General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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Is altitude a problem in this area - Sapa is at 1500m so any thing over that is going to be heading into intermediate altitude territory. We are trekking with a 13 year old and hope to do 14 Km to...
When buying a sleep system it is important to consider the R-rating, referring to the thermal resistance of the product(s) and how that compares to the conditions that one will use them in. Some pe...
I was wondering if there is a way to sight in a rifle scope without firing a shot. There are some reasons why I think it would useful to be able to do this. One depending on the scope you may hav...
I am planning on getting a bipod for my rifle, in the hope of being more accurate and able to hit targets at longer ranges. What features should I look for in a rifle bipod?
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...
There is a news story out this week, (The end of April, 2019) about a school resource officer's weapon discharging while in his holster. In my experience as a gun owner and hunter, it's hard for m...
There is the regular Purcell Prusik, which can be used for adjustable tethers or create foot loops for ascending a rope, but it is also useful to know how to tie it with only one end of the rope in...
On top of one of the peaks in the Uinta mountain range I found this plastic thing with small black flat glass marbles in it. It was several feet long and there were small holes underneath of the f...
It's rather warm outside (32.6°C or 91 F) and I'd like to go for a swim. Having lived in The Netherlands and Sweden, I'm used to living near lakes and the fact that any surface water is by default...
This TGO answer recommends putting possibly tick-infested clothing into a dedicated dryer, where they will be killed by desiccation. The source used in the answer, the Appalachian Mountain Club, s...
In 3D archery and while hunting we're aiming for the lungs and the heart most of the time. At least this is true for bobcats, lynxes, deer and other similar animals. See this target for example: ...
After a hike, we often find many ticks on us (and remove them of course). But the assumption is that some might still be in the clothing, on the shoes, etc. I don't want to throw the worn stuff in ...
What type of fish is this? I caught this fish in the Miami River in Southern Florida, USA. This river is brackish I believe, so I am not sure whether it is saltwater or freshwater. It is brown, gr...
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+...
I currently live about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. On February 20-21, 2015, a fairly significant snow and ice event struck the area. On February 29-March 1, 2016, a smaller event...
There are two "rules" which are commonly stated with how to wear an avalanche beacon which are closely related, but not quite the same: You should wear it over your bottom layer. The avalanche be...
I want to trek from Obertraun to Lodge am Krippenstein, as indicated in this google map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Dachstein+Krippenstein+-+Dachstein+Tourismus+AG/Lodge+am+Krippenstein,+Win...
I drink canned beverages when I'm gardening and camping. I know several people who have ended up in the hospital due to swallowing bees that were stuck in their beverage (stung in the mouth). How...
Sometimes, bees will split from a hive, and a bunch of them (including a new queen bee) will swarm, and move to build a new hive. As you can see, there is an awful lot of bees huddled together a...
An example of the earthen material I have in mind, this video shows some daub prepared for a wattle-and-daub house at timestamp 7:45: https://youtu.be/wPWLlVVVDN0 Cob, cobb or clom (in Wales) i...
Sometimes natural building techniques just aren't suited for a certain environment. For example, an exposed cob oven in vermont vs. a stone oven would turn out very differently, the cob falling apa...
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...
I'm relatively new to the world of rock climbing, having been bouldering at a gym for a few months. I'm planning on checking out a natural bouldering area (that is, one made of real naturally occur...
I have heard that in cold conditions, you'd freeze faster wearing wet clothes than not wearing any. I cannot find any proof that this is true. Is it?
Today I hiked for about 4 hours, and I ended up with sun stroke (terrible headache, trembling etc.). The heat was moderate (about 30°C, 86°F in shade), and the way was half in forest. I had a baseb...
I want to go camping in the wilderness on my own, without anyone else around for miles. Is that even possible? I know a lot of national parks have designated areas, but surely they can't enforce th...
I have a propane/120 volt refrigerator/freezer in my camper. For safety reasons I turn off the propane when moving. I keep the freezer section mostly full of the blue ice containers, which keeps t...
