it as I'd made one or two...
A stove jack allows you to safely extend a stovepipe through the roof or wall of your tent. Our stove jacks are constructed of fire proof 17-ounce [0.48 kg] silicone-coated glass material (1...
Has anyone experience with attaching a hammock to roof rails of a regular car? I just bought a hammock for my next camping trip. I will be traveling mostly by car and sleep in a tent but wanted so...
Calorie debt is when you are using more calories than you are eating and making up the difference from stored reserves of body fat. Sometimes people will do this to save on the amount of weight ca...
I've been thinking for some time to buy a multifuel stove for use in cold and high-altitude camping as compressed gas might be unreliable, and, most importantly, difficult to obtain in remote locat...
Sure it is nice to carry around huge packs of fresh vegetables and some beef in order to prepare a proper dish. However, it takes up space and moreover lots of mass in your backpack. Also, a pound...
I have a set of titanium cookware that I use for backpacking. It's a small set for one to two people and consists of two little pots and one cover/frying pan. Mostly, this set gets used for boili...
I have LowePro Photosport BP 300 AW II backpack for hiking and a camera. The old model of this bag had the proper straps to fix the tent but in the new model (which I have), I don't know how do I...
I've never had a stamina or ache problem with rowing a row-boat or paddling a canoe, although my limits have declined with age. However, my arms and shoulders tired very quickly the few times I tr...
I've heard of single track hiking/biking trails being "groomed" before to keep them in good condition for users. The use of shovels, rakes, and possibly chainsaws to keep the trails free of debris...
I am considering going on a guided hunt with an outfitter. This is the first time I've done hunts for game that you can stock your freezer with. I keep coming across the statement that the outfitte...
Some friends and I were thinking of doing a one day hike somewhere in Minnesota. I have looked online for places but nothing I have found really gives me a sense of the place. My requirements are...
Looking at Canyon de Chelly backcountry camping visitation by month: Backcountry camping went from usually more than a hundred per month, up to several hundred per month, throughout spring, summ...
What is the thread size on the waste tank drain? I can’t find a female connector to dump at a RV dump (step on 3” cap). Looking to build my own. The research I have done indicates a Buttress thread...
Tents with (the outer tent) made of cotton or "technical cotton" (cotton blends) are heavier, more expensive, and take some more time to dry but they also have benefits (see below). Sure the weight...
Yesterday I went to the beach when I get in the water everything was fine the water not cold the sea very clear. Then I started feeling little stings at all my body.I thought it was my idea. When...
I just found this toad on a sidewalk near a lake the elevation was probably somewhere around 4800 ft (1500m). Does anybody know what kind it is?
There are a number of hazards that can kill electronic products (water, impact). We want to take a few ebooks with us (i.e. plant & animal identification, directions, trails info, etc). Assum...
I love camping and backpacking and have always wondered if it would be better to use a hammock instead of a tent. I want to know if a hammock is a viable replacement for a tent if you don’t care h...
A recent question about travelling with dried food where the recipe did not include salt caused the OP some concern. As far as I know salt just dries out food. So if you get the food completely d...
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...
Thirty odd years ago there was a fad for shoes generically called snow joggers. It was a super lightweight boot in appearence -- usually 6-8" tall, but with a very light construction throughout. ...
Would anyone know how to identify a good location to catch Cray Fish at the River Don? I live in Doncaster (UK) and so the River Don would be ideal to catch the American Signal Crayfish. Looking ...
Each year pronghorn shed the outer covering of their horns, and while they don't last as long as deer sheds you can still find them. All of the ones I have found have been by accident, if one was ...
So I have wanted to catch sharks like 7 gill in california and I have some questions about reels and rods. So I want to be able to cast my bait out to where the sharks are but most people seem to ...
Does anyone know what black dots mean on an OS Explorer map? There are a lot of them on the map of Kinder Scout in the Peak District (UK). I know the black dashed line is a footpath, I am asking ...
Is there a good way or method of finding unpaved roads? Any map, where I can tell which road is asphalted, and which isn't? I have looked at wikiloc, and there are some trails for my country liste...
There are three main types of canoe paddle materials, Wooden paddles. Plastic paddles with aluminum handles. Newer composite materials (fiberglass, carbon) What would be the pros and cons of ea...
If I go fishing in the UK (West Yorkshire), am I allowed to eat the fish I catch? I was told that you’re not allowed to eat/kill the fish and must return it to the water after the catch. Any help...
This question was prompted by my answer to Under what conditions does heating a backpacking tent artificially make objective sense?. In my answer, I mention the possibility of hiking across Antarct...
Snow blindness, also known as photokeratitis, is predominately caused by the sun's reflection off of snow. If one is caught out in the wild, ill prepared for snow, what could one find in a tempera...
We live on 10 acres (very small, I know) but we have got a deer and I was wondering how to bring more deer in. I am looking for advice on land management to achieve this. Some stat: we live in Mich...
I've attached a picture, I got this used backpack (Dana Design Arcflex Astraplane) and I'm trying to figure out the straps on this thing. I noticed there are two strap adjusters on the top.. are th...
Handheld desalinators operating on the principle of reverse osmosis are available for emergency use in lifeboats. Sometimes they appear for sale unused in their original packaging at a very steep ...
My mother gave me an old rod that I think she just found and I need help identifying it. There are some pictures below. The whole group of pictures is here. Its only identifying marks is a sticke...
There is a video of a cub trying to follow the mother bear up a steep snowbank and then rolling back down at first. People are saying that it's a cute video but that the drone that filmed it got t...
I have heard people suggesting to drink water when you are seated after a tiresome activity. They usually ask to avoid drinking water while standing upright. Does that have an actual scientific re...
I mostly climb at a rock climbing gym, and I can climb for hours until my forearms run out of gas. However, when I climb outdoors, usually the reason I have to stop is because the skin of my palm...
Is it okay to throw away the non-edible part of the apple - the apple core / or in general fruit waste? Does it decompose on the rock (maybe with the help of animals) and temperature, or does it in...
We were out on a night hike. A helicopter showed up, by behavior it was search and rescue, looking not too far away from our group. It might have simply been doing training, but if it was a real ...
Can anyone share any experience re-using ordinary PETE disposable water bottles until failure, as a lightweight and low-cost alternative to dedicated water bottles/bladders? How long did they last...
I've done a lot of backpacking in my home state of Colorado. My pack and its contents is pretty light but not "ultralight", maybe 20 pounds including food. I'm considering something like these fo...
