General Q&A about the great outdoors and outdoor pursuits.
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I have been fly fishing with my dad for a number of years but recently I went on my own and hit quite the stumbling block... I didn't know how to set the kit properly, normally I drive the boat whi...
Rather than shining in all directions, lighthouses usually produce a directed beam of light that continuously sweeps in a circle. This allows: the light to be more concentrated and so appear brig...
After watching this video of a man punching a kangaroo to rescue his dog, I am wondering how dangerous a kangaroo is to a human on foot? I am sure that there are a lot of other things in Australia ...
I am considering getting a Garmin InReach device (a device allowing two-way satellite communication via text messages) and I am trying to decipher the hidden costs of the subscription that comes al...
So my friend convinced me to buy a Son Of Hibachi :) I've set it up and want to give it a try in the evening. Of course there are several sources for a "how to" and even videos but I wanted instruc...
I frequently encounter trout sitting in the tail of a pool just above the start of the next rapid. So the trout is in slow water with much faster water downstream of it. So typically the fly is swe...
I've noticed that the vegetation in the subalpine forest is very different between the Alps, the Urals, Scandinavia, or the Canadian Rockies. In the latter, I didn't find any at all. In the Alps,...
Yesterday I found a really old deer skull in a forest and I took it home in the hope to get it cleaned up. So I searched it up but I only saw how to clean up dead deer heads with skin on and those ...
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 ...
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...
Strike indicators are basically the fly fishing version of bobbers and they come in different colors white, yellow, orange, etc. When fishing streams that have a big of disturbance and the sun is ...
Sometimes when fly fishing in canyons the wind will start coming down the canyon and it makes it that much harder to cast. It doesn't take a whole lot of wind to completely stop one from further fi...
I have started to debarb all my flies a while ago (it is much better for the fish if you are doing catch and release), but have been loosing some hooked fish that I was otherwise able to net when I...
I've always had a problem getting out of thicker wetsuits (4/3 mm and above, chestzip with/without hoodies). I would like advice from anyone who has tips getting out of these types of thick wetsuit...
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 read on https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sun_protective_clothing&oldid=930941768: A relatively new rating designation for sun protective textiles and clothing is UPF (Ultraviole...
They say prevention is better than cure, so for beginner hikes, especially dayhikes, how can one try to ensure that their bowels are empty and they won't suddenly need to poo? Are there proven ways...
There are a couple of crows that come around regularly, they come as a pair. One is larger than the other. Perhaps a couple? or parent and youth? or adult and older parent? When providing nuts/see...
How do I get rid of bad smell of mountaineering boots / skiing boots which comes from sweaty feet? I know the best way is preventing that smell by putting them in a ventilated area, but sometimes ...
I was wondering if you guys knew about some good websites to find canyons on with the necessary information ? Necessary information being: Longest abseil French level (V.A.I.) Wether the canyon i...
I'm concerned about ticks and want to treat some of my outdoor gear with Permethrin, a spray-on very persistent treatment against ticks and mosquitoes, to reduce the chances that I'll bring home ti...
Does anyone know of an area in california where I could hunt nutria? I've looked on the CDFW articles but there is not much.
I am a long time gym climber, and I climbed outdoors for a couple of times. I fail to understand why climbing outdoors is more appealing than climbing indoors. If the goal is to climb harder, whi...
A fish stringer goes through the gill and mouth of a live fish, providing a way to keep them captive and alive in the lake or river they are caught from. I would imagine the key to survival is how...
I recently came across the what3words coordinate system in an outdoor magazine. The system divides the world into squares of 3 m x 3 m. Each square is then named with a combination of three (as far...
I came across an interesting looking device on the Petzl website. As per the description, the mobile fall arresters follow the user automatically as he moves, whether on an inclined or vertic...
I just found that I can get free geological map overlays for Google Earth for all of the individual states in the United States from here. For instance, this is what a good deal of Yosemite Nation...
This question is related to my earlier question about when it is safe, from the young chipmunks' point of view, to relocate a burrow of chipmunks. To recap the background of the earlier question: ...
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?
Penny stoves are usually built from two soda cans and they look like this, Image source with some variations between the builder and so on. The basic idea is you have the bottoms of two soda ca...
I just tried on some modern snowshoes for the first time in some fresh powder and I'm confused by why there's a big hole in the decking in front of where the toe of the boot sits: With my boots ...
I have an American Giant sweatshirt that is fantastic. Superb quality and fit. Heavy 10oz cotton. What would be the best way to add water resistance to a garment/fabric normally water resistan...
The author of a question on our site referred to a certain type of goose as a Canadian goose. Some people thought that the correct name is Canada goose, rather than Canadian. Wikipedia refers to t...
The majority of avalanche airbag makers seem to package their system in backpacks of varying sizes. If one doesn't wish to get locked-in to a specific backpack, or have multiple backpacks each with...
This happened on one of my hikes. It was a hike with two villages en route. Somehow a dog from the first village decided to stick with us. We were OK with it. Then he was followed by a small Puppy...
I've been using various map apps with offline storage on my smartphone(s) for several years now. The main problem with them is the battery drain. I've searched for e-ink devices with GPS but only f...
I'm planning to go deep water soloing in Majorca as soon as weather conditions will allow it, I don't mind cold water as long as it's reasonably warm outside (~20°C). Since I'll probably be travel...
I live in Colorado and love hiking alone, it's quiet and peaceful. I want to be more 'free' to hike in early morning or late evening when it's dark or backpack in remote places, but at this point ...
Next summer I am planning to ride a bike from Belarus to the north of Norway through Finland. What measures should I take to be protected against wild animals (bears and wolves)?
Sometimes mountains won't have trails or recorded routes simply because they don't get enough traffic that a trail will be created. Not every mountain has recorded routes simply because people have...
I've been researching which kayak I'd like to buy, and I keep coming across the notion that longer kayaks are faster than shorter ones. I can understand that shorter kayaks have a greater tendency ...
I wonder why fly fishing leaders have to be tapered? Is the most important reason to preserve flight dynamics when casting? Would a simple untapered leader not present a dry fly, for example, in th...
I'm new to fishing and I don't know how these things work. Do I need to add some weight to make them sink or fishes will come at the top to bite them? I've seen some videos where they use some wei...
Supermarkets often have "fire starting liquid" on sale - that's usually transparent oil-like liquid looking much like kerosene. The label typically says the product it "mix of paraffins". It behave...
550 Parachute cord is a very small kermantle rope (has a core and an external sheath) as you can see in this image. The minimum breaking strength of the cord is 550 pounds, hence the name. It i...
While backpacking with an inflatable or self-inflating sleeping pad one runs the risk of getting holes in it. This does happen fairly frequently, and while they do make kits, I would like to know ...
Wild strawberries are very tasty, but I have only ever found them by accident. What locations would be good starting points to look for them?
What is the best way to leave a fire unattended for a short time and then to return to use it again? Here is my imagined scenario: arrive at a camp site and start a fire in a pre-made iron fire p...
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,...
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...