I have a 50-liter backpack which I used very little and that afterwards was kept stored for more than 10 years. Today I noticed that some parts inside, I think the waterproof coating, has become ...
As far as I know there is a danger of swimming into "climbing plants/creebers" in lakes. This can bring you in an extremely dangerous situation where you tangle up more and more cause you panic. ...
Once again found a fungi growing on birch and I'm not entirely sure what it is. It looks quite like the chaga fungi but I'm really not too sure! I have seen chaga in some videos before and it seeme...
I'm currently thinking about switching to three under (3 fingers under the arrow knock when releasing). I ordered a new bow and wanted to take this as a chance to change or try out a few things. H...
I have what I think is a well-tuned 70# compound bow. I use a release and carbon fiber arrows. IBO is 313 fps. Real-world chrony is around 250 fps. Arrows are GT XT 5575 with QuickFletch vanes....
I thought about asking this question on English Language and Usage, but decided not to because I want answers from people who are familiar with cascades and waterfalls in reality, not just in the a...
On April 12, 2019, my sister-in-law was hiking on a mountain close to our home in Central Massachusetts, USA. There was a pond at the end of an established trail. Near the water's edge were jelly...
I recently picked up bouldering and bought my first pair of shoes as well as chalk and a bag. I've only been climbing in the gym for now and handled the equipment like any other gym-sports-equipme...
Climber's life rely heavily on equipment. Having all the necessary equipment for simplest of climbs is a must. But, if at all I forget to bring the chalk powder along, what other alternatives I hav...
Having only used pure chalk without added substances so far, I wondered how the other types perform. Most of the information I could find online is either somebody ranting against a certain type, o...
Anyone had any experience getting climbing chalk though customs? I'm off to Guernsey and I don't think I'll be able to buy chalk there so I'm putting it in my hold luggage. Are customs likely to ...
Yesterday, I was hiking on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge to help a friend locate an inherited parcel of land. We think we found it, based on a variety of documents and a few handy...
It has the characteristics of lemon balm / mint, with square stems, but it doesn't have the lemon / mint smell. Also, its leaves seem to be more rounded, where lemon balm leaves have more of a poin...
I have a longer 2nd toe than the big toe (Morton's toe or royal toe). The major problem is finding boots or sports shoes that fit properly. If I didn't have this longer toe I would wear a 9 or 9.5 ...
There is this pigeon that I found the other day, it couldn't fly, had a chewing-gum attached to its wing, and probably a hurt neck, it would just sit and weep. I fed the bird with water using a co...
I am looking for a way into alpinism. The most common route I've found is signing up for a multi-day guided group course in a place like Chamonix, culminating in a small summit like Petite Aiguille...
For those of you who haven't noticed, your GPS may have become a time traveler this week. Background The GPS system was invented in the 1980s and uses an epoch of Jan 1, 1980 as the starting poin...
I currently have the Canada NTS 1:50,000 maps, and the 1990 revision of the complete park map. They don't agree on details, and so far the NTS maps have higher error rates. I also have a couple o...
I am concerned about these things: The health impact to my dog. My dog's sleep and my sleep: my dog snaps at the mosquitos all night.
Gelcoat is available in 2 formulas, one has wax (finishing), one does not (layering). Both need to be mixed with an agent to cause it to harden. Gelcoat that is exposed to the air stays tacky, this...
Mt St. Elias is a mountain on the border of Canada and Alaska. I believe it has the fastest relief from sea level of any mountain in the world. I've read somewhere that it has a higher mortality ...
I recently bought a knife that near the handle end of the blade has a sharp, curved part: I don’t think it’s a choil because it’s sharp. What is its use? I thought something to do with stripping...
Take for example the picture below, taken in the Erawan National Park. The surface of the waterfall is a shade of white, maybe from calcium(?) and it actually very coarse. Even though it's somewhat...
