General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I have recently loaded a bullet --which didn't fire twice when I pulled the trigger of a bolt action western field m820a 22lr rifle. I have pulled the bolt all the way back but the bullet is stuc...
One should never let middle age men sit around drinking and reliving the glory days of their youth on a holiday weekend. I think I may have agreed to a mid January Presidential traverse in the Whit...
For an older guy (say 65+) who likes to hike alone - are a mule or two a help or a hindrance? Maybe a mule for the pack, and a second mule to ride when I get really old? Historically people prefer...
I have been trying to find the "canonical" post on this topic without success - each post has its own take on the issue. And I understand that opinions and preferences abound - but I'm looking for ...
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...
I'm considering stand up paddling as a sport for rest periods for my legs (running, hiking, cycling) and a way to train upper body muscles. I've checked the prices, of course the cheapest are the...
On official USGS topo maps, vegetation is represented by green, and non vegetation by white as you can see below. How much vegetation does an area need to be colored green? Are short bushes enou...
Due to some peculiar health issues, for the time being I cannot study around people. I've found a secluded place in my college, it's outdoors, no one goes there and still catches wi-fi. However, ...
Smaller streams are easy to tell where to cast when fly fishing given fish's tendency to hang out in pools or hole or undercut banks. It easy to decide where you need to cast and approximately wher...
Several times I have been in locations where tsunami risks are either actively signaled or self-evident. Lima where I am right now has long beaches dominated by cliffs with exit routes about every...
Once a hummingbird feeder is set up and the hummingbirds know about it they will come back over and over again on a regular basis. They even seem to remember after the winter and will come to check...
For some reason, once in a while I get confused if you add magnetic declination to magnetic bearings to get true bearings, or if you add magnetic declination to true bearings to get magnetic bearin...
It has been suggested to me in a comment, about an answer of mine that suggests using a hip belay, that: There's a reason ATCs, plates, GriGris, etc got popular: they're safer. I know I stopp...
I have been writing my initials onto the dogbones (webbing connecting biners) of my quickdraws with a sharpie (permanent marker) so I can tell them apart from everyone else's. Recently, one of my c...
I'm looking for a decent source to know winter road conditions for various Adirondacks access roads. First level of interest would be just what is or isn't being maintained. A better yet answer w...
I am making up emergency kits. What is the min I can survive on if the only source of water is what I am carrying?
I've been hiking the the Alps for 20years and normally I go skiing every winter. But I see more and more pictures of people hiking in the snow. Is it possible to go hiking in February in the alps?...
I'm looking for a good longer rope (e.g. 70m or so) to use for rappeling during canyoneering trips. Most of the ropes on Amazon or REI are dynamic, and my understanding is that static ropes are gen...
I had a near miss yesterday as I tried a strategy of a fellow surfer: I buried my mechanical car key in the sand, put my bag on top of it, and went surfing. A few dogs on the beach must have shifte...
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...
I've been watching "A Line Across the Sky" which is a short-ish movie about Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold doing the Fitz Roy traverse. During which Tommy Caldwell mentions Alex doing a 1000 and ...
My team at work has occasional outings and one of the activities we've talked about for the future is kayaking or whitewater rafting. I've never done either and am also dependent on expensive pres...
I know that NC permits open carry but I'm actually interested in cultural implications of running into people in the woods who may be weirded out by it. I've hiked a lot in places where it's legal ...
When slacklining between trees, how big should the tree trunks be? Followup question: I'm writing to ask how big the tree trunks should be exactly if I only have a 15meter line and I'm only walki...
There are lots of ski models out there, ranging from $60 to $2000. But what difference does price actually have on the performance you get out of the skis? How does one know that it makes sense to ...
There are a couple of pretty good answers in How to make a cargo trailer?. After looking at those, at the answer to What are the safety concerns of a high vs a low mount trailer hitch? and doing s...
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...
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'm planning on hiking the PCT next summer (April 2020-August 2020). I have nearly eleven months to prepare, physically and mentally, and nearly eleven months to read up on the PCT. I have a lot ...
Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP) come in both inflatable and rigid. What should I consider when choosing between the two styles?
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...
I love the outdoors, but I'm not really an experienced outdoorsman, hiker or camper. I have little to no education in outdoor etiquette, beyond the really obvious stuff (pick up your trash, etc.). ...
I'm new to rope-climbing, I have made some slings to use as false-crotches/cambium-savers/friction-savers that act as my "canopy anchor" when climbing. These were all made with lengths of my 11.7 m...
Which tree native to Florida produces these seeds? The pods are really long and the seeds inside are in the shape of little hearts.
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...
A barometric altimeter is supposed to be more accurate than a GPS altimeter in the relative sense (total ascent, total descent, during stable weather), but may have considerable error in the absolu...
I have this tent: Fjord Nansen Tromvik II. It's very well built and thought-out, lightweight (around 2kg / 4.5 lbs) and is a pleasure to sleep in during summer / early autumn. However, since it's ...
I am very familiar with dumping septic holding tanks in a camper on land. I do it regularly and safely, either at the camp ground or at home. I am considering a boat trip on the Ohio and Mississi...
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?
As some of you who are also active on bicycles.se may know, I broke my collarbone in a bike crash last year, and it's now got a titanium plate in there. I'm not sure whether it's the plate or not,...
When preparing for a trad climb, I usually divide my rack into separate groups where each group is connected to a single carabiner. So for example all the small nuts go into carabiner 1, middle ran...
I'm trying to make myself a foot-loop that's connected by rope to one's handled-ascender (alongside an opposing-foot's ankle-ascender this allows rapid ascension up a single leg up of rope!) and ha...
I live in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon, USA. A few days ago I noticed these rodents digging in my compost pile. This was in the early-afternoon. If I got too close (closer than 4 ft) they...
If one makes coffee in the backcountry, there will be used grounds. Coffee grounds are biodegradable, but should one instead pack them out completely? What is the Leave No Trace way to deal with u...
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...
I nested my 110g gas canister inside my stainless steel mug for a hike. I used it about halfway through for lunch, and when I was done put it back in the way I had packed it (upside down). Now it i...
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...
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...
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...
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...
